Right, this needn't take terribly long; we need pause only to mention Sweeping the Nation's review of this chart.

(More: Chicken Shed, Vanilla, the Spice Girls, and what to do when there's 2mm of snow on the ground? Panic!)

Never ever has now gone 3-5-6-5-4-4, and would continue 4-2-1-2-2-4-5-3-7. Fifteen weeks in the top seven, all but two in the top five, means that it would easily shift a million. Thanks to the strength of the current opposition, and the weakness of the songs in January, the 85,000 sales in the week the song was number 1 was amongst its lowest to date.

The BBC's two singles now occupy places 3 and 2, Perfect day and the Teletubbies both dropping a place. The Spice Girls have their sixth hit single, and sixth number one single: Too much comes straight in at the top. We'll find out next week if it's the group's second festive number one.

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There is one perfectly good reason to ban christmas entirely: the crowds at the supermarket. Actually, no, that's not right. The crowds are fine. The problem is caused by a supermarket that was clearly designed by someone who had never visited the sign, a design that tries to squeeze 35 aisles into a 30-aisle store, antiquated checkout systems, checkout staff that have all the get-up-and-go of a dead llama, and people whose ability to pack their own shopping into bags is eclipsed only by their ability to stand in the middle of busy aisles gossiping, or abandoning their trolleys in such a way as to make it impossible to move. Restrict everyone to what they can carry in a hand-basket, that's the way forward.

May as well wrap this one up.

• festive countdown
• Decorations seen in any store (13 October)
• Sign saying "So Many Shopping Days" (1 November)
• Supermarket puts in-store mince pies on sale (10 November)
• Lights go on in city centre (10 November)
• Clearly identifiable record (15 November)
• Muzak (generic) (16 November)
• Decorations in someone's home (17 November)
• Festive oldie in chart (25 November)
• Cards sent (5 December)
• Merry Xmas Everyone (9 December)
• Fairytale Of New Amsterdam (9 December)
• Decorations up at work (10 December)
• Card received (14 December)
• Chestnuts Roasting... (19 December)
• Stop The Cavalry (22 December)

On the grounds that we're tuning out any festive song first recorded more than 20 years ago, or ever recorded by Mariah Cantsing, we'll have to find some new songs for next year.

Anyway, for those who care about such things, the Yuletide top-sellers list has been updated with this year's winners. Er, and last year's winners. Always bang up to date, here.

Stuff we never knew: the Poudlard express runs from Croix-de-roi to Bacon Powder Academy of Alchemy, Sorcery, and Associated Magic. Crikey, the spirit of Anthea Bell cuts both ways, with a joke that only works in back-translation. Genius!

Mark Steel on Mister Blair's latest imaginary friend. What, you thought we were going to get through a whole post without taking a pop at someone?

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And now, a look back to Correspondents Look Ahead, first broadcast on 30 December 2006. This year's panel:

• Paul Wood, defence correspondent, who said that the civil war in Iraq will begin with a Shi'ite uprising.
• Sarah Muckagee, environment, predicted that the FARCE will reclaim leadership on climate change, but not through the drunk.
• Caroline Wyatt, France correspondent, said that the presidential election would be close, but won by Mme. Royal.
• Justin Webb, Yankees, said that Dick Chainey would resign to be replaced by John McCain.
• James Robbins, diplomatic, suggested a shocking rise in the price of oil sowing the seeds of global recession.
• Steven Sackur, host, went for Menzies Campbell to be replaced as Lib Dem leader by Nick Clegg. Really, he did.

(More: predictions of rightness, wrongness, and hope-you-had-money-on-it-ness)

And that was Look Back at Correspondents Look Ahead to 2007. You can hear Correspondents Look Ahead to 2008 on Radio 4 at 8.02 on Friday night, repeated 1.10 Saturday afternoon, or on Listen Again. We'll be reviewing the programme around this time next year.

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30December

New national number ones, and other notes...
Finland: Päästänkö irti by Ismo Alanko Teholla.
Denmark: Nessun dorma makes the top 20, in a version by Paul Potts. It's the greatest success for the Britain's Got Talent (Honest) winner.
Norway: Glenn Lyse is the winner of this year's Norwegian Idle contest, and his song Days go by enters at number 1. We've not been able to determine if this is the Dirty Vegas song from a few years ago, or a new one - Delta Goodrem has been mentioned, but we can't prove it. Down at 20 comes Spike Jones with All I want for christmas is my two front teeth.
Estonia: Avril Lavigne, Hot.
Sweden: All for love, EMD.
Flanders: Into the top ten goes top francophone chanseuse Axelle Red and rap group Fixkes, with their song Over 't water. 4AD's latest singing Beiruit enter at 14 with Nantes.

And will you look at those festive records plummet! Wham 16-40, Band Aid, 24-57. Wizzard, 18-62. Slade, 20-63. Andy Williams, 21-64. Shakin' Stevie, 22-71. Killers, 34-74. Chris Rea, 33-77. Shaun the Sheep shears off 27-116, Filo and Peri go 39-70, and Malcolm Middleton leaves the entire top 200 from position 31.

