December 24th and All Things Green and Colourful

After cutting a few bits of holly with berries from a tree down the road I went round the meadow and garden for some more greenery to bring indoors

I found Bay, Rosemary, Spruce  and Ivy to go with the Holly. Sometime in the future who ever lives here will have their own holly too, but holly is so slow growing so the saplings planted 2 years ago are still only 18 inches tall.

And for colour.......... a bunch of flowers I bought myself for Christmas. I was too mean to spend much, consequently lots of the flowers fell off my £5 supermarket bunch before I even got it home into it's vase!

 Over the last few days I've had comments from so many new people - it's been lovely to find who's reading and enjoying the blog and more folk have tapped the follower button too - welcome. I enjoy writing the blog and it's been a brilliant thing to do since Colin died. As I said to someone recently "without the blog I would have had to keep busy doing more cleaning!"

Didn't get to sing any well known Christmas carols at church on Sunday, I forgot that The Methodist church follow an advent plan so we sung advent carols - some I'd never heard  before and I don't think the stand-in organist(because the usual one had flu) had either! Lunch at Col's brother's house was delicious - out of necessity over the last years on his own he has become very good at roasts.

Now we are round to Christmas Eve, I've brought my pressies into the living room and tomorrow will put on the tree lights and open them - being alone will be odd.  Then I shall finish making a trifle to take over to SiL's. It will be a grown up Christmas this year - my niece is the youngest and she's nearly 30! There will be 9 of us altogether and it should be a lovely day.

(Ho! Ho! Ho! - yes that is a Santa on a stick in the middle of the flowers....it came with them, I hope Santa comes to your house tonight.......bringing you all the gifts you wished for)

Back tomorrow........briefly
Sue

December 23rd and The Mistletoe

Mistletoe grows in a few places in Suffolk, not as widespread as the west of England - in areas like Herefordshire where there are more orchards it can be seen everywhere.

There are a two places that I know it grows in profusion and one is my village churchyard. Coming down a hill the church is straight ahead and the tall churchyard trees have lots of Mistletoe balls high up.

The Hog and Hen Farm shop had a barrow of mistletoe outside which people could help themselves for a donation to charity. I just had this little piece so I could add it to my greenery jug at home.

 No wonder it was considered sacred and magical by our ancestors. Always there and green when all around the leaves have gone.

The Mistletoe

Sitting under the mistletoe

(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),

One last candle burning low,

All the sleepy dancers gone,

Just one candle burning on,

Shadows lurking everywhere:

Some one came, and kissed me there.

Tired I was; my head would go

Nodding under the mistletoe

(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),

No footsteps came, no voice, but only,

Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,

Stooped in the still and shadowy air

Lips unseen—and kissed me there.

By Walter De La Mare 1873 - 1956

Another place where there is lots of mistletoe is in the much smaller trees all round Ipswich hospital. I noticed it during the many hospital visits when Colin was ill.

I might try squidging some mistletoe berries into little nicks on the apple tree branches here - it's not worked before but you never know.

Many thanks for comments yesterday, lovely to hear from people who enjoy reading the blog and are commenting for the first time.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 22nd and the Winter Solstice

According to my Folklore diary Winter starts today, although meteorologically  it started at the beginning of December.
The winter solstice marks the date that the Earth is at its maximum tilt from the sun and that was at 04:19 this morning, it is the first time in four years that it hasn't fallen on 21 December, the solstice's most common date, although on rare occasion it can also occur on the 20th or 23rd. London will have just 7 hours, 49 minutes and 44 seconds of daylight, but from now onward the length of daylight hours increases........... imperceptibly at first but by this time next month there will be 1¼ hours more daylight................Reasons to be cheerful Part1!

 The Winter segment of the turning wheel from Celebrations of the Seasons by Jennifer Cole.

Special places have always been used to celebrate the Solstice

I found this poem a couple of years ago

 The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive.

And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, revelling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us - listen!

All the long echoes, sing the same delight,

This Shortest Day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And now so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

*************************************************

So much for circling things to watch in the Radio Times, the first things I wanted to see were only on if a Liverpool football match wasn't on TV in the evening - and it was because they qualified for something?  Then I found Swallows and Amazons - the more recent film - was on and as I'd re-watched the older version and loved it all over again last week I decided to re-watch the this newer and in my opinion not very good film,  and that meant I missed the next thing circled. But that was OK as it was on the 5 catch-up channel, which I can now watch on my new TV.
Reasons to be cheerful part 2!

