You know Christmas is finally here when the snow starts to fall. Most of us have probably never been lucky enough to witness a truly British White Christmas (despite the promised first prizes that offered such on the sides of Coke cans a couple of years ago), but a slight dusting on the ground in the chilly November air of Durham might be a sign of things to come. So we think positively, so what?

There doesn’t seem much point whittling on about the termly essay crises. We’re in it; we suspect you are too. Instead, we’ll cement our positions as the most superficial, TV-obsessed editors of all time, and talk about John Sergeant.

We’ve got to say, our hearts lie with Austin and Tom, but Sergeant’s departure was a shocker. His reasons were understandable, but what was more shocking was the fallout from his press conference. On It Takes Two (yes, we watch it), Sergeant was criticised by some of the Professionals for being lily-livered and selfish. Codswallop, we say, but we’ll still miss him.

On another, ridiculously light note, this fortnight we’ll be hunting (is that wrong?) for the Fittest Freshers of this academic year. It’a long-standing tradition, and not one we could possibly stand in the way of. In the name of fairness, we hope you’ll nominate your pals at www.palatinate.org.uk/fittestfresher or come along to Klute on Saturday night and look out for the new-and-improved version of the Fit List on 9 December.

So, another editorial filled with fluff. We thought you’d like a break from the work rather than a discussion about the budget reports, as was suggested to us. Come back next time for a valid opinion and some Christmas Cheer.

Related posts:

1. Forget the dissertation, you’ve still got 4 days. Read Palatinate instead…