Christmas Tree

 One of the winter illustrations from Angela Harding's book 'A Year Unfolding; A Printmakers View' She also used this as the front cover of 'Winter's Song' One of four pocket sized books published this year for each season - mainly with illustrations already published in her original book as well as some newer prints.

Winter,  Bringing back the tree

There was a year at the smallholding when we could have walked across fields and pulled a tree home . Red House Barns in Sternfield - across the fields from us started planting Christmas trees and using a barn there as a Pop-up Christmas Decoration shop, we walked there once or twice but  with no snow, pulling a tree home across muddy fields  would have been a bit messy!

The trees we planted at the smallholding - in the hope of having our own - never did well, and never got big enough to use.

Ang at  Tracing Rainbows had Oh Christmas Tree or O Tannenbaum on her blog the other day so here's a different Christmas tree song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-se7zpa71DYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-se7zpa71DY

Got my tree out of it's box and decorated during the week. It was the turn of mainly red and gold to come out of the bags in the box this year along with more natural colours. I have so many bits and bobs gathered from charity shops, car boot sales and home made over the years that I can have a variation every year. 

 I came across a tiny decoration that I don't remember at all..........................

and 2 pottery Santas that I'd forgotten.......................

And then there is the Colin decoration the family gave me that first Christmas without him, decorations hand made by me, friends and the few bits found from the charity fairs this year

It would Never win any "Best Decorated Christmas Tree" competition for sure but it's fine for me - not many others will see it!

Yesterday's Advent calendar coffee, day 4, just said Dark Roast - so I'm still waiting for the more interesting. Then I went to see the hygienist who I've been avoiding, I do go to the dentist 6 monthly but opted out of hygienist for a couple of years, as the dentist bills were plenty big enough. I was really nervous and remembered why! Another big bill paid. Back there for a filling on Monday - Oh Great Joy!

December Full Moon

  The December full moon, tonight, is a Super moon again and was once called  'The Moon Before Yule' or 'The Cold Moon' or 'Long Night Moon'. A super moon is when a full moon happens at its closest to earth.

I found this picture online, it's a copy of a painting by Leeds artist John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893). He was known as a painter of night scenes in urban environments. .....and fairies! The moonlight scenes he painted are all beautiful.

Found this poem online too.           Winter's Moon by Nina Hughes

Cold blue ice ball in the sky

winter's full moon flots serenely

on a sea of tranquil black

bobbing like a whale on windblown waves

She watches all below.

She peeks through a veil of wispy cloud

To spy on lovers through their windows

Smiling softly she moves on

gigantic mistress of the night.

All creation on the earth loos up in wonder

Rabbit squirrel, horse and cow know her well

Little babies hide their faces in mothers fur

She coaxes them to remember 

"Oh it's you! Hello!"

The graveyard tombs like candles on a cake

She lights them one by one

and those who hide in fear

for what they had done

She shines on them all.

Sinner, saint and bogeyman are subject to her reign

Trees bow in reverent homage,

each flower preens for her delight.

She follows little children to light their way in darkest night.

Fairies dance like fire flies underneath her glow

witches pass by her face on broomsticks, tickling her nose

Pagans ever paginating under her watchful eye

Tribes of wayward waifs sneaking out late at night

Seas obey her every whim

Calendars mark her regal passage

Fields and garden give her everything they have

Times goes on and she has seen it all.........

Day three of the coffee advent was Columbian - so I'm still waiting for something a bit unusual and my car suspension is fixed, no longer going crunch, crunch over bumps in the road and I've parted with £164 - the first December big bill sorted. Only four or even five more to come.....................

British Library Crime Classics

The first BLCC book that I came across was 'Mystery in White' by J. Jefferson Farjeon which was their 5th book reprinted and timed for Christmas 2014. It had a very appealing cover and was an instant best seller, introducing many people to these reprints.

They've just reprinted it again this year in a hardback copy with lovely cover although I think I like  the paperback cover better.

In the 11 years since the beginning there have now been 144 Crime Classics, from authors who originally wrote in the early 1900's right up to the 1960s and most are books that had completely disappeared and had never been reprinted. Number 145 is published this month and is by an author they've already published many times  before -  E.C.R Lorac. She also wrote as Carol Carnac and her books are always good, they've got another one coming out in February.

The book they published specially for the Christmas market this year is this one. Luckily the library bought a copy and I read it last month.

It was a really good read, a very clever story with lots of suspects, originally published in 1952. (Details Here)  One of the things I like about the Crime Classics  is the bit at the beginning, an introduction to the author by Martin Edwards. (Martin Edwards is a crime author in his own right and also edits and compiles the several collections of short stories in the BLCC collection). Susan Gilruth was the pen name of Susannah Margaret Hornsby-Wright and she only ever wrote 7 crime books between 1951 and 1973 which were mainly aimed at the library market so old copies became very hard to find and were never reprinted although some of her books were turned into BBC radio serials.

The story of the covers they use for the reprints is also interesting. Occasionally they are able to use original covers but many of their earlier books used some of the old tourist illustrations used in railway carriages in the 1930s and 40s. The cover of Death in Ambush above is an illustration by Gwen White so I googled her and found she was an author and illustrator who died in 1986.This is one of her books and she also illustrated many Enid Blyton stories.

Finding out more about the authors and illustrators can be nearly as interesting as reading the book.

Yesterday's  coffee  for  advent was 'French Vanilla' -it was nice but I couldn't find any vanilla flavour!