Jetting Educated

Recently I took an 18 hour journey involving a bus, two planes and the tube to get from Lapland to London. The short season was complete and the reindeer that worked for us had gone on holiday! They've earned it! I'll miss the reindeer. They were gentle, shy and beautiful. Oh wait- the reality of 'holiday' is that they are being slaughtered and made in to reindeer burgers. Of course the children in Lapland were more than happy to hear that their furry friends were going on a cute vacation; as intended, they did not understand the euphemism. Meat industry aside, I was happy to be back in my Dad's house in Blighty. My new pal Holly and I were going to have a chilled night in after the long day travelling, before she headed back to a place (that I rarely go to as a good Southerner) called 'The North of England'. Needless to say that the weather in the UK was very mild compared to the Arctic circle. Joyfully there was no snow and the tem...

And as a disclaimer: this account is based on what had been said to me by various elves, I myself did not work as an elf. Additionally, elf names   have been changed to protect their identity (and I'm not even joking). It's nearly Christmas? No. Not at all. But in the retail world, the beginning of September is a time where shops will begin showing hints of Christmas presents, encouraging us to spend money at the earliest possible moment. With this madness ringing in my ears, I remember a time when it was actually December, legitimately within the festive season, when I worked in Lapland. Something I never published was my eye opener into the secret lives of Christmas elves... until now. Let me take you to the bleak world within the arctic circle where they genuinely have frost covered signs warning of passing cross county skiers. Warning: They are pensioners and they are in lycra I was heading to the coaches where guests were either stroking the reindeer ...