the birth ofjesus, who came to serve the whole world, showing us, by his own example, how to love our neighbour as ourselves. throughout the year, my family have witnessed how people of all ages are making a difference to their communities. this is all the more important at a time of real hardship for many, when we need to build on existing ways to support others less fortunate than ourselves. because, out of god's providence, we are blessed with much and it is incumbent on us to use this wisely. however, service to others is but one way of honouring the whole of creation, which, afterall, is a manifestation of the divine. this is a belief shared by all religions. to care for this creation

is a responsibility owned by people of all faiths and of none. we care for the earth for the sake of our children's children. during my lifetime, i've been so pleased to see a growing awareness of how we must protect the earth and our natural world, as the one home which we all share. ifind great inspiration now from the way so many people recognise this, as does the christmas story, which tells us that angels brought the message of hope, first, to shepherds. these were people who lived simply amongst others of god's creatures. those close to nature were privileged that night. and at a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the world, i pray that we can also do all in our power to protect each other. the words ofjesus seem

more—than—ever relevant, "do to others as you would have them do to you." such values are universal, drawing together our abrahamic family of religions, and other belief systems, across the commonwealth and wider world. they remind us to imagine ourselves in the shoes of our neighbours and to seek their good as we would our own. so, on this christmas day, my heart and my thanks go to all who are serving one another, all who are caring for our common home and all who see and seek the good of others, not least the friend we do not yet know. in this way, we bring out the best in ourselves. i wish you a christmas of peace on earth and goodwill to all, today and always.

# while shepherds watched their flocks by night # all seated on the ground # the angel of the lord came down # and glory shone around all: # "fear not," said he # for mighty dread # had seized their troubled mind # "glad tidings of greatjoy i bring # "to you and all mankind # "to you in david's town this day # "is born of david's line # "a saviour who is christ the lord # "and this shall be the sign

younger children: # "the heavenly babe # "you there shall find # "to human view displayed # "all meanly wrapped in swathing bands # "and in a manger laid" unison with descant: # "all glory be to god on high # "and on the earth be peace # "goodwill henceforth from heaven to men # "begin and never cease!"#

good evening. for most of us, it's been a cloudy, mild christmas, with some rain at times. but officially across the uk, it has been a white christmas because in the north of scotland, especially over higher ground, we have seen some snow. this pipeline of cloud has brought wet weather for quite a few of us, but with some cold air digging into northern scotland, that's where we have had some of the white stuff. and actually, that cold air will be pushing a little bit further southwards as we head through the evening and into the start of boxing day. so through this evening and tonight, much of the rain will clear. we'll see some showers through northern ireland, northern england and some wintry showers continuing in the north of scotland. temperatures for some here will drop well below freezing, so there could well be some icy stretches. and further south, certainly

chillier than it was last night. and then as we head into boxing day, well, we should see quite a lot of sunshine. this is a decent day to get out and about for a boxing day stroll. some showers in northern scotland — in fact, some of these wintry still over higher ground, maybe with the odd rumble of thunder later in the day. at the same time, through the afternoon, cloud and rain will spread in across the south—west of england and the channel islands. but on the whole, a chillier day than we had today. and then through boxing day night, well, we see cloud and heavy rain spilling in from the south—west. it'll start to turn really windy, with gales around western coasts. and this leads us into what will be a very wet and windy wednesday. if you do have any travel plans on wednesday, bear in mind we'll see outbreaks of heavy rain driving northwards and eastwards. there could well be enough rain to give some flooding. it is going to be very windy. we'll see gales in places, gusts around some of the coasts up to 50 or 60 miles per hour, but pretty gusty for inland spots as well. and it won't only be wind and rain. snow could cause some issues, particularly over high ground in the northern half of scotland.

above 200 metres, we could see 15 centimetres of snow or possibly even a little bit more. so this is not a great recipe if you are travelling on wednesday. it will be turning milder, though, again in the south — highs of 12 or 13 degrees. and then we head towards the end of the week, it looks pretty unsettled. various weather systems working from the west towards the east, giving outbreaks of rain. perhaps just a sprinkling of wintriness mixing in, some cold air trying to dig its way in from the north. in fact, it does look a little bit chillier for many of us as we head towards the end of the year. that's all from me. happy christmas.

hello, i'm john wilson, welcome to this cultural life, the radio 4 podcast in which i talk to leading creative figures about the key moments of their life and the most important cultural works that have fired their imagination

and had a profound impact on their own art. my guest is carlos acosta, the cuban born ballet star who over a 30 year career is now regarded as one of the greatest dancers of all time, becoming the first black principal of the royal ballet and set new standards of grace and athleticism in theatres around the world. having retired from the classical stage, he set up his own cuban dance company, and is also a director of the berlin royal ballet. welcome. let's start in cuba, with your family, your upbringing. a happy childhood? very happy, i must say, although in the 80s in cuba, our family was i would say, it was poorer than most families but still there was a big big sense of community. it was a good time for cuba — anybody could participate, do everything that society offers.