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IN TOUCH – Christmas Time at New College Worcester

TX:Ìý 19.12.2023Ìý 2040-2100

PRESENTER:Ìý ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý PETER WHITE

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PRODUCER:ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý BETH HEMMINGS

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White

One of the best things about going away to school – and I have to be honest at the time that I was there I had to look quite hard for things that were really great – was that you got two Christmases.Ìý There were Christmas activities going on at the end of term, so that by the time you got home, you were well in the mood for a more traditional family Christmas.Ìý And now, more than 50 years on, I’ve come back to my old school, now called New College Worcester, to explore what Christmas 2023 is going to mean to a group of pupils who, like me, are all visually impaired to some degree or other.

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Why should it be any different for us than for anyone else?Ìý Well, that’s something that we can discuss.Ìý But there is a lot of visual stuff surrounding Christmas – shop and online displays, adverts, decorations, films, pantomime – it’s all visual.Ìý I could go on but I won’t.Ìý I want the group that I’m with here to talk to me about what Christmas means to them, whether it’s sounds, smells, tastes, sights, if you’ve still got some but also, atmosphere – likes and dislikes about it – and not forgetting, that for many, it is a very important religious celebration as well.

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We’ve got a group here.Ìý Let me start with Ellie.Ìý I mentioned stuff going on at school so what’s going to be happening here?

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Ellie

The house generally have a Christmas dinner and also, they take you out to like the Oak Apple pub.

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White

Pub?

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Ellie

Well, it’s like a restaurant type pub place, yeah…

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White

…things have looked up since I was here…

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Ellie

…to have a Christmas meal.Ìý But I’m a bit less informed because I’m a day student and school…

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White

Does that mean that you will miss all the fun then, if you’re a day… will you have gone home when it all happens?

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Ellie

No, I think I will stay because I’m attached to one of the houses, because I used to board there, so I’m allowed to stay over for some of the activities if I want to.

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White

Right.Ìý So, is anyone better informed than Ellie about what is going to happen?Ìý Chloe?

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Chloe

Well, I’m in a different residential house from Ellie.Ìý In Dots we’re doing a Christmas meal in the house, so that will be really nice, where the day students who would have usually gone home come.Ìý We give out secret Santa presents in the house.Ìý We have a really nice dinner and we just have a really nice time.Ìý We’re also going to a place called Webs, which is like a light walk thing, they’ve also got like audio stuff, so it’s, you know, not completely inaccessible but it is really nice, it’s really fun.Ìý Dots is a really community-based house, so we do lots of stuff together.

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White

Just to explain, that the houses that pupils here live in are a series of houses and they’ve all got names which relate back to teachers in the past and things like that, don’t they?

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Chloe

Yeah, so, obviously Dots is the best house, Ellie will disagree with me.

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White

Can I just ask you about something you said, you were talking about the secret Santa idea and everybody getting presents and I’m thinking back to my own childhood when everybody got presents at the same time and it could be pretty confusing if you can’t see what’s going on – you know, the unwrapping all sounds the same and you’re not quite sure who’s getting what.Ìý I just wondered what your reaction to that sort of event is.

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Chloe

It’s chaos.Ìý What usually happens, whether I’m at school or at home, it’s about 10, 20 minutes where, you know, you’re constantly surrounded by ripping and tearing and especially because no one takes it in turns, no one takes it turns to open presents.

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Ellie

Really?

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White

Are you politer in your family?Ìý Was that Ellie?

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Ellie

Well, my parents sort of enforce… well, not really but my family are really good at describing what everyone’s opening and stuff.

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White

So, have they always been like that?

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Ellie

Yeah.Ìý They’re like – granny and grandpa are opening their presents now – and then no one else opens presents and watches them opening their presents.

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White

Well, I was just wondering how confusing it is, though, because I mean if you can’t see or you can’t see very well how difficult it is to know who’s got what.Ìý It starts alright, the first couple of people, everyone looks at them and then it all kind of descends into chaos.

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Chloe

Mmm, yeah, to be honest, like after we’ve had all the unwrapping it will be people going like – Oh, what did you get, what did you get.Ìý And like eventually you kind of get an idea, personally, from my family, but it’s usually not until the next day that you’ve got a full track of what everyone’s got.

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White

It’s time we heard from a boy, isn’t it?Ìý George, what’s your experience of the present giving process?

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George

What here or in general?

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White

Either really, George, you can take your pick.

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George

Okay, I’ll do here.Ìý Yes it is a bit chaotic but I quite like chaos, so…

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White

You cause quite a lot of it.

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George

Yes, I… yes, I have caused loads of chaos in my 14 years of living on this planet.

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Chloe

Yes, you have George.

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White

Right.Ìý I’m going to just stay with you, George.Ìý I got some fairly odd presents.Ìý People knew I was blind but they would still get me things that weren’t really quite suitable for a blind person although…

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George

What?

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White

Well, I got a bike long before I could ride one, to start with.Ìý What about you, I’m interested in appropriate presents?

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George

I got some phonics’ games once.Ìý But my auntie didn’t realise they weren’t very accessible.Ìý And then my aunt was like – oh my gosh, I just realised that he won’t be able to play them.

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White

Okay.Ìý Chloe – in appropriate presents?

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Chloe

Oh, I seem to remember one year, because some of my little cousins had got really into colouring, and I was into colouring but it had to be thick lines because I have some vision so it either had to be thick lines or like raised, depending.Ìý Oh my gosh, there was one year when I just got so many colouring books and so many of them just had the thinnest lines you’d ever seen, although it was tiny patterns and I’m like – I cannot use this thing, this is completely useless to me, put it in the wood chipper.

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White

Good example.Ìý Anyone else?Ìý Clara, on this one?

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Clara

When I was younger, I think maybe there would have been some stuff but I mean in recent years, I think, my family have honestly been pretty good at knowing what I will and won’t be able to use.

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White

Can I stay with you?Ìý What about buying presents for people?Ìý I was talking, at the beginning, about the way in which Christmas is quite a visual time so I wonder how much that’s [bell ringing] an issue for you?

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Clara

Well, for me it hasn’t really been because I never really bought friends’ Christmas presents until coming to New College because I did have friends at my old school but we weren’t super tight or anything and giving presents wasn’t really a thing.Ìý But in recent years, I’ve only had a small close group of friends and because they’re also VI it’s a lot easier.Ìý And my mum or someone will always come shopping with me and she can tell what things are and I can say whether or not this person would like them or not.

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White

As you were saying before you had friends, I’m guessing that you’ve lost some sight over the last few years, would that be right?Ìý You were in a mainstream school, now you’re here.

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Clara

I was in a mainstream school in year 7 and the beginning of year 8 but that’s not to do with losing sight, I’ve always had the amount of sight that I had and I’d been trying to get into New College for a while but I didn’t actually get funding until part of the way through year 8 and that’s why I came later.

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White

Right.

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Clara

I have contact with a few people from my old school but they’ve kind of all moved on to other schools and other places now, so we don’t really talk.Ìý I have one friend, who I see every now and then at home but my time at home is just spent with my mum and sister, who I live with.

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White

I mean that is really interesting because you, presumably, would quite like to socialise more, would you?

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Clara

I would but I mean I’m going to university next year, so, hopefully, that’ll be a new opportunity to make new friends and be more sociable and go to more parties.

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White

But in that sense, going away to college, however lovely it is here, that’s made a break, perhaps, with the friends that you had before?

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Clara

It has and obviously, it makes things a lot more boring when we have to go home for holidays but I wouldn’t change the fact that I’m here and the friends I have here.

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White

Okay.Ìý I’m going to ask you all this.Ìý I’m interested to know what Christmas actually means to… when you conjure up the idea of Christmas what do you think of first?Ìý Is there something that says Christmas to you?Ìý George?

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George

There is something that says Christmas to me, it’s on the telly – Mrs Brown’s Boys.

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White

What… and this is because the programme tends to be reshown at Christmas, yeah?

