The UK is Closed for Xmas (and Boxing Day)

It used to be that the whole of the United Kingdom more or less shut down from Christmas to New Years. More recently, the shutdown has been limited to just Christmas and Boxing Day (the 26th), but the shutdown remains pretty complete. Newspapers don't publish (before the Internet I used to get a pretty bad case of news deprivation). Trains don't run. At all. All stores are closed (which when you figure that most British fridges are pretty small, means that you actually have to plan your food purchases pretty carefully so you don't run out…).

Nowadays the shutdown is a little less complete. A number of the larger department stores open on Boxing Day for their big annual sales. Walking through Didsbury this morining I noted a small number of resturants that say they will open for dinner on Boxing Day. Some years the Independent has published a vestigal paper on the 26th. Some bus compannies will run a few buses. But it's still a country locked up pretty tight.

So we'll stay home and watch the kids play with their new presents.

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