The true meaning of Christmas

STRAIGHT TALK

- SUSAN LEE

O, are you ready yet? It's funny, isn't it - any other time of year that phrase could apply to all sorts of things. Ready for winter? Ready for your holidays? For the Strictly final?

But here, with only a precious few days to go, it's the well recognised British shorthand about whether you've secured enough wrapping paper, bought a gift for Great Uncle Fred, and remembered to order the meat.

It's the language of the festive season; an entire lingua franca around December 25 that has been developed over the years.

And, just like any other language, it's not always easy to decipher.

Take the language of love - roses and champagne and sweet nothings whispered into waiting ears. Get that one wrong and you risk a restraining order.