Dickens' A Christmas Carol on Stage

It’s Christmas Eve, and miserly misanthrope, Ebenezer Scrooge, is about to have a ghostly night he’ll never forget. 

Dicken’s festive, immortal tale of redemption and compassion is brought to life in Dyad’s inimitable solo style (That Knave, Raleigh, Lady Susan, Christmas Gothic, A Room of One’s Own, I, Elizabeth, Female Gothic, Austen’s Women).

Draw near an evening of mistletoe and merriment in the company of Marley, Fezziwig and Cratchit et all to discover the true meaning of Christmas: tenderness for the past, courage for the present, and hope for the future. Ebenezer lives in us all, and this glorious tale reminds us how not to give in to the Scrooge within.

Taking inspiration from Dickens’ original performances of his own work and utilising the brilliant narrator of the novel to bring the story to life, this solo piece is performed Andrew Margerison (That Knave, Raleigh, Frantic Assembly’s Fatherland, Macbeth), and directed by Dyad’s Creative Director, Rebecca Vaughan (That Knave, Raleigh).

Dyad Productions creates, produces and tours classic theatre with an innovative and contemporary emphasis. A regular fixture at the Edinburgh Fringe, their work has been a critical, 5-star, sell-out success since 2009. Other Dyad Productions, Lady Susan, A Room of One’s Own, Austen’s Women, I, Elizabeth, Christmas Gothic and Female Gothic have garnered five-star reviews and continue to tour across the UK and internationally. 

In 2018 Dyad Productions was awarded the prestigious Three Weeks Editors’ Award for Cumulative Body of Work. This piece was created in collaboration with The Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempstead, where they are a resident company.

Costume by Kate Flanaghan (Lady Susan, A Room of One’s Own, Dalloway, I, Elizabeth, Female Gothic, Christmas Gothic, Austen’s Women, Orlando, The Time Machine). Lighting design by Martin Tucker (That Knave, Raleigh, Lady Susan, Orlando, The Time Machine, Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, Dalloway, Christmas Gothic) Sound design by Danny Bright (That Knave, Raleigh, Lady Susan, Orlando, The Time Machine, Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, Dalloway, Christmas Gothic.)

https://dyadproductions.com/theatre-productions/a-christmas-carol/

How to Promote Your SME for Free This Christmas (And How That’s Christmas 365 Can Help You Do It)

See how UK SMEs can boost Christmas visibility without paid ads, using storytelling, collaboration, and That’s Christmas 365

Christmas is the busiest season of the year for many small and medium-sized enterprises, but it’s also one of the most competitive. 

With advertising costs soaring in November and December, many SMEs assume meaningful promotion is out of reach unless they have a sizeable marketing budget.

The good news? You can promote your business for free this Christmas, and do it effectively,  if you focus on visibility, storytelling, and community engagement rather than paid ads. 

Even better, platforms like That’s Christmas 365 exist specifically to help businesses gain festive exposure without draining precious cashflow.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Lean Into Christmas Stories, Not Sales Pitches

At Christmas, people don’t want to be sold to relentlessly, they want stories.

Free promotion works best when you:

Share why your business exists

Highlight your Christmas traditions or festive preparations

Talk about how you support your local community

Explain how your product or service helps make Christmas easier, warmer, or more joyful

A small bakery sharing its Christmas Eve routine or a craft business explaining how it sources festive materials ethically is far more engaging than a blunt “Buy now” message.

These stories are exactly the kind of content that gets picked up and shared organically.

2. Use Your Existing Channels Properly

Before spending a penny, make sure you are fully using what you already have:

Your website, add a festive landing page or Christmas blog posts

Email newsletters, even a small list can drive meaningful traffic

Social media, festive posts consistently outperform generic ones

Google Business Profile, update photos, opening hours, and Christmas offers

Consistency matters more than volume. A handful of thoughtful, festive updates can outperform dozens of rushed posts.

3. Collaborate Instead of Competing

Christmas is the perfect time to collaborate with:

Other local SMEs

Independent makers

Community groups or charities

Joint giveaways, shared social posts, or bundled offers cost nothing but dramatically expand your reach. When two businesses share each other’s audiences, both benefit, and customers love seeing cooperation over competition at Christmas.

4. Get Featured on Christmas-Focused Platforms

One of the most effective ways to gain free festive exposure is to appear where people are already looking for Christmas inspiration.

