A star to every wandering boat, or bark as Willy Shakespeare would put it; bark because boats are made out of wood. I love language – the subtlety of it. The words chosen by those mysterious poets that write our Christmas cards. Even more significant are the words personally written down by the giver of the card. Christmas can be a glorious time of the year, and in moments it can be very painful – to see others joyous as something has caused you anguish. You know the explorers, when they crossed the great ocean looking for the new world, would follow the stars. But just like all of us, there were times when they lost the star that gave them direction. Of course, they kept going, they couldn’t just stop in the middle of the ocean. What makes a star disappear? I supposed clouds could get in the way and block it from view; or maybe the day gets too bright all around us – it is hard to see a star at noon. Just because the star is out of sight, doesn’t mean it’s gone. And for those of you with pain this Christmas, my love go out to you. And just a gentle reminder, sometimes happiness requires a little effort. Be the Santa in you. Merry Christmas.