Kate Bush has called for the end of the war in Ukraine and voiced her support for striking NHS nurses in her annual Christmas message. In a post to her website, Bush wrote: “I don’t think any of us have ever known a year like this one. Life became incredibly frightening in the pandemic, but just as we think it might be over soon, it seems to keep going. It’s a bombardment – the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods.” “I wonder where on earth we’ll all be at the end of next year?” she continued. “I hope the war will end. I hope that the nurses will be in a position where they are appreciated – they should be cherished.” Bush also expressed her surprise at the strength of feeling that followed the death of the Queen. “Many of my friends were surprised at how upset they were at her death especially as we aren’t royalists, but I think her passing became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss that so many people had felt during the pandemic.” The trailblazing pop star also said she was still reeling from the resurgence of her 1985 single Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), which topped the UK singles chart – and charts around the world – after it was used in a pivotal scene in the latest season of Netflix series Stranger Things. “It was such a great feeling to see so many of the younger generation enjoying the song,” Bush said. “It seems that quite a lot of them thought I was a new artist! I love that!” Bush, who is 64, acknowledged that time passes faster with age, but added: “There’s no doubt that the speed of life is accelerating at a greater rate than ever.” Looking ahead to 2023, she emphasised the importance of optimism. “I keep thinking about hope and how it was the last to fly out of Pandora’s box. Sometimes, it’s all that seems to glow in the dark times we find ourselves in right now.” She shared the message alongside an image of a robin, which she also used in gifts to friends this year: “I felt that this humble little bird, which symbolises Christmas, could also symbolise hope in the context of Emily Dickinson’s beautiful words: ‘Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.’ “I‘d like to think that this Christmas when joy is so hard to find, hope will perch in all our souls. Merry Christmas!” Bush’s most recent album was 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. In 2014, she gave her first live performances since 1979 with her Before the Dawn residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. A new album is eagerly awaited.