Christmas is a time when music comes to the fore for us all, young and old.

The sounds of Christmas carols evoke many memories of good and sad times.

The season of goodwill would not be the same without this musical backdrop to all the festivities and celebrations. But have you ever thought how dull life would be without music?

This applies no matter what your taste is. Most people are moved by some form of music.

Armies march to music, teenagers dance to it. Music is played at funerals, weddings and coronations.

Great entertainers perform to music. It is all around us. If you turn on the radio, chances are you will hear music.

If you walk through town you will hear music from a record store, a restaurant or somewhere. You can’t get away from it.

Most people don’t want to. They enjoy listening to Beethoven or Sinatra, Strauss or Chevalier, depending on their taste.

And, of course, music is big business. Millions of pounds change hands in the music world every year.

Stars appear overnight, make a fortune and fade out again, but there is always someone to take their place. Only the greats remain, never losing their popularity.

Music can soothe heartache, calm troubled minds. It can lift us when we’re down, soothe us when we’re agitated.

In church, it can raise our thoughts to God. It can sir us to sympathy, gear us up for battle. Indeed, ‘Music hath Chorus’

What of the makers of music? They are a very mixed group, ranging from the busker accordionist through pop singers to the great operatic stars.

Each have their following. The teenager is no less thrilled by her pop star idol than is the bejewelled lady in the diamond horseshoe at the ‘meet’ by the latest tenor from Italy.

There is no accounting for taste in music. Nowhere is it more true that one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

However true that may be, and no matter what our taste is, most or us would feel that life without music would be very dull indeed.

Happy Christmas listening to you all. Big enough to bridge any

In a recent edition of yuppie men’s magazine ‘Himself’, Cecil Driver’s Barber shop on Thorncastle St. Ringsend was voted among the top four barbers in Dublin.

In their listing, Cecil’s came first, the Natural Cut in Wicklow Street came second, followed by Regent Barbers in Fownes Street and Whetstone Hairdressers in Parliament Street in fourth place.
The shop, run by the ever popular Jim Driver, is an integral part of Ringsend village for many a long year.

Little did Jim’s late father, Cecil, realise that when he first opened on Ringsend Bridge in 1939 he would eventually make the No.1 spot in Dublin.

The article in ‘Himself’ says: “If you are searching for a neat and professional cut in a nostalgic setting, a trip to Ringsend will be worth the journey”.

The more things change the more they stay the same! Jim Driver, left, hard at work in his top-rated Barber Shop.