Advent Day Four

Hello Friends!

Today I'm continuing with a Christmas tradition that originated in Great Britain called Boxing Day.  Contrary to the pugilistic sounding name, it has nothing to do with the sport of boxing and everything to do with giving.  It is celebrated with a Bank Holiday on 26th December.  Should it fall on a weekend, then the Monday after the 26th is taken in lieu.  We don't give up our days off that easily!  Besides, a recovery day after Christmas is not a bad idea.

Boxing Day is also the Feast Day of Saint Stephen who is widely believed to be the first Christian martyred saint.  King Stephen I was stoned to death and became the first martyred Saint.  His attributes are a pile of stones on his head.  He is the patron saint of stonemasons.  We might know him more from the brief mention of him in the Christmas Carol "Good King Wenceslas" who trod out on the Feast of Stephen.

Now synonymous with saving money in the Boxing Day Sales that rival the American Black Friday for bargains for the bargain hunters and revenue for the store owners, the origins of Boxing Day are found in the tradition of giving money from Alms Boxes to the poor of the parish.  The earliest records indicate this may have been happening since before the Middle Ages through the practice of placing Alms Boxes in churches to collect money for distribution amongst the poor.  The Oxford English Dictionary states that in the mid 1700s December 26th was the day during which employers and customers of tradespeople and employees would bestow upon them a "Christmas Box" of a gift or gratuity.

Growing up in a working class family, we always valued an extra day off to spend family time together.  Boxing Day for us was an altogether more relaxed day than Christmas Day.  To begin with, we luxuriated with a rare lie in.  No need to rush to get up.  Breakfast was often followed with lounging in the front room by a roaring fire listening to music on our newly acquired record player.  I might play with my new toys, or more likely I would be reading one of my new books.  If the weather was good, Daddy and I might take the dogs for a brisk walk returning home to hot coffee spiked with a seasonal nip of whisky, or we'd have a warming glass of Bols Cherry Brandy with an omnipresent mince pie.

Despite a house full of food enough to feed a small village for a month, lunch was a simple dish of fried potato and swede cakes along side a slice of turkey or beef and a fried egg.  A dish of left over Christmas pudding and brandy sauce followed.  Then, weather permitting we would all go out together for a family walk for a few miles trying to walk off the excesses of indulgence.  If the weather was not kind, then we would simply relax in front of the fire before the sumptuous Boxing Day Tea emerged from the kitchen. There was always a salad for Boxing Day, for back then the salad vegetables we take for granted were expensive and not easy to find, especially in December.  Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and spring onions were served alongside slices of cold meat and a selection of pickles.  I always looked forward to the sandwiches, bursting with turkey, stuffing and Branston Pickle.  

Then, as if we were not already nearing bursting point, the trifle arrived at the table.  A cut glass dish that had belonged to my great grandmother glistened and gleamed filled with the jewelled colours of each layer of sherry soaked sponge cake, strawberry jelly, golden peaches, rich yellow custard topped with thick, luscious whipped cream, slivered almonds and Maraschino cherries. Yet more cream was available, pouring cream in a jug for those who needed it.  Deep sighs went out around the room, belts and waistbands loosened as we all made room for trifle.

For anyone who was still hungry, the iced fruit cake was sitting on the sideboard.

Vintage cake decorations

At some point during the day, on the news mention was made of those who had braved the weather and queued in their hundreds waiting for the Boxing Day Sales to commence so they could be first through the doors in order to bag a bargain.  For us, the rest of the day was spent lounging in front of the television, playing board games, and trying very hard not to go to sleep before bed time!

Until tomorrow . . . 

Advent Day Three

Hello Friends!

Let's talk about the Christmas Siege.

If there's one thing I remember about Christmas as a child growing up in Wales {if you don't count the gathering crescendo of uncontrollable excitement culminating in being overwhelmed with anticipation by Christmas morning} it's the months of preparation and the steady flow of food that arrived in the house throughout December.  Enough food to feed a small village for about a month.

