Today my daughter gave me the gift of addiction for Christmas. It came in the form of the access code to Netflix. I guess she figures that I need to take time out and binge on some endlessly addictive serials.  Maybe she is right.

I know I have an addictive personality. Netflix feeds this addiction. Many people can manage such addiction, but like reading a good book, I find it hard to stop in the middle of a series. So I’ve only ever subscribed for the month I had Covid (see Netflix in Bed).

This is all about to change. The other week when I was visiting my brother, we spent a lot of time watching the soccer replays and then one night I tuned into his Netflix and discovered Wednesday (I was on holidays so I gave myself permission to chill out).

If you haven’t watched this serial, I can recommend it. Director Tim Burton creates visual storytelling at its best. This show celebrates inclusivity and diversity and is totally intergenerational – for those like me who grew up with The Adams family TV show.

 All the minor characters we loved in the TV show are very ‘diverse’, the favourite Uncle Fester who can literally light up any room he walks into, the original long haired hippy, cousin IT, the five fingered trickster Thing and of course, the harpsicord playing butler Lurch. And these are only the minor players who revolve around the family dynamics of Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday and Pugsley.

Now Wednesday Adams has her own Netflix series and has become a Ticktock  star. No school formal dresses will ever be the same since she has rocked it with black chiffon and the Cramps gothic dance.

So the Netflix binge tally for this year stands at 7 (6 during the month of Covid). Who knows what it will be by the time I leave for the UK in April. I’m actually looking forward to being away from distractions and immersing myself in study in the rural English countryside.

Perhaps this will satisfy my addiction for travel, new places and creative inspiration. Not all addictions after all, are bad. And maybe they can be great gifts for us to feed our inner cravings for stories, connection and ways to see ourselves as happily a little bit ‘kooky’.

I’m raising my glass to all the kookiness in the world, and hope your Christmas has space in it for the weird and wonderful family, friends and relations you celebrate the day with. A celebration of inclusivity and diversity in all its manifestations .