If the Three Wise Men had been abroad in England on their mission to follow the star in 2012, they would have a tough time of it. Not only have the skies here been uniformly obscured by rain clouds (except for a welcome break on Sunday) but I hope they brought their wellies and were warned that gold, frankincense and myrrh won”t be welcomed nearly so much as a re-stock of sandbags.

From Helford to Stonehaven and beyond, this has been a terrible time for people with houses near rivers and includes a huge number who—until the present drenching—had thought themselves safe enough. This is a horrible time for families & firms affected by floods—but huge thanks to emergency services and council workers for doing all they can to help. Flooding is devastating at anytime, but especially at Christmas.

For those newly affected seeking to register for Floodline Scotland, call 0845 988 1188 for the latest information or visit SEPA’s Floodline website. If you’re on Twitter, follow @metofficeScot to get Met Offfice (sic) alerts sent automatically.

But for the great majority of you of all political stripes and none who are not so affected, other than being forced to take your working-off-the-calories constitutional walks in wellies; may you enjoy a very Merry Christmas among the people you love.

Over the last year, I have much enjoyed contributions from supporters and opponents of my beliefs and am equally grateful to both for their contributions. I only hope that I was able to consider and develop my views as a result. The New Year will hopefully improve on that.

There will be a festive hiatus in this blog for the next few days but I sincerely hope that regular readers will find they have much more engaging, memorable and enjoyable things to do before service here is resumed shortly.

Peace and good will to all.

Among Friends—My Ersatz Family at Christmas