1 day down 13 days circling programmes and watching/not watching left!

Thank you to everyone for comments - I love it when someone who's never commented before says they enjoy reading the blog.

Today I will be singing carols and having lunch with Colin's sister and brother .........Reasons to be cheerful Part 3!

 Back Tomorrow

Sue

December 21st and Winter Reading

Thank you to everyone for comments yesterday and hello and welcome to some more new followers.

It was so very wet here on Thursday night and yesterday. I needed to go shopping and only just about got through a deep flood, everyone was being sensible, driving through slowly, taking it in turns one at a time. I came home up the main road instead. I wanted to go to the Hog and Hen farm shop for some of the local butter but that would have meant a detour through a low spot......... which often has small floods,  on a back road. Decided against - hopefully things will have drained away a bit by this morning.


 December's library book photo ....8 books ordered and collected giving me plenty to read............. for the  quiet days after Christmas and into January.

From the top down...........Seems to be mostly crime -Again. Two authors (Helen Cox and Kathleen Hewitt) I've not come across before but the others are tried and trusted. At the bottom is a book by an historian and nature writer who kayaked down the Atlantic coast from Shetland to the Channel (my cousin's husband was reading this a few months ago when I visited them and said it was good) and The Medieval Christmas - just because it's Christmas!


AND...........I've still got 7 at home  from last month's haul.... below.

 A few have been read - added to the Books Read 2019 page - two have gone back unread as  I failed with the Nicola Upson. This series uses the real author Josephine Tey to solve mysteries. I've read all the earlier books but this one started in a complicated way by having a bit set in 1948 then going back to 1938 and then jumping back to 1915, by which time I was feeling lost. So I gave up. I'm sure it's a good story but not for me this month. Couldn't get on with The Victory Garden either.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 20th and Leiston Posties

Youngest daughter shared this on her Facebook page, some of these posties are her friends
Thought I'd share it further round the world!!

Many Thanks for all the comments and interest in the Jesse Tree. Well known for a while to some people and completely new to others - like me. I ought to have gone further round the town for more photos but some were in houses and it would have looked a bit odd to take photos of house windows!

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 19th and the Jesse Tree Art Trail

Jesse Tree  Art Trail?

No, I had no idea either

This was something I'd not heard of before I thought I'd better go and have a look.

I didn't go round all the trail as the weather was cold, grey and damp.

Here are a few photos, not in the right order and much too much reflections in windows  but you'll get  an idea of the variety of  art mediums used.

Certainly something different.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 18th and Preparing Christmas Food

First of all I must remember to welcome another follower. The numbers have been stuck at 535 for ages so nice to see it up one......I'm not really obsessed by follower numbers...........much!
Thank you also for comments recently

Another horrible wet day yesterday, I did my usual once a month collecting prescription and having cheap pensioners fish and chips thing. It always seems a treat. Also made  a Chocolate Meringue Gateau (On  recipe page somewhere)and froze ready for taking to SiL's on Christmas day....with the Xmas pudding.
Now I need to buy some Gluten free plain biscuits for a Banoffee to take to Son's for Christmas eve lunch - I like making desserts! We finally sorted out a day for Suffolk children and grandchildren to visit me over Christmas so now I can work out what to cook and also other things to do to fill empty days........I don't need to fill every empty day as I'm happy at home but it's a good idea to have a few plans for my second Christmas alone, which is different to first Christmas alone because the 'novelty' has worn off.

I've put the  accidentally bought marzipan and icing on the accidental Christmas cake. I'm a slap it on cake decorator but I always remember to turn the cake upside down so the surface to ice is nice and flat. I just cut some stars out of the remaining icing and stuck them on. Cake recipes will say use warm apricot jam to stick the marzipan to the cake......I never have apricot jam handy so use marmalade, avoiding the shredded peel...............no-one has ever commented so I think I've got  away with it for the last umpteen years

 On thing I want to do is chocolate teaspoons  - just for me. I've made them a few times for the hampers when  including drinking chocolate but never tried one myself,  I got the silicon mould out of the cupboard to remind me.

