The Unexplained - Howard Hughes - Howard's Christmas Message 2021
Aired: 2021-12-25
Duration: 07:25

[00:00:00]  Hello and a very Merry Christmas.
[00:00:02]  Happy New Year.
[00:00:02]  I'm not sure exactly when you'll get to hear this.
[00:00:05]  But I can tell you a little bit about where I am and what I'm doing as I record these words.
[00:00:10]  As you hear this, I'm recording it on Christmas Day.
[00:00:14]  And I'm at home.
[00:00:15]  It's very, very quiet all around the apartment where I live.
[00:00:20]  Seems that many people have gone away.
[00:00:21]  I went out for a walk in the park just a little while ago.
[00:00:25]  And there were a lot of grim-faced looking people.
[00:00:28]  You wouldn't believe it was Christmas Day.
[00:00:30]  I tried smiling at a couple.
[00:00:32]  Very few returned the smile.
[00:00:33]  I think a lot of people are just kind of preoccupied with all kinds of things this Christmas and I completely understand how they may be feeling about life in general.
[00:00:42]  Believe me, sometimes I feel that way too.
[00:00:45]  But it was interesting just to see how the world is, breathe a bit of clear air.
[00:00:50]  Today, as I record this, it doesn't feel like Christmas at all.
[00:00:54]  Christmases when I was a little kid tended to be frosty and bright, and the Christmases lately that I've had here in London have been almost spring-like temperatures, so I think it's about 11, 12, 13 Celsius today, something like 55 Fahrenheit, which was never a Christmas temperature when I was a kid.
[00:01:13]  It's dull and overcast and muddy underfoot.
[00:01:17]  And that's all I can say for it, really.
[00:01:19]  You know, it's a day that has come and gone.
[00:01:21]  I'm going to cook myself a little bit of Christmas something.
[00:01:24]  I've got some turkey in and something I can stick in the microwave.
[00:01:29]  And that's going to be me for another year.
[00:01:31]  And I always make this vow to myself every year.
[00:01:35]  Next year, I'm going to make a point of staying somewhere for Christmas, and I'm going to have dinner cooked by that place.
[00:01:42]  And I have to do that next year.
[00:01:44]  Otherwise, it's just empty and idle talk.
[00:01:47]  Now, looking back over the last year of The Unexplained, we've had some great guests.
[00:01:51]  I featured some of them on the radio show on Boxing Night.
[00:01:55]  And if you haven't heard that yet, then you can on their Listen Again feature.
[00:01:58]  So that's good.
[00:02:00]  I'm taking just a little bit of a break from recording podcasts at the moment, simply because this last six months, eight months or so, I've been booking them all myself.
[00:02:09]  It's pretty full-on with the radio show, all the ideas to come up with for that, and the guests to find for that.
[00:02:16]  You know, it's very much a one-man operation, all of it, really.
[00:02:20]  So I'm just having a couple of days to think, and I'm going to start recording podcasts as soon as I hit the ground running, very beginning of January, and we'll start feeding them out then.
[00:02:31]  And, you know, thank you very much for all of your support.
[00:02:33]  I've had lovely emails this year, and I'm still getting them in.
[00:02:37]  I've had some lovely Christmas wishes from people in all kinds of places, like Shirley in Canada and so many Ed in Texas and so many other people around the world.
[00:02:46]  Thank you very much.
[00:02:47]  And my friends across the United Kingdom and here in Europe, too.
[00:02:51]  It's been a tremendous thing to create something that has been running now for 16 years.
[00:02:58]  It will be in 2022.
[00:03:00]  That is heard and enjoyed and some people think is important to their lives all over the world.
[00:03:06]  I think that's just incredible, really.
[00:03:09]  It is a lovely, lovely thing.
[00:03:11]  And I do my best with it.
[00:03:13]  I'm not going to hit the mark for everybody.
[00:03:15]  Sometimes I'll get an email saying, I hate you.
[00:03:17]  I hate your show.
[00:03:19]  So all I can say to them is if it's making you that angry, turn it off.
[00:03:25]  I would never let something make me angry like that.
[00:03:28]  I don't think anything would really.
[00:03:30]  I don't see TV and radio content in that way.
[00:03:34]  If I don't like something, I hit the off switch.