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George

And also, I have it downloaded on iPlayer, so I can watch it whenever I please.

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White

Right, okay, anything else?

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George

Black Friday… [laughter]Ìý Well, it does mean Christmas is coming though because it’s the very start of Christmas shopping, isn’t it?

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White

He is right.

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Clara

Fair enough.

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George

Chocolate.

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White

Ellie, what about you?

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Ellie

I sort of have two things.Ìý Now I know this is going to be broadcasted at a later date, so I’m just going to tell you it’s the 30th November today, so, the first thing that reminds me of Christmas is what’s going to happen tomorrow – the 1st December – our elf comes through the door with our advent calendars – me and my sisters’ advent calendars…

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White

Do you have an accessible advent calendar?

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Ellie

Yeah, it’s got like braille numbers and stuff and then you poke the doors in and see what you get.Ìý One more thing, this is the other thing, is the Christmas tree because actually the first time I crawled the thing that motivated me to crawl was the Christmas tree – the lights on the Christmas tree – because I have a bit of light perception.

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White

Really?Ìý Do you remember that?Ìý No, you can’t remember that…

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Ellie

No, my mum told me but no.Ìý It’s still quite a nice sort of thought.

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White

It’s a very nice thought.Ìý Is there a most treasured present that you’ve had or least favourite present?

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George

Clothes.

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White

Clothes?

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George

Yeah.Ìý As much as I need clothes, I know I need something to wear but out of all the things I could get, no offence to people that are buying me clothes, but they’re not my favourite.

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Clara

Clothes are awesome.

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George

And aftershave. [Laughter]

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White

You’re young for after shave, aren’t you?

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Clara

You strange boy.

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White

Right, we’ve got to play a quick game of musical chairs here, it’s one little group out and one little group in, which will include Zander, another George, Len, Cody, Amy, Ellie and Tora.

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Zander, let me bring you in.Ìý So, presents – what we started by thinking was that sometimes it’s difficult to know if you can’t see or you can’t see well what’s actually happening with present giving, what’s your take on this?

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Zander

Opening presents in my family is one of the most wild experiences, like literally anything that I can get my hands on from under the tree, that has my name on it in braille.Ìý My mum’s really good at braille, she keeps doubting herself and I wish she didn’t.Ìý I know spelt my name with an ‘o’ once, that was really funny.Ìý I read it as Zonder and I’m like… fine.

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White

So, the confusion of present giving.Ìý Amy, have you got a view on this?

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Amy

Sometimes people who give me presents are sighted and they have no access to braille, so they would have to put the name in print.Ìý So that is slightly confusing because I’m fully blind, so therefore, I can’t read the print.Ìý But I’m lucky that my family, close family, will really make an effort to label things in braille for me or something tactile, as much as possible.

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White

One of the things that we have talked about is presents that are inappropriate, you know, that…

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[Audible gasps]

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Right, you sound as if you all recognise this.Ìý So, can we have some examples?Ìý Who’s going first.

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Cody

Me.

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White

Who’s me?Ìý Cody.

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Cody

I’ve got books before, I’ve got books without braille and it’s like – oh we’ll read you the books, we’ll read them – and I’m just like – well, I want to read them.

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White

Tora, anything on this?

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Tora

One year for Christmas, and you’ve got to remember at this age I was like six, so I wanted toys and stuff, you know but one of my presents was a brailler.

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Pupils

How on earth did you lift it to unwrap it or did you get your dog to help?

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What did you do?

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Tora

So, I got the brailler and I was like – wow, thanks – I’m like I’m so happy about this, I could definitely play with this.

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White

Another thing we did talk about was actually buying presents for people, how difficult it is or maybe it isn’t difficult.

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Amy

I think for me being totally blind one of the things that I really struggle with is trying to buy presents for people who I’m going shopping with.Ìý I mean, of course, there’s shop assistant, everything like that, which can be very helpful but when I was younger, I just didn’t like talking to people and asking someone to help me do that.Ìý But we’re really lucky here, at NCW, that they give us a chance to go Christmas shopping with activity staff, so that means that we can buy presents for anyone we want really.Ìý You can still buy it and make it a surprise, which is great.