 DiL is vegetarian and I enjoy eating veggie too so a few days ago I made the veggie layer loaves to pop in the freezer.
This is something I concocted several years ago now, it was  a mix of different recipes, freezes well, heats up easily and is tasty and it has no strange ingredients.

This time I made enough for 3 mini individual ones and a larger in a loaf tin using 3 times the recipe

INDIVIDUAL NUT AND VEGETABLE LAYERED ROASTS ( this made 2)
Good handful of dried cranberries soaked in boiling water and cooked in the microwave for a few minutes  'til soft, then drained.
4oz carrots }   Boiled and mashed
4oz parsnip}        together with some black pepper
2oz unsalted cashew nuts whizzed in the nut chopper thing, but not too fine*
3oz breadcrumbs
1 small onion                     }    chopped finely and cooked 'til soft in a teeny bit of butter/water in
2 smallish stalks of celery }                          the microwave then drained

Mix the celery,onion,nuts and breadcrumbs together with an egg yolk

Line 2 mini cake tins with parchment paper and put a layer of the nut mix in the bottom.
Press down tight.
Then a layer of parsnip/carrot mash and smooth down again
Next some cranberries
Then another layer of the nut mix.
Press down firmly again.
I used medium hot oven and cooked them for about 40 minutes until they were firm and golden.
Because I wanted to check that they froze OK I then left them to cool, popped each one still in the tins into the freezer.
They were taken out of the freezer in the morning and left to defrost in the kitchen and then reheated, with a bit of foil over the top, for about 25 minutes to serve hot for dinner.

*I really should have read this recipe on my recipe page here rather than my notes in my folder before making it this year....... because as I was using chopped cashews I didn't whizz any to a powder and I'm not sure the celery/nut/onion/breadcrumb mix will stay bound together very well. AND worst of all my hand written recipe doesn't mention the egg to bind the celery etc mix together better and I remembered too late that it could do with a bit more seasoning or herbs added somewhere. So they will probably all fall apart when turned  out!
Oh Well, too late now!

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 17th and Another Christmas Hamper Gift Made

When I found a couple of flip top bottles at a boot sale in the summer I decided to make something to put in them for the hamper gifts.
I don't drink alcohol any more and when I did it was never spirits or cocktails so no idea what was best for drinking. My first thought was Limoncello - something I had seen mentioned when other bloggers have made it. Looked up recipes but there seemed to be so many variations and they all needed so many lemons. Then I found a Toffee Vodka recipe which seemed simple.

 Ingredients
200g hard toffees
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
750 ml vodka
 
You will also need

• A funnel, coffee filter paper and a 1-litre sterilised lidded jar and 1 sterilised bottle (approx. 1-litre capacity)

Method

1. Unwrap the toffees and put in a plastic food bag and smash with a hammer/rolling pin to break them into small pieces. Tip the toffee shards into the sterilised jar, then add the sugar and a pinch of sea salt. 
2. Pour the vodka over the toffee mixture and stir. Leave in a cool dark place for two days or until the toffees have dissolved. Shake the jar twice a day during this time. 
3. Once the toffee and sugar has dissolved, line a funnel with a coffee filter paper and set it over the sterilised bottle. Slowly pour the mixture through. Seal and store in a cupboard for up to three months, and shake before serving.

I tried one sip - oh my goodness- is that what Vodka is like - it nearly knocked me over!. What a lightweight I am!  Maybe it needs lemonade or something with it?  It will be kill or cure I think!

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 16th and Village Christmas Trees

For the first time my local village church had a mini Christmas Tree Festival. (Not mini as in small trees but mini as in one day and just a few trees.!)

Thought I'd better take a look. This church doesn't feature in the 100 Suffolk Churches book so as a non C of E church goer it's not somewhere I've visited before.

Plenty of water in the stream that has to be crossed to get to the church. Further down the road this stream flows right under a house.

 Many of the gravestones in the old part of the graveyard are leaning

There were more trees than I was expecting, the theme is Christmas Carols

This below must have taken weeks to do, all trees made of folded pages of books

 From the primary school, all made from plastic bottles filled with tinsel and shiny paper

And the font is trimmed for Christmas too

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 15th and The Christmas TV Guide

Well Strictly fans, it's all over for another year. I wasn't bothered who won really but decided after the dances that Kelvin and Oti were best, so  was pleased they lifted the trophy. Now I'll have to go back to watching Look East instead of Takes Two............ Dull, Dull, Dull!

