Sing-a-long a sailor - HMS Ocean crew get into the festive spirit

Go on, put yourself in the holiday season mood

You know how some Brits have something of a reputation for being...er...eccentric and not afraid to have a laugh at their own expense?

Well here's something that surely backs up the that often-held view.

(screenshot for HMS Ocean video)

It's lip dubbing - you know the combination of lip syncing and audio dubbing to make a music video - British style.

More specifically it's the crew of HMS Ocean who put together a video to celebrate their anticipated return to the UK on December 9 - just in time for Christmas.

The men and women aboard the ship were only due to be away for seven weeks when they went on a deployment exercise with other nations but that turned into seven months away from loved ones as they "were diverted to Libya and further operations."

Anyway here they all are in a lip-dubbed video of US singer Mariah Carey's version of "All I want for Christmas is you"; four minutes of fun and feel-good sing-a-long.

It has apparently already been featured on US breakfast time TV and a thrilled Carey tweeted the video and thanked the Royal Navy

And Carey's reaction? Well she's thrilled and said as much in a Tweet she sent to the Royal Navy.

"This is the best thing I've ever seen," she wrote. "You guys just made my day! Happy Happy Christmas!!! x0x0 to the troops."

Now here's a challenge. Can any of you - even the most curmudgeonly - not to at least raise a smile at some point during this video.

Ready?

Go on. you know you want to...join in.

Sarkozy inspires hip-hop "save-the-world" video

Early into his "reign of office" there was a rapping video dedicated to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, featuring him as "The King of Bling Bling" which you might remember.

While that clip focussed on Sarkozy's apparent love of "show", the latest music video to hit the Net and starring the French president is somewhat more sober - at least in terms of content.

screenshot from video

It was made by the team of the weekly television programme, "Tout le monde il est beau" on Canal +.

It's a show, hosted by the excellent Bruce Toussaint which, in its own words "revisits the previous week's news stories". In other words it's no holds barred when it comes to poking fun at whenever and where ever it deems appropriate.

In its most recent edition it took Sarkozy's speech at the United Nations in New York last week when he pressed for "a global tax on financial transactions to fund development aid" set it to the music of Alicia Key's monster 2009 hit "Empire state of mind" with reworked lyrics and came up with something described by the French site Le Post as a special "New York hip-hop and bling-bling" version.



The latest musical clip is just one in a long line of those featuring French politicians that have made the Net since Sarkozy came to power in May 2007.

There was the Lipdubbing bandwaggon which the Youth wing of the party so memorably jumped on last year with its video featuring government ministers lip-synching to "Tous ceux qui veulent changer le monde" ("Everyone who wants to change the world"). You can watch it again here should you wish.

Before that a French rapper offered up an ode, or rather a love song, to the former justice minister Rachida Dati just as she was preparing to leave the government and take up her post at the European parliament.

And when Sarkozy reshuffled his government in January 2009 there was another somewhat irreverent video to "celebrate".

All the while of course there has been the support and participation - musically speaking - of a real singer in the shape of France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

She most recently brought her own very special universe to rework David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners" - à la Carla.

"If music be the food of love, play on" wrote William Shakespeare in the opening lines of "Twelfth Night".

Well if the Bard were around today perhaps he would adapt his well-known quote a little to comment on French political life and the fun many seem to have in setting politics to music.