Peter Jackson column

Dec 21 2006 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

This is, as is often observed, the season of over-indulgence and conspicuous consumption. Which, by and large, is OK by me.

I firmly believe that in the bleak midwinter - even with global warming - we should be able to treat ourselves a little, or even a lot.

So what if the Christmas trading period can account for as much as 60% of the annual turnover of some retailers?

We spend more in general, with UK consumer spending having increased 68% between 1995 and 2005, so against that background, it is hardly surprising if the cash tills ring ever more frantically at Yuletide.

But I must admit, even I sometimes feel a little uneasy at the reports of some of the excesses this time of year seems to bring.

It is estimated, for example, that about £9bn will be paid to workers in the City of London in end-of-year bonuses, with workers at Goldman Sachs receiving on average £320,000 each and one employee trousering £50m. Such bonuses have been condemned by the Bishop of Worcester as "insulting" and "unfair" and particularly galling for teachers and NHS workers.

You can see where the bishop is coming from and I confess to a puritanical shudder at such naked greed … leavened with a dose of good old fashioned envy.

Such self-indulgence is not confined to these shores. I read that in Osaka, Japan, one department store is offering a 100m yen (£435,000) cake decorated with 100 diamonds, with the store pointing out that "chocolate and diamonds are what a woman most wants to receive". And I feel I'm pushing the boat out when I hide a few 5p pieces in the Christmas pud.

Meanwhile, in Jakarta, Indonesia, a hotel is serving a hamburger that costs more than twice the monthly minimum wage in that country. The hamburger, which costs £56, is made from Kobe beef with foie gras, Portobello mushrooms and Korean pears.

But my favourite story of Christmas intemperance features Gus, a camel who was to star in the Christmas show put on by an Irish riding school. Sadly, festivities had to be postponed after Gus got loose among the preparations for the staff's party and ate 200 mince pies and drank several cans of Guinness.