 Thought I'd better try a small journey for my first time driving after hurting my knee so I went down to the village hall to cast my vote on Thursday, not that my vote makes much difference as most bits of Suffolk have been blue conservative for a Very long time.
As the knee seemed OK  -   I went a bit further to the Community shop in the next village to pick up a copy of the  Double Issue Festive Radio Times. I can't imagine Christmas without it and enjoy browsing through looking for something interesting.

AND it shouldn't fall apart this year..........no staples.

There is often a free children's book advertised in the Christmas Radio Times. This year it's The Tiger Who Came to Tea Fun Activity book. BUT it's only free if you happen to live near a Ryman store. My nearest is upstairs in The Sailmaker's centre in Ipswich - at least I think it's still there, you never know with Ipswich shops. 

I've had a quick look in the Radio Times and so far have highlighted

Sat 21st  Show jumping From Olympia 
               Celebrity mastermind ......on i player because clashes with

                Agatha and The truth of Murder
                Robbie Williams in Concert. - (on late for me so I'll watch on iplayer next day)
Sun 22nd . Countryfile
                  The Christmas Edition of  The Good Life .....for the 100th time
                   A new version of A Christmas Carol
Mon 23rd Christmas Question of sport
                  Christmas University Challenge
                   Still Open all Hours
                    Next part of A Christmas Carol
Tues 24th A Merry Tudor Christmas
                 Carols From King's  - always watch this.
                  Christmas University Challenge again
                   3rd part of A Christmas Carol

Thanks for commiserations yesterday, a week after the injury the knee is tons better and won't get mentioned again!......
The company who run the physio service in Suffolk on behalf of NHS are brilliant and as soon as I'd referred myself online they emailed back with exercises to help and I just need to ring and make an appointment. I think I'll only need to go as far as Eye..... 5 miles....handy.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 14th and Some Christmas Plans Spoiled

All my Christmas plans for last week went down the drain last Saturday, halfway through the Strictly semi -final. I moved to get up to put the kettle on and OUCH! something  nasty and VERY painful happened  to somewhere behind the knee and it stuck bent.

 I'd never known anything like this before and unable to move plus no way of getting to A & E (Eldest and Son in Law were here but had had wine) after phone calls ended up with lovely Ambulance people here (I didn't call them but dialed 111 for advice - and then they called an ambulance). I felt so stupid - an ambulance for a non-emergency is just not right- but he said all their calls in their  shift so far had been to non emergencies and all were 111 referrals.

After he'd decided it was something to do with cartilage and I'd had enough gas and air to make me woozy he  pulled and bent the knee so I was able to straighten it enough to stand up. It was something that was going to be very painful for several days (and nights) and the only thing to do was ice-packs, rest, gentle moving, paracetamol, ibuprofen and time.

So..........................................
On Sunday..... missed out enjoying having all the family here ...............they came but I was too tired and uncomfortable to enjoy it.
On Monday ............. missed swimming and the village free over 60's lunch
On Tuesday .......... missed the Small WI Christmas meal
On Wednesday ......... missed a community lunch at the primary school
On Thursday  I was supposed to pick up BiL from Ipswich hospital and  do shopping at the same time. But cancelled that - 50 miles might have been a bit too much clutch work,  but thought I'd better try a little driving and went down to vote at the village hall. All OK so went a bit further for tomorrows blog post subject.

Luckily I had food enough for me and cat and got Son and SiL to bring some wood in before they went home on Sunday.

 But looking on the positive side of all those days at home - I had plenty of time to finish writing Christmas cards and letters and wrapping parcels ready to post!

I went online and referred myself to Physio too, which will help .

Annoying that something that took a second to do is going to take weeks to put right.

Friday I tested  the knee a bit further and drove the 5 miles to Debenham  for the Co-op so I could get some fruit and post off the parcels.
 No use wanting to use  the cash machine at the Co-op, someone nicked it again in November for the second time in two years, so everything is boarded up again.

 It could do with having more protection in front as the thieves just used the prongs on a stolen front loader to smash it out and load it into a van. (The police found it, still intact, in a van and arrested someone in Essex and still searching for 2 more people).

2 more pluses of using the local Co-op yesterday
Double Divi through December

 and I picked up 3 of these which can go in the cupboard for the Grandchildren ready for a few years time.....lots of Christmassy dot-to-dots, colouring and things to do.

