Ah, the gloriously authentic days before they started to mime. This would probably now be banned by the BBC lest it offend minority faiths.
Unless the hair offends first.
You have to hand it to Sir Cliff, he does cracking Christmas songs, invariably with a genuinely Christian incarnational theme, and ‘Little Town’ is the best:
How silently, how silently,It would be great to get these glorious lyrics filling the airwaves this Christmas after the dross of the expletive-ridden effort which made it to No1 last year.
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
No ear may hear His coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still
The dear Christ enters in.
The Facebook campaign to get this version of the carol into the charts is progressing steadily, though there is quite a way to go before it reaches the stratospheric heights of X-Factor’s anointed. There are presently enough supporters to ensure that the song enters the Top 40, and this would be the first time it has charted since 1982 when it was first released.
Sir Cliff is generously donating all of his download royalties on this song to Alzheimer’s Research, and His Grace has opened a JustGiving page for direct donations. Sir Cliff’s mother passed away in 2007 after living with dementia for more than 10 years. Asked if the way dementia is portrayed has changed in recent years, Sir Cliff replied:
"I'd like to think it has but there's still a long way to go. Money is always going to be the answer for things like this, to research the causes and hopefully find a cure. But I think the fact that people are talking about dementia much more freely is a great start.Out of sensitivity to the conscience issues of many, Alzheimer’s Research have agreed that no monies raised through this campaign will fund embryo research.
"My family and I have been through dementia with my mother and before that we never realised what it all meant. It was a real eye opener for us and a big lesson for us all. And now I find myself able to talk about it quite openly and say that my mum had suffered, ...so yes - I think we're on the way to improving things."
And every £1 helps.
So whether or not you support the campaign and whether you love Sir Cliff or loathe him, the charity cause is most worthy: there is no Christmas loneliness quite like the interminable loneliness of a family living with a loved one who can no longer remember names, faces, happy memories: you mourn them for years before they pass away.
In this season of Advent, His Grace would like to thank all of his readers and communicants for making November another record-breaking year for this blog.
His Grace has seen 91,592 visits with 98,362 unique views making 113,854 page-views (Google Analytics).
Most of the traffic comes direct through search engines, but His Grace would like to thank those who have linked to him over the past month, in particular:
Iain Dale’s Diary 6,606
EUReferendum 2,014
ConservativeHome 1,460
Anglican Mainstream 1,379
Guido Fawkes 1,212
By far, His Grace’s most popular page in November was that concerning Bishop Pete Broadbent, with 4,021 views.
As we look forward to celebrating the coming of the Christ Child, His Grace wishes all of his readers and communicants a blessed Advent season.
