by Ben Hogwood, photo courtesy of Wikipedia (c) Dutch Simba

There was only one way Arcana could sign off for Christmas 2025 – with a tribute to the sadly departed and much-missed Chris Rea.

Before the inevitable finale, I wanted to share a couple of favourites from his considerable collection of excellent songs – this beauty from 1983:

The song Josephine has become something of a Balearic anthem, and is a sun-soaked beauty:

Speaking of sunshine, I had to include On The Beach, another dreamy song that proved versatile enough to be worked into a late 1990s trance hit:

And of course, finally, the ubiquitous Driving Home For Christmas, one of the staple Christmas songs with its wistfulness, charm…and patience!

With many thanks to all Arcana readers this year for your input and support, as well as gratitude for our fine writing contributions from John Earls and Richard Whitehouse. Arcana will return in the first full week of the New Year, but for now have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas, and all very best wishes for 2026 when it comes.

Ben Hogwood, editor, Arcana

Published post no.2,758 – Wednesday 24 December 2025