How That’s Christmas 365 Helps SMEs

That’s Christmas 365 is a year-round Christmas platform read by people actively planning, shopping, decorating, gifting, and celebrating. Being featured puts your business directly in front of a festive-minded audience without the cost of paid advertising.

The site regularly highlights:

Small and independent businesses

Seasonal products and services

Christmas traditions, food, drink, gifts, and experiences

UK-focused festive stories and brands

A mention, feature, or inclusion in a Christmas-themed article can:

Drive targeted traffic to your website

Improve brand recognition

Generate social media shares

Create long-tail visibility that lasts well beyond December

Because readers trust editorial content more than adverts, a genuine feature often outperforms paid ads in both engagement and conversion.

5. Think Search, Not Just December

Free promotion isn’t just about immediate sales.

Well-written Christmas content:

Ranks in Google year after year

Gets rediscovered each festive season

Builds authority and trust for your brand

That’s why platforms like That’s Christmas 365 are particularly valuable — Christmas doesn’t vanish on Boxing Day. Articles remain live, searchable, and shareable, giving your SME extended exposure long after the decorations come down.

6. Make It Easy for People to Support You

If someone wants to support your business this Christmas, don’t make them work for it.

Ensure:

Your contact details are clear

Your opening hours are updated

Your Christmas offerings are easy to understand

Your story is easy to share

Free promotion only works if people can act on it effortlessly.

A Festive Opportunity Worth Taking

Promoting your SME for free this Christmas isn’t about cutting corners, it’s about working smarter, telling better stories, and placing your business where festive audiences already are.

By combining your own channels with collaborative efforts and exposure through Christmas-focused platforms like That’s Christmas 365, you can raise your profile, build goodwill, and reach new customers without spending a fortune.

At Christmas, goodwill is marketing, and it’s one of the most powerful tools an SME can use.

You can email us at afj_uk@yahoo.com to get your name in (Christmas) lights!

Yuletide Old Fashioned (Woodford Reserve Edition)

A classic Old Fashioned dressed for Christmas, with gentle spice, citrus warmth and a whisper of winter fruit, never overpowering the bourbon.

Ingredients

60 ml Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon

1 tsp spiced demerara syrup (see below)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters

A small strip of orange peel

1 cinnamon stick

3–4 frozen cranberries (for garnish and gentle chilling)

Large ice cube or sphere

Spiced Demerara Syrup (make once, use all season)

200 g demerara sugar

200 ml water

1 cinnamon stick

2 cloves

1 small piece of orange peel

Gently heat until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, strain, and refrigerate. Keeps for 2–3 weeks.

Method

Chill a rocks glass.

Add the spiced demerara syrup and bitters to the glass.

Pour in the Woodford Reserve and stir gently.

Add a large ice cube and stir again until properly chilled.

Express the orange peel over the drink, rim the glass, then drop it in.

Garnish with the cinnamon stick and frozen cranberries.

Why it works

Woodford Reserve’s vanilla, caramel and toasted oak notes marry beautifully with warming Christmas spices.

Demerara sugar enhances depth without masking the bourbon.

Cranberries add festive flair without turning the drink sweet or sharp.

Optional Festive Variations

Smoky Christmas Eve: briefly smoke the glass with cinnamon bark or orange peel.

Nutty Noël: add ¼ tsp hazelnut liqueur for a subtle praline note.

Orange Grove: swap orange bitters for chocolate bitters for a Terry’s-inspired twist.

This is a proper Christmas Old Fashioned. It's grown-up, elegant, and unmistakably festive. 

Tallest Christmas Tree is in Northumberland

© National Trust / Bec Hughes

A mighty decorated giant redwood at the National Trust’s Cragside in Northumberland has secured the Guinness World Records title for the World’s Tallest Bedded Christmas Tree.

The 44.7m (146.6f) giant redwood (Sequoia wellingtonia) is dressed in excess of 1,300 dazzling lights to transform it into a towering festive showstopper standing at more than twice the height of the iconic Angel of the North statue.

It's one of millions of trees planted in the 1860s by the estate’s founders, the Armstrong family, some of which are now the tallest of their kind in the entire country.

Steve Howard, Visitor Operations Manager, told That's Christmas “It’s been quite a year of planning. Last year we presented the UK’s Tallest Living Christmas Tree, and we kept wondering if we could go one giant leap further and secure a Guinness World Records title… and we have made it!”

Steve went on to say: “It’s been a bit tough to keep this big secret under wraps and quiet over the last few weeks, but we wanted to share our huge news while many people are putting up their own Christmas trees.”

Visitors will notice that in addition to the lights, the tree is also dressed in two large purple bows to meet the essential criteria to have two traditional decorations on the Christmas tree. 

The tree was officially measured with witnesses present and signed off by a Guinness World Records adjudicator when the tree was dressed last month.

Guinness World Records adjudicator Carl Saville added: “The breathtaking giant redwood, perched on the edge of the hillside, is a vision of growth and pure beauty in Cragside’s historic landscape. It was a real privilege to give this tree the recognition it deserves.”

And if you are dressing a Christmas tree at home, spare a thought for the team involved who had the arduous task of  unravelling nearly 800m (2624f) of lights to hang on the towering tree. 

Festooning a tree that’s over 10 double-decker buses tall takes some industrial-duty thinking: the team used a cherry-picker which can reach to 51m (167f) and it took three people an entire two days to hang the lights. 

Every bulb had to meticulously checked and then draped and fastened vertically so as not to put too much pressure on the tree, which has been part of the Armstrongs’ ‘fantasy mountain landscape’ for over 150 years.

But this isn't the first time the grounds have been decorated in celebratory lights. Back in 1884, to commemorate a royal visit, the Armstrong famiuly decorated the estate’s hillsides in thousands of lamps. 

The Newcastle Daily Chronicle newspaper's contemporaneous report stated: ‘Ten thousand small glass lamps were hung amongst the rocky hillsides, and an almost equal number of Chinese lanterns were swung across leafy glades.’

The tree’s multi-coloured lights echo the Christmas spectacle inside the house, with a theme that takes inspiration from a real Servants’ Ball held at Cragside in 1894. 

It imagines the Armstrong family have gone away for the festive season, and their staff are throwing a mischievous party. 

The rooms are in topsy turvy colourful chaos as servants have abandoned their tasks to don their finest attire, ready for an evening of energetic dancing, mingling - and maybe even a touch of festive romance, too?

Steve added: “With the rooms in the house decked out in vibrant decorations, it felt only right to dress the tree in glorious technicolour, too, and we can’t wait to welcome our visitors to experience the World’s Tallest Bedded Christmas Tree throughout the festive season.”

The tree plays a starring role in BBC Two’s Christmas Treasures of the National Trust, which airs on Friday 19 December at 9pm and on iPlayer. The episode takes a behind-the-scenes look at festive preparations around the Cragside estate.

Christmas at Cragside is on until Sunday 4 January 2026.

Christmas Period Arguably The Most Important Time For Reflection, Explains Help4Addiction

The Christmas period is a time filled with mixed emotions for people struggling with addiction, explains community group Help4Addiction, led by its founder Nick Conn.

While the festive season is often viewed as a cheerful, family-focused time of year, it can also bring deep challenges for those facing substance misuse.

Despite this, the organisation has observed that fewer people reach out for support or enter rehabilitation during December.

Conn explains that the desire to be with family at Christmas is one of the main reasons people delay seeking formal treatment.

Many individuals feel unable to face being away from loved ones during such an emotional and traditional time of year, even when they know that their addiction is causing serious harm in their lives.

The Emotional Pull of Family At Christmas

During the Christmas period, most people want to be surrounded by family, friends, and familiar comforts. Celebrations, traditions, shared meals, and time together are central to the season. For someone considering rehab or intensive support, the thought of missing these moments can feel overwhelming.

For many, the idea of spending Christmas away from home, separated from loved ones, and in an unfamiliar environment becomes a powerful emotional barrier. This often leads to individuals postponing treatment until after the holidays, even though they may be fully aware that they need support.

Families Use Christmas As a Time For Reflection

While the number of people entering treatment may drop in December, Christmas often serves as an important time for self-reflection. Seeing families coming together, sharing love, and celebrating can make individuals painfully aware of what they may be missing or have lost due to addiction.

This contrast can be a powerful wake-up call. People may begin to think more deeply about their choices, their relationships, and their future. Feelings of sadness, regret, or longing for change can intensify during this period, pushing individuals closer to making a decision to seek help.

Increase Motivation in The New Year

As the festive season ends, many people feel more prepared to take action. January is often seen as a fresh start, and this mindset can encourage those who have been struggling to finally reach out for support.

