The March of the Post-Christmas Penguins…

They say the eye cannot ignore RED - the primary colour of the spectrum that supersedes all other colour recognition, and the one that has most connotations of emotion from passion to anger to love. Despite this rainbow supremacy, however, having decorated the full panorama of our peripheral vision for so many weeks with its festive hues, you would imagine we would have had our fair share of red reminders as we exit Christmas? Controversially, however, it would seem not and, this week as I aim to resume some levels of BAU to my post-holiday day-to-day my attention has been drawn to the red-renewal in our streets as I consider ...what is it that conditions our hypnotic state towards the red sea of reductions, like the march of the penguins, as soon as the stores re-open from Boxing Day?

Now, unless I have spent the last 6 weeks in a parallel universe, my memories (or perhaps post traumatic stress) of shopping spontaneity have been wrapped-up in a sense of communal obligation, reluctance and relief that such crowd control is required just once a year. Yet, as reindeers give way to reductions, holly to half-price and Santa Claus to price slashing sales, it seems we are only too prepared to go through it all again, in the hope of the eternal bargain.

Even sub-zero temperatures are not enough to delay this mis-guided adventure and, as I watch midnight street crowds forming for a 10am store opening, I wonder ….what can possibly be of such value to warrant an 8-hour freezing street queue?

Indeed, what is it that merits the purchases dismissed before Christmas as not right to be suddenly perfect at half price ....or is there no end to what is considered the perfect money-saving spend?

So, as you consider your next best budget wok, the obligatory one of every colour palette polo shirts, or even next years Christmas cards at cut-price...is it perhaps worthwhile to first revisit last years sale stock pile before you truly see red in the red, and find that the only way into the black is through the January blues…

‘Til next time, Pandora