A holiday spirit fills the air today, and so does snow, sleet and freezing rain. Nobody wants to work, including me, so let's keep today's sermon short and sweet. And funny.

If you're in the mood for a seasonal chuckle, I recommend that you click your way at once to the estimable Website of the respected London wine merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd, where you'll find a hilarious (and free) gift to the world's wine-loving community: A trio of humorous Christmas Greeting cards, animated wine-related greetings that you can fill in with a personal note and send to friends and family along the world ... as long as they've got E-mail and the necessary computer software to view Flash animations.

Wine snobs and the overly serious might find these cards on the irreverent side, but for the rest of us, the "Butlers Bubbly," "Big Kiss" and "Swinging Chandelier" cards are just the thing to torment our wine buddies and other long-suffering friends. Also available on the BBR site are four General Greetings Cards, suitable for year-round frivolity: "Iron Maiden's Birthday," "Sir Francis Drink's Embarrassing Moment," "Wake-Up Bugle Call" and "Flying High."

Again, this is a free treat for the wine-loving world from Berry Bros. & Rudd, a firm that has long impressed me with the quality and rich content of its Website, an Internet publication that goes far beyond mere commerce to present serious wine education ... and entertainment. Assuming that your computer is equipped to handle Flash animations, I think you'll enjoy their greeting cards, and more. To view the cards - and send them to your friends - click
http://www.bbr.com/GB/account/ecards.lml

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Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004
Copyright 2004 by Robin Garr. All rights reserved.