So we had the build-up to Halloween lasting the whole of October, swiftly followed by the countdown to Christmas starting.

And in case that wasn’t enough for the retail industry, we had Singles Day on November 11 – a day to spoil yourself, which originated in the land of the little emperors – and have Black Friday to look forward to tomorrow.

So it’s no surprise to learn there’s been a backlash against all this rabid commercialism and that Copenhagen Municipality is endorsing four days of recycling events over the coming long weekend.

Call it a Green Friday if you will, leave your devices in a drawer, and remember what it was like before Apple changed our lives forever.

Disconnect, reconnect
The city’s cultural centre Kulturhuset Indre By, in association with environmentally-inclined Teknik- og Miljøforvaltningen, are laying on a wide range of events designed for you to disconnect with modern life and reconnect with the simple pleasures of old.

It could be finding a book to read – you remember those things? As Baldrick said: “It’s a big papery thing tied up with string” – or sourcing an old film that isn’t deemed worthy of inclusion in the classic section on Netflix alongside ‘Gremlins’.

Alternatively, perhaps you have stuff cluttering up your wardrobe you don’t use anymore, or fancy making yourself some new clobber, while spinning and telling a few old yarns?

A crash course in recycling 
And who doesn’t want to know more about recycling, and how to get the most out of  those horrendous children’s plastic castles that seemed such a good idea at the time.

Well, they’re not miracle workers: dumping them in a ‘hard plastic’ container is probably your only solution.