Looking back on it now, it was crazy overkill, and people still do it today, only today the sad fact is the debt that will be incurred by so many as the buying frenzy commences.  Thankfully, not going into debt was part of my mother's planning, for there were Clubs and there were the boxes of money in the sideboard.

I wonder if our predisposition to stocking up for Christmas stems back to some primordial subconscious state of mind when winter was a lean and hungry time for all?

Every week, money was divided up between the boxes in the sideboard, each one being designated to a different area of housekeeping, for example, a box for electricity, another for the coal merchant, the Rates and Water Rates had a designated box, so did the milkman, and so on.  It was one way of saving for paying bills or simply setting money aside for a purpose.  One such box was marked CHRISTMAS and that one held my childlike attention the most.  Into this box went the spare money that would pay for Christmas fripperies that were not covered by clubs.

To that end I had better explain what a Club was.  Most shops in the village had a Christmas Club.  The Butcher, every Greengrocer, the Tobacconist, the Newsagent.  Come one, Come all!  It was a useful way of saving to make sure a good Christmas was had without going into debt in January as it would all be paid for from the Clubs.  Each shop kept a ledger and each customer who opted in to the Club had a page in the ledger and they also had a little booklet or card which they kept in their wallet.  Once a week, a few spare pennies or shillings was handed over to the shopkeeper who documented the exchange on your page in the ledger and marked off your card.  Over the course of the year, hopefully enough money would be paid into the various Clubs to pay for Christmas in full.  

Even as a child, I had my own Club in the Tobacconist and the Newsagents where I would put pennies from my Pocket Money aside each week to buy gifts of cigarettes and chocolates for my parents and grandmother.  Of course, adult supervision was needed at the Tobacconist!

And so the year went by, until mid November, when the window displays in shops took on a seasonal, festive feel.  Sprigs of holly decorated boxes of the exotic fruits that we could only get at Christmas: satsumas, clementines, dates, figs, nuts of all kinds still in the shell.  Garlands of tinsel pinned, shimmering onto the shelves at the grocers that were filling up with seasonal baking ingredients, luxury foods and delicacies, signs encouraging people to order their turkeys and beef appeared in the butcher's window, but most exciting of all was the Newsagent's windows.  Overnight, as if fairies had been at work through the dark hours when all good children are in bed, the windows were transformed with toys and books of every sort imaginable, and selection boxes of our favourite sweet treats. The following weeks were pure torture as we walked past the windows twice a day on our way to and home from school, stopping to stare and point in fervent hope the doll or that book would be under the tree on Christmas morning.

I fear I have waffled on enough!  Yet I have not even begun to address the Seige.  If you are still awake, why not refresh your tea and get another slice of cake?

In October boxes of British grown apples had arrived and were put into storage in the bottom of wardrobes in the bedrooms.  Four or five large, earthenware crocks filled to the brim with pickled onions were put up in the pantry.  Tinned hams, tins of red salmon, and rows of tinned fruit also lined the pantry shelves.  Some time earlier, dried fruits had been soaked for a fortnight in a mixture of spirits, such as brandy, rum, and port had been carefully combined with many eggs, pounds of butter, sugar, and flour as the large 12" square slab of fruit cake was baked for many hours before being wrapped in tin foil and fed with brandy every week until the week before Christmas.  That foil wrapped beauty was also in the pantry.  