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Zander

If someone helps me buy a present, I’m like – oh my gosh, you’re a lifesaver, it’s like Christ has been born again, oh my gosh.Ìý But if I have to buy the present… funny story, in my primary school when I was in primary mainstream, which I didn’t struggle with, I had to buy a Christmas present for my bully and… [group chatting] this was… this was terrifying.

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Pupil

Did you get him something like those sweets that you can eat them and then you don’t know what flavour they are and they can be really disgusting flavours sometimes?

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[All chatting]

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Pupil

I had them, they’re awful.

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Zander

I ended up getting him… I ended up getting him boxing gloves and writing on the box ‘for your enemies’ and just did that.

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White

We’re also asking about what sums up Christmas for you, you know, if you’re anticipating Christmas, what Christmas actually means to you.

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Cody

The best thing for me is when I wake mum up at 6 o’clock every year and say ‘It’s Christmas’.

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Pupil

Yeah, I do that.

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Pupil

My parents make me wake them up at half seven, they won’t let me wake them up any earlier.

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White

Hang on Cody, you’re still doing this are you, how old are you now Cody?

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Cody

I’m 18.

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Pupil

I think for me, I know this is a little bit visual, but just the imagination of it, thinking about shop windows, their Christmas window displays, that really is just Christmas to me and the smells, especially, if you’ve got the smells of the Christmas tree or, you know, like the Christmas potpourri, the smell of orange and that kind of thing.

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White

So, there is going to be a Christmas concert, who wants to tell me about that?Ìý Len?

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Len

Yeah, the Christmas concert is an annual event, apart from 2020 where it was done virtually.Ìý But usually, it’s done in our school chapel, like all the parents, the rest of the staff and students come.Ìý And, yeah, the ringmaster is usually Mr Painter, he announces all the different acts and you never know he may give us a little Christmas cracker joke every now and again.

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[All commenting – ooh, they’re terrible, they’re terrible, the jokes]

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White

Can we bring George in, because I don’t think we’ve had much of you have we – are you in it?

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George

Yeah, I am quite a bit actually.

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White

Doing what, George?

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George

Doing jazz band because I’m in quite a few musical things here.Ìý Musical theatre and…

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White

Do you play an instrument?

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George

…choir.Ìý Yeah, I play the guitar which I actually got as my first Christmas present.

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Pupil

You’re doing guitar for the ukelele club though, George, aren’t you?

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George

Yeah.

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White

And is this, if you like, the sort of crowning part of Christmas here, at college?

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[group commenting – yeah, yeah.Ìý For me, yeah.]

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Pupil

I would say for me, also, you know that when it’s the Christmas concert, you know, it really gets you into that Christmas vibe because a lot of people also do solos and stuff and you know that once it’s finished, you’re like – it’s the Christmas holidays – it just really gets you into that Christmas… Christmas spirit.

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George

When I get home my family’s always like – well George, calm down, it’s not Christmas Day yet, calm down.

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White

Oh right, so you’ve got in the mood too early?

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George

I get really… really, yeah.

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White

I remember that myself, you know, the idea that you’ve got wound up for the concert itself and you go home, your parents haven’t really got into the mood yet, they might still be at work.Ìý So, you find that, do you, George?

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George

Yeah I do.

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White

They try to calm you down.

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George

Yeah they do try to calm me down because they are excited but they’re not… you know… and especially because my family’s all older than me, everybody in the house – all my brothers and sisters – they can get a bit fed up of me when I get in the Christmas spirit too early.

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White

Well, look, you’ve all been brilliant.Ìý Thank you all very much indeed.

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Pupil

Thank you.

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Pupil

Could we do a collective Merry Christmas everyone – say it at the same time.

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George

That’s so cheesy.

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Pupil

I know George but…

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White

I’m always telling her about being cheesy.

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Pupil

I like being cheesy.

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Pupil

Three, two one.

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All

Merry Christmas.

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