I'm sure to be be called upon for pre-Christmas child minding once they reach school age! Having plenty of crafting things to do was the secret to happy children when I was a childminder.


Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 13th and The Christmas Crackers

For many, many years I made my own Christmas crackers..........  Crepe paper, bought snaps from the craft shop in Ipswich, terrible jokes, tissue paper hats and a small gift just right for each person.  I can remember one year when both me and Eldest had awful colds, feeling very rough and there we were a couple of days before the 25th sniffing and sneezing our way through the sticking and fixing.
Then along came pre-formed 'fill it yourself' kits with everything included except the gift - we did that for a couple of years but it got harder to find small things to fit inside at a sensible price.

 Then car-boot sales arrived and hooray................ a supply of new crackers at much reduced prices - available every summer!

 I've got all these in the cupboard at the moment, all from boot sales. (I could have had more, lots of people clear them out every year - but there is a limit to how many Christmas crackers I have room to store!)

(A Grand total of 43!) Some will go with me to my SiL's on Christmas Day, they've got mini jigsaw puzzles in them; the Modelling balloon ones that I got recently will be saved until the grandchildren are old enough to enjoy them, the small ones are to decorate the hampers for the next few years and the other lot will be for when I have visitors here.

Then I can start searching again next year.

Did anyone catch a TV programme about a company that makes crackers - including the very extravagant  ones for Fortnum and Mason, and Harrods? A F&M Hamper of crackers containing vouchers for posh events costs £5,000..........For the person who has everything?
Although if you are on a budget you could get some from them for just £45!

It always surprises me that Christmas Crackers have never really taken off as a tradition in the US. You'd think they would have made it across the Atlantic in the same way all the Halloween stuff crossed to us here. I'm sure there's a fortune to be made by someone.

Thank you for comments yesterday, seems I'm not the only one to fail with Poinsettias.

So sorry to read that Tanya of Sowing and Growing blog has passed away. Once again cancer takes someone much too young.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 12th and The Poinsettia

This Poinsettia is sure to die!

Eldest daughter brought it with her at the weekend - Jacob choose it for me, I will probably kill it!

Me and houseplants ...........hopeless.

I've stood it on the kitchen window sill by the sink, so at least I will remember to water it.

But why are Poinsettias associated with Christmas, they are certainly not native to Europe.

 I found one answer in a book........of course............... The Ladybird book of Christmas customs.

The Mexicans call the Poinsettia the 'Flower of the Holy Night'.

Their legend says that a peasant girl wanted to take a gift to Baby Jesus but she had nothing. An angel appeared and told her to pick some weeds to take and as she carried them into the stable the top leaves on every stem turned red, making a beautiful gift for the new baby.

Some people manage to keep them from one year to another  - I'll try.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

December 11th and A Winter Poem

In one of my Christmas books is a poem by Ogden Nash called A Word About Winter

To save me typing the whole thing out I looked on line so I could just copy it over, except after looking all over the place on poetry sites and Ogden Nash sites it was nowhere around.

Perhaps it isn't as well known, anyway I forced to copy from the book, he was a great one for  making things rhyme......... somehow!

A Word About Winter

Now the frost is on the pane,

Rugs upon the floor again,

Now the screens are in the cellar,

Now the student cons the speller,

Lengthy summer noon has gone,

Twilight treads the heels of dawn,

Round-eyed sun is now a squinter,

Tiptoe breeze a panting sprinter,

Every cloud a blizzard hinter,

Squirrel on the snow a sprinter,

Rain spout sprouteth icy splinter,

Willy-nilly, this is winter. 

Summer-swollem doorjambs settle,
Ponds and puddles turn to metal,
Skater whoops in frisky fettle,
Golf-club stingeth like a nettle,
Hearth is Popocatepetl.

Runneth nose and chappeth lip,
Draft evadeth weather strip
Doctor wrestleth with grippe
In never ending rivalship.
Rosebush droops in garden shoddy,
Blood is cold and thin in body,
Weary postman dreams of toddy,
Head before the hearth grows noddy.

On the hearth the embers gleam,
Glowing like a maiden's dream,
Now the apple and the oak
Paint the sky with chimney smoke,
Husband now without disgrace,
Dumps ash trays in the fireplace.