[00:03:36]  But quite often I let things run because even if I don't like a guest or a style of drama that I'm watching, I think, well, maybe I'm going to learn something from this.
[00:03:46]  That's kind of how I think about it.
[00:03:48]  Every so often, you get those emails.
[00:03:51]  And to those people, if what I'm doing has annoyed you at times, you've got to just turn it off.
[00:03:57]  It's much better for your health, I think, that you do that.
[00:04:00]  But by and large, I think we're making progress.
[00:04:02]  What do you think?
[00:04:03]  Always grateful for guest suggestions, your thoughts on the show, of course, and for the online show, the donations gratefully received.
[00:04:10]  If you haven't made a donation, please do consider doing that.
[00:04:14]  The website is theunexplained.tv.
[00:04:17]  You can go there and follow the link and do that.
[00:04:19]  And of course, if you're not able to do that, I totally understand.
[00:04:22]  You know, I've been there myself and I'm always skirting that position myself where I couldn't afford to do anything, you know, extraneous.
[00:04:29]  I completely understand, just enjoy the shows.
[00:04:32]  So, lots of things likely in 2022.
[00:04:36]  I'll know the future of the radio show.
[00:04:39]  I'll find out about that, the way that that might develop.
[00:04:41]  And also, I've got some plans for the online operation.
[00:04:45]  It's time for that.
[00:04:46]  And I think, in a way, health crises in the nation allowing, you know, I think it's time for all of us to march forward in this year.
[00:04:55]  I feel, I don't know about you, like I've been in some kind of limbo for two years now.
[00:04:59]  And it's time to break out.
[00:05:00]  I want to see places again.
[00:05:02]  I want to connect with the world.
[00:05:04]  And I've become, maybe you have as well if you've been doing your work at home and stuff like that.
[00:05:10]  I've become a bit reclusive other than the people I have to have connection with for work.
[00:05:15]  I don't see anybody.
[00:05:16]  And I think all of us in that situation have got to review it in 2022, if we can, and make a change.
[00:05:24]  I think that's important.
[00:05:25]  And who knows, what we move into may be better.
[00:05:28]  You know, I'm not going to set up any hostages to fortune.
[00:05:31]  I've given up doing that.
[00:05:33]  But you never know.
[00:05:35]  So here I am quietly, cup of black coffee in my hand.
[00:05:40]  I am going to treat myself.
[00:05:41]  I bought some Irish whiskey.
[00:05:43]  So when I've finished recording this, I'm going to just tip a little bit of Irish whiskey in this coffee.
[00:05:47]  And I'm going to sit back and enjoy the silence.
[00:05:52]  And take a look out of the window, just have a look at the trees, and kind of give some thought to 2022.
[00:05:58]  And also give some thought to those who've passed before.
[00:06:00]  Maybe you've lost people over this last year, or maybe this is a time of year when you remember people who've gone.
[00:06:06]  I remember my wonderful mum and dad who used to make the most incredible Christmases for Beryl, my sister, and myself when we were kids.
[00:06:14]  And personally, you know, when I was a kid, I was too busy playing with my toys.
[00:06:20]  When I was older, I was too busy with my career.
[00:06:23]  I didn't really notice the sheer volume of work they put into Christmas.
[00:06:28]  And, you know, I should have thanked Them more than I did because I know from friends that putting Christmas on, if you've got other people involved in it, is not an easy thing to do.
[00:06:39]  So, the amount of stress my parents went through, putting Christmas on for my sister and me, it must have been enormous.
[00:06:46]  And I wish I could discuss that with them today, but I can't.
[00:06:50]  So, look, if you're looking back as I'm looking back, we can look back together and I share your feeling.
[00:06:56]  So, at the end of all of this, the unexplained continues.
[00:06:59]  I'm still here, 16 years on, going into 2022 with plans for it.
[00:07:05]  I wish you well across this holiday season and through the new year that's to come.
[00:07:11]  Thank you for being my friend and for being part of this.
[00:07:14]  Thank you to Adam, my webmaster, for being by my side on this one all the time and doing the things that I simply don't understand.
[00:07:21]  So thanks, Adam.
[00:07:22]  Thank you to you.
[00:07:24]  Take care.
[00:07:24]  All the best.