You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today and then one day you find ten years have got behind you (Pink Floyd)

Wozza eating a luverly sundae

Wie geht's?

Christmas is within sight, again. Thought I'd take a trip back in time for this post - back ten years in fact, to 2015.

Where were you and what were you doing in 2015? [or: Who were you? and, Where were you going? if you prefer]

Can you tell where I am in that photo? A hint? Think Anaheim. The happiest place on Earth. Got it?  

Yes, that's right - Disneyland. The full post is here from 2015.

I can recall this time vividly because we'd flown to Auckland and on to LA straight after junior prize-giving at Woodford House. We were heading to the UK for Christmas. That was good actually - like a Band-Aid - rip it straight orf.

Anyway, back in 2025, it's nearly holiday time - time to break out the Christmas jumper again. I thought I'd wear it to prizegiving on Friday, but it doesn't really go with my pink hood. What to do? What to do?

Mention of the jumper reminds me of talk this week in the clubhouse (the Tier kitchen where all the cool kids sit, a.k.a. the maths and English staff). Somehow, chat centred on Love Actually and other Christmas movies.

[BTW our Purdzilla family hardy perennials are: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation; Die Hard; About A Boy; Love Actually; It's A Wonderful Life; The Grinch; Polar Express].

The general consensus was we each miss a northern hemisphere Christmas - one that makes sense. Wistful, meditative even, it was (rare for mathematicians but part of the DNA of English teacher types).

Oh, before I forget - here's a picture of my Christmas jumper in case I chicken out on Friday:

I hope my readership approve of this post. It has food, a festive theme, even has a Christmas tree, Die Hard, a Christmas jumper, and the happiest place on Earth without any mention of Dickens. Actually, he wrote a cool Christmas story, didn't he?

Love and peace - Wozza

May the force be with you (Obi Wan-Kenobi)

Wie geht's?

Warning: this one gets a little gushy!

Since being acquired by Disney, Star Wars has become even more of a giant commercial beast with many pros and cons attached. I saw both sides on my visit to the Disneyland Resort (Anaheim) this week.

The set design/staging for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which joins themed areas like Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Frontierland at Disneyland in Anaheim, is amazing beyond words.

Standing underneath a life-sized replica of The Millennium Falcon was a real WHAAAAAAT?? moment. I couldn't help but be awed by the skill and vision of the people who put together the landscape and the authentic props - not that I've ever visited the Black Spire outpost, on the remote frontier planet of Batuu yunnerstan.

The fact that it was raining at the time we were visiting just added a perfect detail to the alien landscape. With many of the people wearing hooded ponchos, it made me feel like an extra in a Star Wars film!

The Star Wars characters wandering the streets of Batuu added a great dimension - whether it be the Mandalorian, R2D2, Chewbacca or storm troopers with Kylo Ren - they each add an effective touch which also suddenly jolts you into a confusing zone of realism. Yes, it was a tad scarey for some (one little kid in a push chair cried as storm troopers and Kylo approached in character).

That's the pro part.

The con (pun intended) is in the type of merchandise being hawked in the shops at Galaxy's Edge. It seems the powers that be have decided their target audience is either those who want to dress up as a Star Wars character (Rey and Lord Vader by far the most prevalent) or else those who want to celebrate the child in their nature (I'm being charitable). I'd call this the Ewok impulse.

T-shirt design was heavily accented towards the young cutesy market too, i.e. not me.

The 'serious' Star Wars collectors (comics, books, models etc) are not really catered for - some busts of Last Jedi era Luke and Darth Vader being the only things I could see that appealed.

Did any of that commercialism detract from my experience? No chance!!

Outside of family reunions in Bury and Brentwood, Galaxy's Edge joins Tintagel Castle and Amoeba Records as the overwhelming WOW moments of my trip.

I absolutely loved it, along with the whole Disney experience.

It is still, and will forever be, the happiest place on Earth!

May the force be with you, always - Adson Purwa (Jedi master)

When you meet temptation and the urge is very strong, give a little whistle! (Jiminy Cricket)

Coming to you from my Hilton Anaheim hotel room. 

We've been on a stopover before heading to London's winter wonderland.

Anaheim is wonderful - everyone is helpful and pleasant and polite (and loud - Americans LOVE to talk, all the time - they don't do silence).

The politeness is a shock to the system. I was aware of saying 'thank you' a lot and I always got a 'You're welcome' back. This from Disney cast members and the public at large. Quite, quite wonderful really.

There is so much to love about America but the super sizing of food and drink is NOT one of them. 

No wonder their is rampant obesity here - I asked for small of everything and got NZ large sizes - apart from the hotdog which was just right!

SWMBO and I spent Thursday at the happiest place on Earth. Disneyland is a wonderful stopover for us. We were last here in January 2007 with Fanfa and Jade when the park was pretty empty.

This time we're visiting this side of Christmas and OMG - what a difference. Long queues (fast tracking rides is a great way to not queue though) and the vastness of humanity was the order of the day. I did notice that everyone seemed to either come from Seattle or San Francisco (Seahawks, Giants shirts everywhere).

We had a blast though, doing the rides (SWMBO loved the horse drawn carriage ride down main street) and eating hotdogs and ice cream sundaes (we never do that at home) - Star Wars stuff in particular was incredible, we spent ages in the mega shop after the Star Tours attraction.

Temptations everywhere and we gave in to quite a few!

Love and peace - Wozza

(Next post stars Samantha Purdy and Jesse Rowbotham!)