The reflection that takes place over Christmas frequently leads to an increase in enquiries and treatment admissions in the new year. Individuals who have spent time thinking about their situation may feel stronger, more motivated, and ready to begin the recovery process.

Families Give More Support During The Festive Period

Even though fewer people may enter treatment in December, support remains available throughout the holidays. For some, Christmas can worsen feelings of loneliness, anxiety, or hopelessness, and in severe cases, it can lead to crisis situations.

Access to guidance, reassurance, and professional support can be vital during this time. Knowing that help is still there provides comfort and can prevent individuals from feeling completely alone.

Christmas Shouldn’t Stop People Taking a Step Towards Recovery

While the desire to spend Christmas with family is understandable and deeply human, it is important that this does not stop people from taking steps towards recovery. Reaching out for information, advice, or a simple conversation can be the beginning of a positive change.

Even if someone chooses to delay treatment until the new year, putting a plan in place can bring hope and a sense of control for the future. Recovery does not have a fixed timeline, and every journey starts with a single step.

Help is available for individuals and families affected by addiction, no matter the time of year.

https://www.help4addiction.co.uk

That's Food and Drink: Steaks Fit for a Vegan!

That's Food and Drink: Steaks Fit for a Vegan!: As part of our Veganuary feature That's Food and Drink is bringing you news about vegan foods that you can try at home or in your pub or...

Côte Brasserie’s New Year Feast in Branch or At Home

The countdown to New Year’s Eve has begun with the launch of Côte Brasserie’s most generous feasts both at home and in brasserie.

This year, guests dining in-brasserie can indulge in Côte’s four-course New Year’s Eve celebration menu (from £53.95 per head), a standout feast crafted to be filled with flavour, value and French indulgence.

Guests are welcomed with a complimentary glass of Crémant or Kisumé non-alcoholic sparkling rosé, setting a perfectly celebratory tone.

The menu is generous from the start including for the table dishes Comté Madeleines with hot honey dip, olives, and garlic-herb peppers and then a wide variety of delicious starters including Chicken Liver Parfait with macerated figs, indulgent Camembert Brûlée, King Prawns in Café de Paris butter, Beetroot-Cured Smoked Salmon and more.

Mains celebrate classic French comfort elevated for the occasion: luxurious Confit Duck à l’Orange, Cornish Roasted Hake with velvety lobster sauce, Steak Frites Deluxe cut in Côte’s own butchery (+£8 supplement), Chestnut & Sage Tartiflette with a baked half Camembert and an impressive vegan Roasted Miso Parsnip dish, among others.

A trio of sides for £15 encourages festive feasting, from Sprouts à la Française and hot-honey Pigs in Blankets to crispy confit potatoes with gravy mayo.

Guests may finish with a special curated French cheese plate, or choose from a line-up of desserts including Pain Perdu, Warm Chocolate Fondant and the striking La Bûche Rouge winter berry mousse log.

With its breadth of choice, generous portions and sparkling welcome, Côte delivers one of the most compelling NYE menus on the high street for the price, all served until midnight across all brasseries.

For those celebrating at home, Côte’s sell-out New Year’s Eve Feasts return featuring the NYE Feast for Six for £169.95 and the NYE Feast for Two for £84.95

The menu features beetroot-cured salmon with horseradish cream, followed by British & Irish Côte de Boeuf with gratin dauphinois and black garlic jus, finished with a dark chocolate financier and cherry compote. Show-stopping, indulgent - and completely stress-free.

For more relaxed celebrations, the Buffet Box (£76.95, serves 2–4) offers a ready-to-serve spread of French cheeses, truffle saucisson, cured ham, smoked salmon, pâté, confits and more - “a party in a box” when paired with Côte’s festive drinks range.

To keep celebrations lively, the first 150 orders will receive a complimentary Big Potato Games party game.

Back for another year of festive excellence, Côte’s at-home range continues to be a beloved ritual, even for Dame Judi Dench, who counts herself among the thousands who rely on Côte at Home for effortless festive dining.

Also available to celebrate the season in style is the Festive Breakfast Box (£67.95) - croissants, jams, granola, sausages, eggs, and Crémant de Bourgogne as well as the Festive Drinks Package (£79.95) - from Buck’s Fizz to Port for the cheese course.

All menus are created by Executive Chef Steve Allen, whose Michelin-starred background includes Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Pétrus and Claridge’s.

