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Now, on with the other regular features:

Comfort Fiction

I don’t often re-read books – there are so many new ones to discover! – but every Christmas I read A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens’ adaptation of the Muppets’ masterpiece).

My favourite part is the meeting between Scrooge and Marley (or the Marley brothers, depending on your literary preference). Faced with the obstinate Scrooge, Marley explains that to be a “good man of business” is not enough for a well-spent human life:

‘Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!’

Dicing with Death

If you enjoy a chilling Christmas spectre, let me commend Richard Godden’s reading of The Room in the Tower by EF Benson. As a card-carrying scaredy-cat, I’m having to listen in sections to allow myself time to calm down. If – like me – you need something truly silly after the festive haunting, check out Dice Company’s Christmas quiz and a special episode of Extra Roll called Behind the Madness – an insight into our chaotic recording process (both available on our Patreon).