Back in my youth there were two big department stores in Manchester during the Christmas seasons. Kendalls and Lewis’s, when I grew older I preferred Lewis’s because you had to walk through the perfume department to get to the toys, and I had just discovered girls, and the girls were gorgeous. When I was in college I managed to date a girl who worked behind the counter though not for long, she was wonderful looking though she wore too much make up.
Then I left Manchester for good and thought about Lewis’ s not at all until I began writing about the John Lewis Christmas Commercial every year, where the department store’s advertising began airing musical Christmas themed vignettes using Guns N Roses, Elton John and other songs culminating in last years “The Bear And The Hare” –sorta Yogi’s First Christmas set to Lily Allen’s cover of “Somewhere Only We Know”.
This year we get #montythepenguin : “Calvin And Hobbes” as the story of a boy and his penguin! With Tom Odell, who I can take in very short doses, singing Lennon’s not quite completed “Real Love”.
It is so sweet only a real mush could take it, fortunately for John Lewis I am a real mush.
