Here we are at the end of another year, it's almost good to see the last of it.  Christmas should be a time to relax a little, so here is some music you can listen to from the comfort of your own sofa. Most of it has been specially recorded for this newsletter, thank you everybody for taking part.

Before you sit down, remember to place your orders for the half time interval, then get a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie, sit back and enjoy. If you are very careful and follow all the rules, you might be able to join us at our Christmas party after the concert.  Socially distanced, of course. Those of you who misbehave during the concert will not be allowed in.

Party hats are in a pile at the bottom of this paragraph. Help yourself.

"Merry Christmas everyone! Here's my rendition of White Christmas, although it's sunny in Manchester!"

"All good here: locking down etc, much the same as last year!"

"I've always thought that In the Bleak Midwinter is one of those melodies which is crying out for interesting and warming harmonies, so I've tried to do some of that with this! I'm now pondering the wisdom of doing multiple takes in front of a log burner wearing a jumper when it's not actually that cold... (The log burner was most certainly lit, but unfortunately you can't see it at all on the video)."

I asked Ken for some extra information:

"8 separate video recordings of the Fylde “Ken Nicol” guitar edited together, using DaVinci Resolve 17 software. The mic is an Audio Technica 4033 and the strings: D'Addario Phosphor Bronze XS. My shoe size is 9- 10"

Err = thanks Ken!

" 'A Winter Carol' was written when I was on tour in 2010. It contains two views of a winter image in a single aerial frame. The first perspective is that of a young person and is played higher up the guitar neck whilst the second, older person's perspective, is played on the lower three strings at a slower tempo."