It's a Christmas Nostalgia [Project] podcast!

I’m excited to announce my first ever video podcast, and I could not have asked for a better guest in

Faith Liversedge

of the Nostalgia Project. There’s no finer time for waxing nostalgic than at Christmas and Faith and I delved into lots of fun topics, including:

• What her newsletter is all about

• What makes Christmas so nostalgic?

• What are some uniquely British traditions?

• Does the UK do nostalgia better than anyone else?

• Christmas music, films and TV, including how a particular programme can make or break someone’s Christmas

• A famous Christmas film classic that neither of us has actually seen

And much more, including a slightly awkward disagreement about a popular Christmas song, shared music nostalgia, and a fascinating insight about a hugely popular Christmas tune that I’d never thought of before.

She also talked about a nostalgic aspect of Christmas that seems obvious (to me) now, but I have truly never thought about (hint: notice the difference in warmth, cosiness and ambience in our backgrounds).

For my language learning audience, we touched on Faith’s distinctive tone of voice, her beautifully concise writing style, her lovely use of colloquialisms, and the benefits of reading and listening to natural English in natural contexts.

A few thoughts on music and the race to be #1 at Christmas time. My memory is a bit fuzzy and so let me ask our readers to jump in to clarify this. I seem to remember the Christmas #1 being revealed on the UK top 40 on the Sunday before Christmas whereas Faith says it was only on Christmas day itself on Top of the Pops that the winner was announced. Readers?

Here are the links to a few of the things Faith mentioned:

• Mike Press
  and
  Jackie Hopfinger
  ’s post on Christmas #1s over the years: Santa Claus is Coming to Town

• Stop The Cavalry and Pipes Of Peace - two songs not as well known outside the UK

• A song we both remember very well because we “enjoyed it organically” at the time.

• Do They Know It’s Christmas?

• Only Fools and Horses - a snippet of one Christmas episode to give you a taste

• H is for Hawk

Faith’s post on Band Aid and the powerful influence of 1984-1989: 5 years that changed the world

A Guardian article from 2022 that will provide some background context: How the UK Christmas No 1 became a national obsession – and a vicious competition

A few fun facts:

• Three different versions of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” hit #1: the 1984 original, the Band Aid II 1989 version, and Band Aid 20 in 2004

• Mr Blobby’s win in 1993 was a travesty (not a fact, my expert opinion)

• The Spice Girls had three #1s in a row from 1996-1998 (Baby, in case you’re wondering - who was your favourite?)

• “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine was #1 in 2009 even though it was released in 1992 (this is not a Christmas song)

• Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” was beaten out for #1 by East 17 (thank goodness)

• LadBaby had five straight #1s from 2018-2022 (this is uniquely British)

• “Last Christmas” was released in 1984 and became the Christmas #1 only in 2023…and 2024

This is my first time doing a video podcast, so go easy on me. I got a bit carried away with editing and adding music and it’s very much a work in progress. Yes, I know I moved my hands around too much, I’ve got Italian blood in me after all, I can’t help it! Bad habits are hard to break - English teachers tend to move their hands a lot.

Any other tips and suggestions are always welcome.

What about your most nostalgic Christmas moments? Music, film, TV, food, other traditions? Please share below.