By the end of November, things stepped up a gear as Clubs were cashed in, and the money saved was spent on every possible confection, luxury, sweet treat and savoury one could imagine!  These delicacies began to arrive in the house!  One box of chocolates was not enough, oh, no! we seemed to have one box of everything, marching into the house like a one sided Noah's Ark of confectionery. The boxes came in one by one!  Rose and Lemon Turkish Delight, Newbury Fruits, After Eights {even though we knew Aunty Lily would always give a box of After Eights, we still bought one} boxes of all three flavours of Matchmakers, Milk Tray, Quality Street, Roses, Black Magic, Dairy Box, Terry's All Gold, Rose and Violet Creams, soft caramels, hard caramels, toffees, Neapolitans, and more. There was always a tin of Scottish All Butter Shortbread, and a large tin of assorted fancy biscuits, and a box or two of Kunzel cakes.  A chocolate Yule Log appeared, complete with plastic robin.  Then came the exotic nuts in their shells, Brazils, hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, and more, to be joined with the even more exotic dried figs, dates, and glace fruits, along with sugared almonds, cherries soaked in brandy and enrobed in rich dark chocolate {fruit or confection?} chocolate liqueurs,  Ah! Chocolate liqueurs, the perfect segue to the imminent arrival, a few days before Christmas, of the order from Bennett's of Fishguard.  Cases of wine, bottles of brandy, sherry and port lined the hallway along with cans and bottle of lager and beer, and a bottle of Campari, Dubonnet and Martini Bianco, as well as Babycham and Cherry B, not long followed by the order from Corona of lemonade, dandelion and burdock, ginger beer, cherryade and cream soda.  Things began to get tight as treats vied with one another for space to be stored!  Two days before Christmas, the perishable foodstuffs such as fresh vegetables, satsumas and pears, sprouts, extra milk, cream and cheeses arrived to be stored in the cool of the pantry, and then on Christmas Eve the turkey, beef and pork roasts arrived from the butcher.

Christmas Eve found me in bed, nearly being sick with excitement, while my mother and grandmother  set out the dishes of sweets on the sideboard, and filled the Lazy Susan with figs and dates, Turkish delight and more, conveniently placed on the end table by the sofa.  Quality Street and Roses were put in dishes to be offered to callers.  The boxes of "better" chocolates were kept in the sideboard, out of sight to be shared by the family.  They would then move operations into the kitchen and begin the preparation of enough vegetables for a week, and starting the daunting task of cooking the turkey, beef and pork.  Somewhere in all of this my mother had marzipaned and iced the fruit cake, which now sat in pride of place on the sideboard in the front room, baked dozens of mince pies, and for the grand finale of tea on Boxing Day, a huge bowl of trifle.

This picture was repeated in nearly every home.  Houses stocked to the gills with luxuries enough to keep you going until Easter, or, as I called it, The Two Day Siege.  A stranger, unaccustomed to our ways, would never have guessed the shops would be open again on December 27th!  Heaven forbid  came a caller to your home and you didn't have something to offer by way of a drink and some food!

While all this was going on, children were opening their Advent Calendars, counting down the days that passed by so slowly.  Today, I have cut back, my house is no longer stocked up for a siege, but I still honour the tradition of an Advent Calendar.

Here are today's photos

Until tomorrow . . . 

Advent Day Two

Hello Friends!

A small sherry and a mince pie, I don't mind if I do!  

If there's one foodstuff synonymous with this time of year, it has to be mince pies.  Those tiny morsels of deliciousness, rich, moist, lightly spiced dried fruits coated in an alcohol based sugary syrup, encased in light shortcrust pastry, crisp, full of flavour and just delicious.  Two or three bites of heaven {if you like them, of course} They are everywhere, on menus in coffee shops and cafes, miniature ones served with your coffee after dinner, every supermarket bakery counter, and boxes of them piled high in every grocery department and shop from the corner shop to Fortnum and Mason's.  They even make it acceptable, even respectable, to have a glass of sherry mid morning as long as it's with a mince pie!

My Mum made the best mince pies ever!  I wish I'd paid more attention to her recipe, but I didn't so I just have to wing it. She never wrote it down.  There are those who will make their mince pies completely from scratch, there are those who will buy them ready to eat, and there are those, like me, who {although I used to bake mine from scratch with homemade mincemeat} do self-assembly with bought pastry and a jar of mincemeat.  

If you are looking for something a little more healthy, then pop on over to Jan's blog The Low Carb Diabetic and check out her recipe HERE.  Her blog is worth a visit anyway, not only for this recipe but for all the information, recipes, trivia and more.

