I was living in Dublin in 2007 and it was coming up to Christmas. Feeling festive, I wrote a song called "Christmas Bells". However, before I had time to play it to anybody, the season had passed - I must have been really busy buying presents - and the song was put aside.

The song slipped my mind until late 2008. I was preparing to move to New Zealand and I wanted to get a few things done before I left. I mentioned Christmas Bells to my friend, Ben, an awesome songwriter with a port-a-studio, and he volunteered (I might have threatened him; it's hazy now) to help me record it.

During this time I was packing, saying goodbye to friends and family, planning my last Irish gig, recording some other songs with Peter (more about that another day), and Ben had been touring in Europe. We found a day when we were both in Dublin and I brought my guitar to his house. Ben took out his port-a-studio, electric guitar and bass, and, together with Anna (alto-sax, vocals, xylophone) and a flying vocal visit from Aidan, we got to work on the song. And that was where we left it for a year.

In the meantime, I moved to Wellington, settled down and found some work. Another Christmas slipped by and nothing much happened with the song. Which brings me to Christmas 2009 and the Christmas Bells video. A couple of months ago, I met up with friends Nele, Laura, Doug, Allanah and Di in Otaki township (near Wellington) with a camcorder and Santa suit. Nele brought her film skills and the rest of us brought enthusiasm, snacks and occasional bursts of inspiration. Meanwhile, Peter was frantically working on a mix of the song back in Ireland. Within a few weeks, Nele finished the editing and Peter had completed the final mix. Christmas Bells: The Video was born.

So, here's to videos, helpful friends, reasonable rates, technical reliability, threaded tyres and Christmas Bells.

Happy Christmas! (less info)