A huge pile of old songs come back to the top 75; Ruby is the greatest beneficiary, moving 108-38, Rehab and Gimme more make 42 and 43, Mika has three songs between 30 and 50, and Chasing cars is back at 50. Fastest climber outside the 40 is for the Foo Fighters' The pretender, back up 33 to 41; follow-up Long road to ruin bounces 20 to 51. Most of the other songs performed on Top of the Pops see significant bounces. Kayne West's highest new entry (at, er, 69) has been available on downloads for the past three months, and will be the next promoted track.

Thirty-place climbs for the Plain White Ts (67-33), the first Scouting for Girls song (66-35; the follow-up moves 28-26), for Amy Whingebag's Back to black (62-30), for the Hoosiers' Worried about rain (56-25), and the fastest climber is from Kayne West, Stronger bounces 59-24. Three from Rihanna this week: Hate that I love you reaches a new peak at 22, Umbrella climbs 20 to 18, and Don't stop the music returns to 16. Two for Kylie Minogue, the Hoosiers, Scouting for Girls, Amy Whingebag, and Timberyokel gets two credits, though he's only really responsible for one.

And two in the top 20 for the Sugababes, who suffer the minor indignity of seeing new song Change drop 13-17, overtaken by About you now, moving 19-12. It looks like being the smallest hit for the Babes in some years. A shame. Almost overlooked in the shuffle this week are a new peak for Nickelback's utterly tedious Rockstar, now up to 15; and the one new entry in the top 40, Booty Love's Some kinda rush at 29. There's no missing the plummets for Mariargh Cantsing, 6-20, or for Ketevan and Eva, 2-14.

In the top 10, the Hoosier's newer song, Goodbye Mr rain, moves 29-10, neatly cancelling out the last two months of reversals. Pogues drop to 9 in what (so far as we're concerned) will be their last Yuletide of being entertaining. T2's Heartbroken moves 11-8, the second-highest position it's occupied. Two-place rebounds for the Slappers, Whingebag and Take That. Timberyokel's Apologise moves 10-4, Soulja Boy returns to his peak at 3, and Leona Lewis spends her tenth week in the top 3, this week up to 2. Leon Jackson remains at number 1, but on flimsy sales.

Leona remains top of the album chart, with Pestside holding at 2, and Take That back up to 3. We should also note Cascada's top 10 entry with Perfect Day; the dance act has two top tenners this year, a rare feat. The sales have benefitted Mark Ronson (43-24), Kaiser Chiefs (60-31), Ediors (69-46); hurt are the light-classical albums, particularly Paul Potts (19-43), Connie Talbot (49-78), and Teatro (51-88).

 2  3 Leona Lewis - Burning love
 9  4 Pogues / Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New Amsterdam
10 29 Hoosiers - Goodbye Mr. A
11 14 Alicia Keys - No one
12 19 Sugababes - About you now
13 12 Cascada - What hurts the most
14  2 Ketevan Melua / Eva Cassidy - What a wonderful world
17 13 Sugababes - Change
25 56 Hoosiers - Worried about Ray
26 28 Scouting For Girls - Elvis ain't dead
31 36 Bloc Party - Flux
32 57 Mika - Happy ending
35 66 Scouting for Girls - She's so lovely
37 35 Amy MacDonald - This is the life
48 re Mika - Grace Kelly
49 75 Mika - Relax take it easy
53 45 Freemasons - Uninvited
55 52 Feist - 1234
64 21 Andy Williams
  - It's the most wonderful time of the year
68 re Robyn - With every heartbeat
70 39 Filo and Peri - Anthem

.. 48 Jona Lewie - Stop the cavalry

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30December

This week, we've been watching and hearing...

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30December

A bizarre idea from Egypt: they propose to copyright the image and dimensions of ancient monuments such as the pyramids and Sphinx, and charge royalties for places that use them as promotional gimmicks. The initial aim is a hotel in the meadows of Nevada. Just so long as they don't start asking for Cleopatra's Needle back, or the rest of her sewing kit...

The monarchy is to be abolished. The current figurehead, feted by locals as a direct descendent of a deity, will step down in the new year, as it is the will of the people. More from Nepal.

Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistan prime minister, was killed by a suicide bomber. Mrs. Bhutto, the leader of an opposition party, was addressing a rally in advance of elections scheduled for 8 January. The other opposition leader called for the election to be cancelled.

We regret to report the death of Hugh Massingberd, obituaries editor of the Daily Telegraph.

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30December

A front passed on Monday evening, depositing about 15mm of rain, and introducing a south-westerly airflow that persisted all week. In spite of the wind direction, there was comparatively little rain.

24 Mo cloud, rain late   3/10, 3.5
25 Tu rain o/n, sun      5/ 6,12.0
26 We sun to cloud       2/ 9
27 Th sunny spells       9/12
28 Fr cloud, rain pm     7/10, 4.5
29 Sa sun to cloud, wind 4/ 8, 2.0
30 Su cloud              5/ 8

Rainfall in December: 72mm; monthly average: 67mm

Degree heating days: 307½
2006-7: 125/499
2005-6: 242½/684
2004-5: 245/556
2003-4: 290½/754

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