The origins of this festive treat go back many centuries to the late Middle Ages when the use of vinegar or wine, sugar, and spices, such as nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon, were used to mask the smells and taste of meat that was past it's best. Rancid or not, it wasn't wasted and this prolonged it's usefulness.  Gradually, the sweet nature of this dish saw the slow progression from savoury main dishes to the dessert course.  By Victorian days, the meat element had all but disappeared, having been replaced by apples, and the only nod to its origins was from the addition of shredded beef suet to the mixture.  These days, beef suet has mostly been replaced by vegetarian suet which is readily available on the baking ingredients aisle of the supermarket.

Go into any supermarket and you will be confronted by every kind of mince pie imaginable from traditional, all pastry ones, to ones topped with streusel or crumble, soft icing, marzipan, and more.  The dried fruits now include cranberries and blueberries.  You can soak your fruit in any spirit based alcohol you like.  Rum, whisky, or brandy are always popular choices.  This year I've even seen plum and port mincemeat.

My favourite way to eat a mince pie?  Gently warmed, lift the lid and spoon in a dollop of brandy butter!  Slowly savoured sipping a mug of hot Russian Caravan tea!

I'm sure the sweet little bear on my Christmas Cherished Teddies plate would love one too!

*

Do you like mincepies? Do you have a favourite? What is your favourite way to eat them?

Behind door number two of the Advent Calendar

This calendar is illustrated by Lucy Grossmith and printed by Woodmansterne.

Until tomorrow . . .

Advent Day One

Hello Friends!

Today is Sunday December 1st and the beginning of Advent which, in the majority of Christian denominations, marks the beginning of the approach to Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus.  It is a period of preparation and Advent begins officially on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which this year also happens to be December 1st.

It is marked in many ways, traditionally with the lighting of a candle each Sunday, or these days the tradition of an Advent Calendar, where paper doors open to reveal a religious text or image, but in recent years contain a small gift of chocolate, or for the absurdly rich and wealthy, whatever you can afford, such as one of Harper's Bazaar's beauty Advent calendars, with full size beauty products at prices to  make your eyes water.  Maybe you prefer the offerings from Selfridges, to show but a few.  Do Google your favourite store, they all have them, filled with everything from chocolate to cheese, or tea and coffee, Bonne Maman jam, wine, beauty products, ink, stationery, craft supplies, Lego mini kits,  You name it, there's an Advent Calendar to fit the bill. 

Like so many of our Christmas traditions, Advent calendars seem to have originated in Germany, but there are many traditions associated with Advent which vary from country to country and within branches of the Christian faith.  I could be here until next Christmas if I looked at them all!

Here is this year's Advent calendar,

and behind door number one . . . 

In Scandinavian countries, an Advent wreath is popular, with one of four candles lit each Sunday in Advent.  In the 1970's, the Blue Peter Advent Crown was all the rage with children in the UK.  Health and Safety were not an issue back in the day, with flammable tinsel, candles and fire in the mix!

this image is from the Daily Mail . . . 

In true Blue Peter style, here's one I made earlier instructions!

Blue Peter Advent Crown

Until tomorrow . . . 

Heads Up . . .

Hello Friends!

Tomorrow, December is upon us! 

I shall be attempting a short, daily blog for Advent.  I'll post the Advent calendar image of the day, rather Treasure will post the Advent image of the day, and there'll be some old photos reshared, and a sprinkling of Christmas related snippets.

Typing is not easy so they will probably be short, but I wanted you to know there will be a small deluge of posting from me.  Call it the Blogging equivalent of the Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið   I know many of you appreciate the difficulty I am having keeping up with this blog and I am grateful for your patience and support.  I truly am.

I hope you'll drop by to see what I'm sharing!

See you tomorrow!

Stay safe, stay warm,

Debbie x

You've Got To Laugh . . .

Hello Friends!

