A note from London: 80 million eyes on Harry and Meghan as Ukraine freezes

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I am an unashamed fan of Christmas: bad jumpers, lengthy debates about the best way to roast potatoes (goose fat wins for me) and everything else that comes with the festive season. That includes, it must be said, bad Christmas pop songs, from The Pogues and Kirsty Kirsty MacColl to Coldplay’s Christmas Lights (an unappreciated banger, listen to it here) and everything Michael Bublé.

The famous Christmas lights on London’s Regent Street.Credit:Getty

So, I don’t think I could be in a better place in the world right now than London: home of the Christmas cheese, where every second song on the radio is either Shakin’ Stevens or Slade. At times, it’s like you’re on the set of Bridget Jones’s Diary or Love Actually (please, let’s not fight about it again), which for a hopelessly sad sod like me, is wonderful.

After yet another deflating FIFA World Cup defeat for England over the weekend, spirits soared when snow began to fall. For a few hours young lovers, families and those unfamiliar with a pre-Christmas dusting, built snowmen, flooding their social media, caught up in the moment.

With all the Christmas trees and lights around London, it was postcard perfect. Reality hit the next day, however, with frozen tracks causing public transport chaos, along with the hazards of icy roads and slippery footpaths.

A couple take a photo of a snowman in London on Monday December 12.Credit:Kin Cheung

It seems like an eternity since we were last able to be swept away by Christmas celebrations. In Australia in 2019, it was bushfires and then two COVID-plagued summers. In Britain, the past two Christmases have also been overshadowed by the coronavirus.

But, unlike Australia, Britain and Europe don’t tend to wind down for weeks over the New Year, and the news doesn’t stop. After the past nine or so months, this is rather lamentable for a foreign correspondent!

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been busy this week sorting out the migrant disaster unfolding across the Channel. Four people lost their lives on Wednesday while trying to make the journey in the freezing cold, and Sunak is set to get tough on those attempting to come to Britain without a visa, much like Australia did a decade ago.

In Brussels, the European Parliament has been busy legislating the world’s first green tariffs on imports. This has been in the pipeline for a long time but remains a significant turning point in using trade to combat climate change.

If affects Australia too, with Trade Minister Don Farrell in town to progress the stalled trade pact with the European Union. That’s going to be a difficult prospect.

In a scene from their Netflix docuseries, Harry watches on while Meghan reenacts a curtsy.

And, of course, the new King is dealing with a royal crisis the likes of which we haven’t really seen since Harry and Meghan quit their royal duties in early 2020. I read this week that more than 80 million people around the world have logged into their Netflix accounts to watch their docuseries.

It was not without news, but there wasn’t much we hadn’t heard before. Still, readers of this masthead also jumped online in huge numbers to follow our live blog, led by my colleague Latika Bourke. She’ll be at it again tonight for the show’s second instalment.

It’s all been rather a grotesque spectacle and, to be honest, it’s not a nice thing to see families fighting like this at Christmas. But maybe that’s me being a romantic and not a journalist. But “H” and “M”, as they mawkishly brand themselves in the show, have certainly earned the money the streaming service has thrown at them.

People watch religious Christmas films in an apartment block basement in Avdiivka, Ukraine. The TV, brought in by a local policeman and chaplain, relies on power from a generator.Credit:AP

It all looks so small when you look at current events around the globe, including how dreadful the winter in Ukraine is going to be. It’s a cliché, but it’s important that we do pause and remember we have so much to be thankful for.

I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and I look forward to corresponding with you again in the New Year.

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