OK, so this photo was not actually taken during my walk today, but it was pretty central to it, as I had to call in the opticians to collect new glasses.

For the first time ever I chose a pair of so-called 'designer' frames as well as one from the optician's own selection.  I was equally bemused and amused when they were brought out, one pair in a very blingy case and the other in a bog-standard Specsavers case. Amused because the price difference between the two was small, at least relative to the total bill; bemused because, at the end of the day both pairs do the exact same job. Why does one need a blingy case and the other not?

Somewhere in all of this is something about Advent and Christmas and the tendency to dress up in bling and glitter that which actually arrived with no fancy packaging whatsoever.

Part of me is secretly chuffed about the bling glasses case - just as part of me enjoys the sparkle and glister of the Christmas festivities.

Part of me thinks the bling glasses case is just daft - just as part of me wonders if the parties and decorations are all a bit over the top.

In the end, though, does it matter and why not have a bit of each... I can enjoy the golden glasses case and my blingy 'Kylie Minogue' glasses (!) and I can enjoy the frivolity of the fun festivities...  I have my plain blue glasses case and will also enjoy my turquoise edged 'Victoria' glasses, just as I will enjoy reflecting on the God who arrived as a plainly wrapped baby laid to rest in a feed trough.

Both/and then, not either/or... Advent seems to be throwing up a lot of 'creative tensions' this year.