3 d. ago Clients and staff at Carfin club come together in the true spirit of Christmas

Friends 4U is a social club for adults with disabilities, based in Carfin, where members meet three afternoons a week to socialise, build confidence, and support their community.

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8 d. ago Wetherspoons opening hours for the 683 pubs serving booze TODAY

WETHERSPOONS fans can raise a glass in true Christmas spirit as 683 of its pubs are open for business today. The popular pub chain will pour pints in branches across the UK between certain hours today. All the usual beverages will be on offer, including pints, spirits, wine and fizz. Drinkers will be able to...

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1 week ago Air traffic control firm NATS shows true spirit of giving this Christmas

They came together during the festive period to support local charities and bring hope, kindness and practical help to those who need it most.

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1 week ago Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas is an evergreen, everyman anthem that captures the season’s true spirit

By rejecting the bombast of 80s pop, the late singer-songwriter’s track has endured, and thereby perfectly captures the nostalgic feelings at the heart of Christmas• Chris Rea, rock and blues singer-songwriter, dies aged 74• Chris Rea – a life in picturesBritain isn’t a great island for road songs. It’s not big enough, really, for you to hit the road and drive. And if you try, you may just end up stuck in traffic on the A1, where the late Chris Rea found himself in Christmas 1978, his wife behind the wheel of her Mini, he beside her as they tried to get from Abbey Road Studios in London to their home in Middlesbrough, 220 miles away.He wrote the song on a whim, scribbling down the lyrics whenever passing headlights illuminated the car interior (as he told this paper’s Dave Simpson in 2016), then put it away with his other unfinished scraps when he got home. Eight years later, he paired his lyric with some jazzy chords he’d written and a song was born. At first, he shoved it on a B-s...

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1 week ago Manchester music and football stars gather for funeral of Stone Roses’ Mani

Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller, David Beckham and former bandmates among the mourners at Manchester cathedralThe Stone Roses singer, Ian Brown, has remembered his bandmate Gary “Mani” Mounfield as a “true musical comrade” and “always a beautiful soul and spirit” as hundreds gathered for the charismatic bassist’s funeral.Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher, Peter Hook, Tim Burgess, Bez, David Beckham and Gary Neville were among the mourners at the service at Manchester Cathedral on Monday morning. Outside, fans packed the street. Continue reading...

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1 week ago I’m a Grinch and my husband is like Buddy the Elf – here is how we found a Christmas compromise | Polly Hudson

Over our marriage, seasonal rows have focussed on cheese, tinsel, turkey, Aled Jones and even pyjamas. Still, I’m convinced that I am the true spirit of the festive seasonMost families have their own unique festive rituals, and my husband and I have spent this December in the manner traditional to us: squabbling. He is fully invested in every possible aspect of the season of goodwill. On the big day itself, he wears his cracker crown until it breaks, like a metaphor; I usually don’t bother unfolding mine, let alone putting it on. We’ve been married for 15 years, and weathered many storms together, but at the moment our relationship is particularly challenging. How do you cope when you’re Christmas incompatible?In my defence, I’m not bah-humbugging at merely a rational amount of yuletide spirit. My husband is perpetually jolly as standard – it’s always the first word anybody I introduce him to uses to describe him afterwards. He’s relentlessly cheerful, endlessly enthusiastic and can...

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