I’ve been in a rather sentimental mood for the last few days. It’s the time of year, I suppose. For the elder members of society, it’s a time to reminisce about Christmas Past. And for crotchety old duffers like me, it’s when we cry “Humbug!” at an over-commercialised Christmas Present and try not to think about Christmas Future.

Then again, perhaps an article on The Conversation website is to blame. It suggested that sad songs can be a comfort in troubled times, and offered a Spotify playlist by way of illustration. At number three in that playlist was a spoken-word song called Billy’s Christmas Wish, which tells a truly heart-rending story. Listening to that soon destroyed all hope of finding the jolly Christmas spirit that was eluding me, once again, this year.

So I needed something to lift myself out of the doldrums. Then, hiding at the bottom of my list of songs to blog about, I found this one. You all know Simon & Garfunkel’s original version of Bridge Over Troubled Water. That was the song I always turned to in my university days when the blues came knocking. For a long time, I felt a cover would be sacrilege, but the one in this YouTube video is actually rather good. And the promise of youth that spills out from the musicians adds to the sense of optimism in the lyrics.

If a mischievous elf has stolen your bonhomie, too, let the thirteen-year-old Jadyn Rylee take you over the bridge of sighs to the land of reindeer and wonder that you were promised when you were little. I’ll meet you there in a week or so.