An opportunity to spout, how glorious. With spell check and slight mania on my side.I bring you my first edition of the weekly column that I always secretly dreamed of. Well, this week has been another battle of lightness and darkness. Waking up in the pitch black (around 5am), broadcasting from underground, napping in the unfamiliar lightness of the day to arise in yet more darkness...

But, smoochiness and cheer will always prevail at this time of year, though I don’t think I’m the type to get involved (the rest of the year I generally like to think I’m not really made for being over-excited about Christmas). But with only a few days to go, my heart is thawing fast. I just went to the loo at work and Fearne Cotton was playing a Macy Gray rendition of ‘Winter Wonderland’ on her Radio 1 show (the radio is played in the hallways 24 hours a day) and I was loving it… Singing and bopping along at the soap dispenser. Amongst the panic stricken present buying there was also extra loving and good vibes during the weekend. Last Saturday I went to my old friend Cynthia’s house, she is a stylist who I assisted for a couple of years. She’s been styling the likes of, well, everyone & for everything forever

When I was her assistant, the work was pretty relentless, whether it was working on a nineteen hour music video shoot for a Russian popstar, getting control pants covered in Swarovski crystals for twenty backing dancers, sourcing options of earrings for girl bands, spray painting brand new YSL boots, chasing up catwalk pieces that have been fed-exed from fashion PRs in New York, trust me the list goes on… but I’ll spare you. I loved working with Cynth, we’d crack up with laughter all the time, she was a fantastic person to learn from as I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as hardworking, plus I enjoyed the tales she had from the experiences of  being a stylist for a decade. She’d tell me about shoots in the Maldives for Sleaze magazine and accidentally walking into Michael Jackson’s dressing room at the World Music awards (actually, that just reminded me about once we were working with The New Young Pony Club, the year that their album ‘Fantastic Playroom’ was nominated for a  Mercury award. During the ceremony Cynthia, Lou Hayter - the keyboard player from NYPC - and I got lost and wandered into the room where the panel of judges were eating dinner and debating who should win!) Anyway, Cynthia has since become a treasured friend and this weekend she had a sale, selling tons of the clothes that she’s accumulated over the past ten years (we’re talking rails & rails of dreams) from floor length sequined Ashish numbers to Marc Jacobs boots. Needless to say, an excited brood of friends and I headed down to her living room-cum-boutique (in between Christmas shopping for other people of course), danced around to Princ, with gin and tonics, tried bits on and shopped  (think of a fashionable Lambrini girls advert!). It was too much fun… One friend bought a Gaultier Junior (an early 90’s Jean Paul Gaultier concession) corseted, butterscotch denim dress from 1990 for £40 and I was elated to purchase a classic white shirt from Unconditional for a tenner, plus (LOOK AWAY NOW MUM- I MEAN IT) a skinny pair of Balenciaga jeans as an extra Christmas treat for my mum, also for £10!! Most importantly, the best thing about us all messing up the lounge and spending is that every penny Cynthia has made, she’s going to spend on arts and crafts materials and take to Tulum this Christmas, a town in Mexico that is special to her, for the local children. She’ll probably be there whilst you are reading this. Any items not sold have been distributed between personally chosen charity shops. Keep an eye out in North East London Charity Shops for some wicked bits. Maybe it could be good to donate a bag of things that you don’t want anymore whilst you’re there. Overall an inspirational way to declutter and begin a new era.

Right I’m off to stuff my face, because you just can… and prepare for my short trip to Dubai where I’m flying out on Christmas eve to visit my little sis (she’s 21 btw), who’s just moved out there to work… I’m super proud of her, she only graduated this year and decided to take the brave and independent step to move to foreign lands on her own. But she did ring me and say this “Urm, Gemma, everything’s going great here. But I’ve just realised that I don’t actually have enough money to come home for Christmas and I’m going to be all alone! Pleeeeaase come!”.. With a tax bill looming in Jan I was reluctant to say the least, but found flights that were slightly cheaper if you’re under 26 on www.statravel.com . So it’ll be my first time ever in Dubai and I arrive at 7am Christmas morning! It’ll be the two of us and if I’m honest I don’t really have any spending money. Not sure exactly what we’ll do, but I’m planning some sort of sherry drinking on the beach? Plus I’ve only got four days off,  before I’ve got to be back on the Breakfast show. Fleeting, festive fun?

Gem Xx

Bag's from Cynthia's decade have been donated to Mind, 11 church St, Stoke Newington N16 ONX and Marie Curie Cancer Care 318-320 St Pauls Road, Islington, London N1 2LF

 *Gemma presents the BBC 1Xtra Breakfast show with Trevor Nelson weekday mornings between 7-10am. www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra