The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 41: Feb/March 2019 | Page 33

IS IT ME? IS IT ME? John Davies is a senior corporate partner at leading commercial law firm Thrings. In each edition of TBE John addresses a topical news or business-related issue. This time John asks “What does your Christmas present say about you?” Thrings @ThringsLaw www.thrings.com Happy New Year folks. 2019 already – where did last year go, eh? Well, I’m tapping this out on the day of the ‘meaningful vote’ which the Government is expected to lose. I listened to various politicians on the drive into work this morning and have to admit I’m none the wiser as to what’s going to happen. So instead of a commenting on the latest news, I thought I’d share with you what I got for Christmas. I love Christmas, it’s probably my favourite time of the year. I love the message, the carols, the colours, the festivities, the magic that washes over children (and some adults), the celebration and, of course, putting a little bit more time and effort into family and friends. It’s also nice to have a few days away from the desk, a bit of downtime and raise a glass or two. Talking of which…. What I got for Christmas then: red wine, white wine, fizzy wine, port, whiskey, bourbon, beer, brandy, a coffee liqueur and some flavoured gin. All in all a very good haul of beverages which demonstrate both the flexibility of my palate and the robustness of my liver. In the interests of balance, I should also mention I received a couple of books. Don’t get me wrong, I was both pleased and grateful for my Christmas stash. But it got me thinking about what my presents say about me. One of the books was Michael Caine’s latest autobiography. All good there – I’m always keen to keep up with popular culture. The other was ‘Heroes’, Stephen Fry’s latest offering. All good there too – a little highbrow, but not too much. But the rest of my stocking was filled with booze. My friends and family have sat back, taken some time to think, and assessed that my perfect present is best delivered in a bottle. I was a little bit worried about this to be honest. I like a drink as much as the next person, but I’m not a daily quaffer of the good stuff. I usually limit it to the weekend and special occasions. I asked a couple of pals what they got…and the results were similar. So I’m wondering if it’s more to do with my age. In my opinion it’s difficult to buy presents for folks once they reach a certain vintage because they’ve already got most of what they need. I have my essential utensils. Buying clothes is difficult in terms of taste, size (especially size) and judgment, and I’m not big on candles. A bottle of the good stuff is therefore a great shout - and in case you’re wondering what to get me for my birthday this year, very welcome! One of my pals made a very good point. Better to be bought a bottle of Shiraz as a gift than a pack of soap and deodorant. When questioned further, she said it was better to be thought of as someone who likes a tipple now and then than someone who ‘sports a whiff’. A fair point, I guess. Anyway, have a little think about it. What did you get for Christmas and what does it say about you? And in the meantime Brexit rumbles on. Never mind. It’ll be Christmas again before we know it. John Davies e: [email protected] t: 01793 412634 IT SUPPORT  CLOUD  CONNECTIVITY  ARE YOUR IT RELATED ISSUES GIVING YOU A HEADACHE? Systemagic provide people focused IT support, cloud and internet services with no long term contracts to businesses in Bath, Somerset, Wiltshire and beyond. Let us focus on your techie niggles, so you don’t have to! WWW.SYSTEMAGIC.CO.UK | [email protected] | 01225 426 800 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 33