And I’m done. I’ve made it to Christmas Eve with a blog post every day, and plenty of hope for Christmas and the days ahead, I hope. Whatever 2021 holds for us, we can get through it with patience, trust and a ton full of hope… hope for a better world, hope for a peaceful life and hope, most of all, that we humans remember … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: Peaceful Blessings to You All.
Go on… are you reading this after Christmas? Catching up on your favourite blogs and pages because the last few days before Christmas were manic? So much to do, so much to prepare, and no time to stop or breathe or anything? Well then, this is a message for you. Remember, in all the rush and panic and shopping, baking, cleaning, crying (someone always cries … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: You Did Remember to Wrap a Little Something for You, Didn’t You?
I’m not planning to post anything between Christmas and New Year (Twixmas or Romjul, if you prefer) except perhaps a catch up post, so this post is really a sort of forward planning post, looking at what I intend to do next week and what I’m planning to start off with next year. I have some questions I need answering by any readers out there, … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: Start Planning for Next Year
Today, Monday 21st December 2020 is the Midwinter Solstice. It strikes me as weird that in some parts of the world it’s actually looked at as the first day of winter when, in my mind, it really does work better with early November as the start of winter and now being halfway between beginning and end. I like the link between the Sun and the … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: The Winter Solstice, a Moment to Stand Still and Look Ahead.
I will struggle to write this post, I know. You see, at the back of my happy and peaceful immediate, nuclear family there is a wider and far less peaceful extended family. Where my personal home is calm, happy and full of the joys of the season, there’s a rift in the extended family caused by a difference in belief. And I don’t think that’s … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: Advent 4 Peace.
On December 19th 1843, a small, slim volume of a book was published. With a red cloth cover, gilt edgings and priced at five shillings, the cost of printing had to be born by Dickens himself. His Publishers, shy after the woeful success (or lack of it) of Martin Chuzzlewit, refused to pay for the printing. Only 6,000 copies were printed in that first run. … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: The Spirits of All Three Shall Live Within Me
It’s one of those magical things about Christmas, that sometimes the things you remember most are not the things you’d expect to remember. I mean, I can remember very few presents that I was given as a child, and very little about what anyone else got, but I can remember memories of particular moments. I remember some of the big films that were on on … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020 : Get Board not Bored.
Happy Birthday to Beethoven! 250 years old today, and still looking absolutely fabulous on it! Today’s post is focusing on boosting your physical environment ready for Christmas. Today and tomorrow are just long enough away from Christmas itself to not yet have you completely in the holiday spirit and close enough that a darn good clean now will see you through until post-Christmas, when a … Continue reading Christmas of Hope 2020: Start With a Clean Slate
How to Hygge the British Way 