[Miscellaneous] Office Christmas Lights

Today marked a momentous occasion. One that is penciled into calendars at work months in advance. That’s right, it’s time to switch on the office Christmas lights!

To clarify, my office has no Christmas decorations at all. In years gone by we’ve had a set of lights up around the window, but these have been appropriated this year by the office two doors down. For the second year in a row, the occupants of this office (notorious for their rug, comfy chairs, and slippers the rest of the year) have gone the whole hog and really decked out their office in Christmas chintz. There are no less than four Christmas trees of varying sizes, and three separate sets of lights in addition to those on the trees.

One of the four Christmas trees that have been squeezed into the small office. (Credit: David Brown)

Decorating their office takes a full day, and its conclusion is marked by an official switching-on ceremony, complete with mulled wine, mince pies and brandy butter, sherry, nuts, biscuits, Christmas music, and a countdown.  It’s all a bit silly, but captures the festive spirit rather nicely. This year they even had video footage of a log fire on the massive monitor that one of them has. Sadly the giant inflatable snowman didn’t make an appearance this year, though there was a gingerbread model of the main observatory building, complete with a gingerbread James Gregory telescope!

Gingerbread observatory! Very tasty it was too. The flask is full of mulled wine. (Credit: David Brown)

Unnoticed in all of this merry-making, the new first year PhD students have also been decorating their office. I find their efforts much more tasteful, but part of that could be the much bigger space that they have to work with.

The first years' office. Much more classy, although the cutout of Prince William

is rather creepy. (Credit: David Brown)