Tall And True Short Reads

Season Two: Episode 42 (28 December 2021)

The Spirit of Xmas is a blog post from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Please note: I dedicate this podcast episode to my family and other families who spent Xmas 2021 separated or in isolation due to COVID.

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/the-spirit-of-xmas

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

• Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Fairhead/e/B086HZ36NM
• Apple Books:     https://books.apple.com/us/author/robert-fairhead/id1436773436
• Rakuten Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/au/en/author/robert-fairhead

Episode Insight

The Spirit of Xmas is a blog post I wrote in December 2019, after spending Xmas with my West Australian family in Margaret River, three hours south of Perth. Unfortunately, with two years of COVID and state border closures, I haven’t been back to Western Australia to see family and friends since 2019.

And this year (2021), due to the Omicron outbreak, we cancelled a family get together in Sydney and spent Xmas Day in isolation, with family members either ill from COVID or awaiting test results.

It wasn’t the Xmas we’d planned. But I caught up with family and friends on the phone and via Facebook and texts. And there was a pile of thoughtful gifts under our Xmas tree and, as usual, way too much to eat and drink. Topped off with an afternoon nap and an adventure movie on the TV in the evening, the spirit of the day may have dimmed, but I still felt it.

And there was no silly Kris Kringle or Stealing Santa. Bah humbug!

Thanks for listening to The Spirit of Xmas. You can read all my blog posts, short stories, and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

Keep an eye on your podcast feed for the next episode of Tall And True Short Reads. And don’t forget to check on your favourite app or the podcast website, for earlier episodes from Seasons One and Two.

Please follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it on your app —  doing so helps other listeners find my writing.

And finally, please also spread the spirit of Xmas by telling your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Epilogue

I wrote this blog post and writer’s insight as a humorous reflection on modern Kris Kringles and the spirit of Xmas. Listening to it, what doesn’t come across, is how much I’ve missed seeing my West Australian family during the past two years. And how disappointed I was that the Sydney family get-together was cancelled this year. I dedicate this podcast episode to my family and other families who spent Xmas separated or in isolation due to COVID.

And let’s hope we all have a happy new year!

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

• Santa’s Sleigh Bells: https://freesound.org/people/BrianJamesLong/sounds/330415/

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads produced using Audacity. Thanks to Josh (VoiceOverMaster) Meyer for Audacity recording tips and tricks.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the land of the traditional custodians of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.