Steve told That's Christmas: “Creating this year’s New Year’s Eve menus has been a real joy. Whether guests are joining us in the Brasserie for a four-course celebration menu or celebrating at home with our Côte at Home feast boxes, the focus is the same - generous, joyful dishes full of flavour, crafted to make the occasion feel truly special. 

"From elegant French classics in our restaurants to indulgent, stress-free feasts delivered straight to your door, we want everyone to be able to celebrate in the way that suits them best. Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!”

Côte at Home festive menus are delivered chilled and ready to serve, with nationwide delivery from 18-23 December. Early booking is very strongly advised.

Order now at coteathome.co.uk

FACTFILE:-

Côte at Home delivers the very best of French cuisine direct to your door. Launched in 2020, the service offers luxury meals and produce from its in-house butchery, bakery, fromagerie and wine cellar. Côte at Home supplies premium butcher’s cuts alongside an expansive selection of artisan cheeses and a curated list of wines, champagne and beer. 

Each box arrives chilled, ready to eat, freeze or bake. Nationwide delivery Wednesday to Saturday (excluding the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland, The Isle of Man, The Isle of Wight, The Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands).

Ideal For Christmas. Kentucky Classic: Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon

Carefully crafted in small batches in the heart of Kentucky, Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon is a masterclass in balance and complexity. 

With hints of dried fruit, vanilla, toasted oak, and baking spice, this award-winning bourbon is the perfect, crowd-pleasing gift for friends and family alike.

I'm thinking of a winter warming Old Fashioned. This will be absolutely perfect for your Christmas drink mixing. How about sipping with mince pies by a roaring fire? 

Or perhaps for gifting to those members of your family or circle of friends who you know will appreciate receiving a bottle of a high quality proper Bourbon for Christmas. 

That is if you can bear to part with it? Perhaps you'd better buy bottles on the old adage of "One for you, one for me?" After all, it is Christmas! 

You can purchase this at The Whiskey Exchange or Amazon.

It should cost £38 a bottle, though if you use this link it should cost you £26 https://amzn.to/4pAsj7Z

And we'll give you our special Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon Old Fashioned recipe in a while, so please keep an eye open for that. 

For the Rum Lovers in Your Life Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva

If you are looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the rum aficionado in your life, you need look no further than Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva.

It's wonderfully rich, elegant, and velvety smooth. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva is a premium Venezuelan rum crafted from only the finest premier sugarcane.

It offers deep notes of toffee, dried fruit, vanilla, and subtle spice. Whether you’re sipping a Diplomatico Orange Cocoa neat by a crackling fire or stirred into a festive Manhattan it's a deluxe gift that brings warmth and sophistication to your loved ones this Christmas. 

And you might be able to increase their breadth of knowledge of rums, because I have to admit I was unaware that Venezuela was known for producing rum.

As well as being a great gifting idea it will also make the perfect addition to your Christmas drinks table.

It should cost £41 and is available at The Whiskey Exchange or Amazon where it will cost £32 https://amzn.to/4rKb3ym

Gold Coffee Truffles for Your Christmas Feasting and Gifting

These Gold Coffee Truffles are easy to make, easy to gift and easy to eat!

So you'd probably better make more than you think you'll need!

Here's how to make them:-

Prep: 10 minutes plus chilling

Cook: 10 minutes

Makes approx. 25

275g dark chocolate, 54% cocoa, chopped

150ml double cream

25g unsalted butter

2 tbsp Camp Chicory & Coffee Essence

125g white chocolate, chopped

To decorate, edible gold leaf and gold shimmer powder

Place 150g chopped dark chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water.  Add the cream, butter and Camp essence and heat gently until just melted, stir until well combined.  Cool and then chill until almost set, about 3-4 hours.

Using a melon baller or teaspoon and using lightly oiled hands, mould into approx. 25 round balls and place on a tray lined with baking parchment. Chill until firm.

Melt the remaining 125g dark chocolate and the white chocolate in 2 separate small bowls over 2 small saucepans of simmering water until melted. Allow to cool slightly.

Dip half the truffles in the dark chocolate and half in the white chocolate, using 2 forks to completely cover.  Place on a tray lined with baking parchment and again chill until set.

To decorate, place gold leaf on the dark truffles using a clean dry paint brush and dust the white truffles with gold shimmer powder.

Cooks tip

Try dusting half in cocoa and half in icing sugar for a quick alternative.