You've got to laugh or you will cry.  Couriers get either a bad rap or a good rap.  It varies from region to region, and from courier to courier.  Some can't fault Evri, others think they are the worst ever, repeat for Yodel, DHL, DHS, UPS, Royal Mail etc.

On the whole, in my region Evri are good, at least on the ground.  Our Evri courier is of the sort who will go the extra mile.  We all think very highly of him.  If there is a problem, it is generally caused by the system, not him.  The only time things go radically wrong with Evri is when he goes on his  holibobs and we get a relief courier who simply hasn't got a clue.  Poor chap spends a week sorting out the mess made by the relief courier when he comes back to work after his time off.

Recently, problems have begun to happen in the system.  I've had a few issues with parcels going astray, but today takes the biscuit.

Yesterday I ordered some goods from a major store and I paid extra to get next day delivery.  I received the usual confirmation emails and sat back to await my delivery.  Eventually, much later than usual, I received an email telling me my parcel was out for delivery and would be with me between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. Great!  I left the porch light on.  I waited . . . and I waited . . .  and I waited , , , 

No parcel.

Then, shortly after 5:30, a tad late, it arrived.  Relief!  

Shortly afterwards I received the following advice of delivery.  Please take note of the last three lines.

Well if that doesn't confuse you or put a smile on your face, nothing will.  As someone told me, UN delivering a parcel takes some skill.

Here's a little painting I did from Eunice J Friend's Watercolour Wednesday's group paint along.  It is going to become a special Christmas card for my Godmother.

The weather outside is fierce again as Storm Conell makes its presence felt.  Heigh ho! Here we go! Wind, rain,and cold.  

Until next time

Stay warm and stay safe

Debbie x

Another Win!

Hello Friends!

I won another Giveaway!  This time on YouTube and you can see what I won 

HERE 

on Shirley's video

I am especially excited about the Tim Holtz Distress Crayons wallet and the Strawberry Thief ephemera.  I must wait patiently for it to arrive!

It's been a strange and sad week for reasons I cannot share as it's not my story to tell.  At least the weather has been better today.  Cold and sunny, mostly dry, and some beautiful rainbows. 

There have been horrendous floods across the United Kingdom.  I am pleased to say the idiot responsible for THIS has been arrested.  What on earth was he thinking?

Thank you all who commented on my last blog. I am still trying to get answers but will keep you posted.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay warm and well

Debbie x

Is the NHS Dysfunctional or Simply Non Existent?

Hello Friends!

I am in total disbelief. Furious doesn't even begin to cover it.

I last saw my {so called} Parkinson's specialist in October 2023. Whether or not I should call him a specialist is a moot point for reasons I won't go into right now.

What I will go into is this.

I am supposed to see a specialist at least every six months. Over the past twelve months I have had one postponed appointment after another. After the October 2023 appointment, my next appointment was scheduled for May 2024. Shortly before it was due, I received a letter that rescheduled it to June. Within a few weeks, the June appointment was rescheduled to October 2024. Then in September 2024 I received notification that the October appointment was rescheduled to February 2025. A letter has just arrived to tell me that the February 2025 appointment is cancelled and now the responsibility is upon me to contact them if I wish to reschedule.

Our NHS is beyond broken. It is non existent. There are no words. I have yet to decide what I will do next. I will take the weekend to consider my options, if I actually have options to consider.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well

Debbie xx

I Won . . .

Hello Friends!

. . . a £20.00 Amazon gift voucher!

On a page I follow on Facebook they asked the following:

So….at its most basic level - how do you “winter”? Do you do anything in particular to keep yourself feeling brighter at this darker time of the year?

Here's my reply:

I don't think of myself as enjoying winter yet somehow it is my most self pampering season. I withdraw, like the year, as if preparing in hibernation to blossom the following spring. I complain loudly how much I loathe the darker days, the longer nights, and the clocks changing, but then I dance for joy on the Winter Solstice and celebrate the returning of the light. My cottage becomes a cocoon of comfort, with blankets and throws, scented candles, hot chocolate and mince pies, fresh picked greenery decorates my door and vases, books wait their turn on the table by my easy chair in front of the fire and I prepare to indulge as I recharge and restore my aching body.

