The free CD from the Daily Express, which I took surreptitiously from my Mother, blasts out with Worcester Cathedral's Choir's version of "Mary's Boy Child", the Calypso Carol. I am now officially in the Christmas spirit. As of today, "But its Christmas!!!" now becomes a valid excuse / reason for doing anything.

I am on my way to the Christmas Markets in St Albert's Square. Now that our licensing laws have been brought into line with the rest of Europe, Manchester is following suit by having a "European Market". These markets are about more than just getting drunk on Gluhwein, eating some German's Sausage and buying little wooden pieces of tat for your Aunt. These markets serve as a way of creating a more integrated EU, bringing us closer to our continental neighbours, helping us understand their cultures and giving us the chance to meet some of their residents.

"Some Vanilla Fudge and a quarter of Chocolate Gingers." I say to the man from Cumbria Confectionery.

The German end of the market, is very efficient. Everyone moves in straight, ordered lines and spends exactly one minute and eighteen seconds at each stall. There are lots of German stalls there, so many in fact that they have forced the Polish baker to close down and have taken over his shack. The Dutch pancake stall has a fragrant cloud of smoke rising from it while the patrons engage in some liberal minded activities, like reading the Guardian.

After being exposed to all that foreign culture, I need to remind myself about what it means to be British. Anyone for a curry?