My new single Tinsel Round The Telly, as you may already have gleaned from the header there, is out today! Unashamedly sentimental with just a pinch of nostalgia, it’s a home-made Christmas song celebrating all that’s gloriously messy about the festive period and raising funds for foodbanks.

As well as your regulation chiming bells and stompy 70s glam beat, it’s also got a singalong cameo with my brothers Chris and Jon, with a cute (and also home-made) video starring the kids.

You can find it on all those streaming services that they have these days, except Amazon, and if you buy a download from Bandcamp (£1 or more), all the money will go to the UK’s Trussell Trust foodbank network. Please give what you can, as they used to say on telethons.

If you’re listening to the song without downloading from Bandcamp and you’d like to make a donation, you can do that directly at the Trussell Trust’s website.

Tinsel Round The Telly also features on the Winnetka Records Christmas Album Volume 3, alongside tracks by the very wonderful Lorna, Marlody and others.

Meanwhile my old Christmas song Everything’s Dead Pretty When it Snows features on an amazing and huge new Christmas compilation which is raising money this festive season for another sadly necessary but very good cause.

It’s called Have Yourself A Merry Indie Christmas and it comprises two 54-track volumes featuring Xmas bangers by The Popguns, Helen Love, Spearmint, White Town, Dodgy, and many more.

Again, get yourself over to Bandcamp and download the first and second volumes. You’ll get probably the most epic set of indie Chrimbo anthems ever compiled, and the homeless charity Crisis will get your money. Sounds good to me.

That’s all I need to tell you for now, so thanks for being with me this year and a very happy Christmas to you and yours. See you in 2023 for more readings, live shows and maybe a new album!