Farewell, great oracle

Yes, today Christmas Eve 2021 is my last day as a subscriber (or ‘supporter’ as they call it) of the Guardian. With the closure of my newsagent, getting it has become too much of a hassle. I will now have to rely more on the internet for my news. I suppose this may encourage me to dwell more on what suits my prejudices, although the Microsoft story selection which comes with their browser page always carries a good selection of crap from right wing rags like the Express, the Mail and the Telegraph. But with the best will in the world, none of these are capable of broadening one’s mind, quite the opposite. The Express, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned before is probably the worst. Not a day goes by when it isn’t running an anti-EU story, always (without fail) illustrated with a picture of Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission President. They also, almost daily have an anti-Nicola Sturgeon story, illustrated similarly. I wonder if the Express isn’t just a tad misogynist?
 
What was in today’s special Guardian? I learned from a story about Harry and Meg’s Christmas card that infant Archie has ‘curly hair’ and baby Lillibet has ‘ginger hair’ just like her dad. I wonder if they’re allowed to say these things? People in the media are often in the media (an insightful tautology) so we learn that veteran Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow (74) is hanging up his clogs (but not quite) and BBC News At Ten chap Huw Edwards (60) has suffered from severe depression; a New Zealand cat called Keith is a kleptomaniac; Vlad the Impaler ‘fails to calm nerves;’ Stanley in the Falkland Islands wants to be granted city status (I don’t think any town without a railway station should get this); Covid rumbles on: “PM invokes Jesus to ‘love they neighbour’ and get jabs;” the UK is still contemplating new coal mining despite COP26. And much more besides, every page a serendipitous soupçon of our perilous passage on earth.
 
Time then to wish you a peaceful Saturnalia and a sublime 2022!