Alex B Cann column: Lighting the way

In his latest column, Tameside Radio Breakfast presenter Alex B Cann discusses a different Christmas this year, clutter and what he came across in our car park this week...

It’s a mere four weeks until Christmas Eve (not that I’m counting!), and there are some stunning outdoor lights on display across Tameside’s towns already. 

After a hugely challenging year, who would begrudge a bit of early festive magic? Apparently, quite a few people actually, as my decision to put up the studio tree early has not been met with universal positivity. It appears we have a few Grinches in our midst!

I won’t spend time in this week’s column reminding you that it won’t be a normal festive season, or analysing the latest tier system announced by the Government. I’m sure you’ve had your fill of all that. As long as I get to see my mum and dad for a quiet Christmas lunch, that will do me for this year.

Instead, I wanted to talk a bit about clutter - both physical and mental. I alluded to my ‘tsundoku’ in a recent column, which is a Japanese term meaning buying more books than you can ever possibly have time to read.

Who doesn’t love a cluttered Ikea Billy bookcase during lockdown? Honestly though, I have far too many books. And CDs. And newspapers. I can’t recycle a newspaper until I’ve read it cover to cover. I’m not sure if there is a medical term for that one. Possibly hoarding? Perhaps I could appear on that Channel 4 show.

Anyway, I am really working on my clutter issues and planning a big sort out of my CD singles this week. 

I am fairly certain I won’t need the Atomic Kitten back catalogue any time soon. In fact, this clear-out was partly inspired by spotting a discarded Westlife Greatest Hits CD in the Tameside Radio car park. I wonder if someone had just had their fill of key changes and standing up off bar stools, or if it simply fell out of their car door? Either way, it was a moment of inspiration, and inspired lots of bad Westlife cliches from the team too.

I don’t think I’ll ever be a Marie Kondo type, who signs up to the principle of minimalism, but I’m certainly working on being a bit neater. 

I read an amazing fact recently that the average American household possesses more than 300,000 items. If you have kids, you might be surprised to learn they own on average 238 toys, but play with just a dozen on a daily basis. It’s an addiction, and even though so-called ‘non essential shops’ are closed for another week, the plethora of delivery vans on the roads prove we’re definitely still buying.

I mentioned mental clutter, as I find an evening walk is really cathartic at the moment. 

Sometimes I take a podcast with me on the bluetooth headphones, but often it’s nice just to enjoy the evening calm and nosey through front room windows in the hope of spotting early Christmas trees! It’s amazing the difference it can make to how you feel, and realistically it only takes half an hour out of our day.

I hope you’re keeping well in these challenging times for us all. I took inspiration from 102-year-old Olga Webster, who is a resident at Polebank Care Home in Hyde. 

She said she would tell her 21-year-old self: “Keep faith, always believe everything will turn out right in the end. You have to believe it, and it will happen.” See you at the barber’s next Thursday, but most likely not the gym, if I’m honest.

You can catch me on Tameside Radio weekday mornings from 7-11am, plus on the Saturday Super Scoreboard from 3-7pm.