                        A cold winter sunrise many years ago on the road in front of  the smallholding

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 10th and The Accidental Christmas Cake

I wasn't planning to make a Christmas cake this year. I made one last year and  without Col here to eat it no one else ate much so that it ended up lasting me through all of January and beyond. ( I think I fed the tail-end to the birds!)
But I accidentally bought marzipan and icing.....don't ask!........... so made a small cake. It smelled so delicious when I unwrapped to feed it for the first time, that I decided it was worth making for that experience alone.

The recipe I use is a Mary Berry recipe from over 30 years ago. Pages torn from a Family Circle Magazine and kept ever since, although I also have the recipe on a separate sheet of paper and on here on the recipe page.

Adding a little brandy  to keep it nice and moist

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 9th and The First Card

The First Christmas card was produced by Henry Cole, founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1843. It was specially produced to be sent by the new penny post which had started in 1840. The cards were sold at Felix Summerley's Treasure House - a store in Bond Street London. They cost a shilling each and were a big commercial failure. But the idea didn't disappear completely and by 1860 many were being sent and when the halfpenny post for unsealed envelopes was introduced in 1870 then everyone started to send cards.
The first plea to "Post Early for Christmas" was in 1880.

The Victorians loved scrapbooks and albums and soon cards became larger and more colourful so they could be fixed into their albums and shown  to visitors during the year.

My first Christmas card arrived on Thursday of last week. It was from my cousin in Felixstowe, the first card is always from my cousin............... even when they were up north in Chesterfield.

And yes! it had a robin, and a postbox and snow - all my favourite things for a card.

I must get on with card writing and posting them out. I have letters to put with some which always slows things down. I'm so bad at letter writing now I have the blog.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 8th and The 5p Money Box

Emptying the 5p money box is not as much fun as it used to be. That was before all the money laundering rules when you could walk into a bank with your bags of change and they would give you notes in return. Now you have to pay it into an account and it sort of disappears into the general pot.

Why they think you would be laundering illegally earned money in 5p pieces I have no idea.

Anyway once again all year I've been emptying my purse and putting the 5p's* that get stuck in the corner and some 10p's* in the tin. I found several 20p's* there too. I also had £2 worth of  2p and 1p coins in another tin where I chuck them if I have too many in my purse

So I added up, bagged up as per bank instructions, found some more 20p's* left from car boot change to fill another cash bag and will pay a grand total of £32 into the bank. There was about a pounds worth of 5p's* to go back in the tin to start the collection for Christmas 2020. So although this was my money anyway it feels like £32 that I didn't know I'd got, which is quite nice. In years past I would use this for the Christmas Ham and Turkey, now it will be used for some other treats - a pack of that special local butter is top of my list.
 Next year there will probably be a lot less in the tin as I seem to being using contact-less card payments more often now as it's so easy.

 *with the ending of the Apostrophe  Preservation Society I feel free to put Apostrophes everywhere even when I have no idea if they should be there or not!!

Thank you for comments about Christmas stamps yesterday, with mixed opinions on designs. Sorry about not replying - a bit busy out with grandchildren.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

December 7th and The Christmas Stamps

As usual I bought a few Christmas stamps for using this year

This is the whole set available for 2019

image from Royal Mail website

They are OK but perhaps not as colourful as in the past. So I found  my stamp collection (Philately will get you anywhere!) and looked back to past Christmases.

Thanks to all of Colin's Dad's years and then our years of trimming and sorting stamps for charity I have a good collection right through to 2003. Then the charity stopped delivering and collecting the stamps so it all came to an end. The children still remember back to the 1990's when a huge sack full would arrive and we would tip them all out on the living room floor and turn them over and over to look for something exciting, before putting them back in the sack and trimming and sorting properly.

2003 is where my stamp collection ends and the stamps were bigger then

But look how colourful and joyful they were in the past

From this you can also see how stamp prices have increased over the years.

Eldest Daughter and Grandson Jacob arrived safely, Son-in-law forgot he was due somewhere Friday evening so he may follow on today.

Hopefully the weather today will be better than yesterday evening as we  are going on a Santa Hunt.(No idea!) There were two events of switching on Christmas lights and street fairs in villages  not far away yesterday and it must have been a wash-out for both.

Thank you for all the comments yesterday and apologies for not getting round to replying to all.

Back Tomorrow
Sue
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