I feel like I've won a Pulitzer Prize!

Anyone who knows me will know that this is me, not some romanticised, inspired scrivening in a vain effort to win a voucher, but really and truly me.   It's how I roll.  It is my true being.

At one time, I would have declared it my favourite season, but in recent years this changed to reflect my love of Autumn.  Now, my thoughts change again and I find beauty in each season in turn.  Having Parkinson's also impacts as it changes what I can appreciate, or how I appreciate it.

As the days close in and night falls earlier with the passing days, so the candles appear in greater numbers.  I have loads of tea light holders and my favourite tea lights to burn are these Prices Sentinel 8 hour tea lights.  

They burn cleanly, no sooting, and burn for at least 8 hours.  They can be put out and they relight well, unlike many that once extinguished that's it.  I recall the original version of these "nightlights" when I was a child.  I had one in my room every night and for safety they came in a cardboard outer which was placed to burn in a shallow dish of water!

They are very useful for tabletop food warmers to keep food and drink warmer for longer in the winter when temperatures drop quickly.

I recently found these even bigger, longer burning ones

I

I think I might spend my voucher on this

I like the brand, and they are a fraction of the price of Yankee Candles at around 30% less!  Additionally, they are a British company, established in 1830 {although they went into receivership in 2003 and were bought out by an Italian company} and they hold a Royal Warrant.

On the other hand, I need a corner punch for my latest crafty makes, blog following in a few days.  Oh! I have choices, and choices is not a good thing for a Libran to face.

Other things that bring me comfort in the months of hibernation are plates of delicious home made food and treats

A bowl of nourishing, warming soup

A yummy cake

A bowl of porridge topped with fresh homemade cranberry almond relish

A mug of  Spiced White Chocolate with Pumpkin

Bara Brith and Butter

Irish Soda Bread

A Chocolate Brownie

and my newest love, a gift received this week for a belated birthday present, a tall tin of Fortnum & Mason's Toffolossus biscuts!  They are scrumdiddliumptious!

There are stacks of books aplenty in my cottage, some like this one a charity shop find!

or a stack of interesting titles

Some of my favourite blankets

A parcel in the post!  Beautifully packed . . . 

A favourite pair of socks

Pinecones and candles

A comfortable armchair

the list goes on!

of course, I used to go out gardening and walking, but no longer, however I shall shortly share some of my library of winter photographs which I know you will enjoy!

How do you survive winter?

Until next time

Stay Well

Debbie x

Top of the Pops

Hello Friends!

I don't know how much longer I will be able to type. It really is an effort now but I intend to keep going as long as I can. Good days, bad days, and they can't find the balance needed in my medication. I have an appointment to see the doctor in February. I found out he is a general doctor not a neurological specialist. If I see him in February, it will be 16 months since my last appointment. This, my friends, is the state of our NHS, once the envy of the world.

Anyhoo, all day long I've been encountering messages from the Universe nudging me with little reminders of my favourite things. I think she's trying to get me to focus on something positive, given all the events of recent days, so I have drawn up my Top Ten Favourite Things List. In no particular order:

Bees

Lavender

Umbels

Sunflowers

Fungi

Pumpkins

Starry skies

Moonlight

Dandelions

Raindrops

As I was going along, I realised there are so many more favourite things I could have included but will save that for another gloomy day!

Until next time

Keep swimming!

Debbie xx

November

The month when Autumn brings all her glorious colours to the table, the last hurrah before we slumber through the Winter that is yet to be.  The bright and vibrant reds and yellows and oranges we see across the forests in the trees are echoed in the colours of birth month flowers of chrysanthemums, the rich yellow birthstone topaz, the burning embers of the fires we light to keep us warm . . . everything is painted in warm colours, as if we need reminding of the cold blue that will soon be upon us.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well, stay warm

Debbie x