wendy house

Mum and Dad’s house is full of all sorts of good looking Christmas decorations, candle holders, runners, baubles and tinsel.

Amongst the ever growing collection are a few things that I recall from my youth. In my youth Christmas decorations were stored in one, carefully packed, box. Opening the christmas decoration  box was a special time. Out came the red and the blue christmas goats. I always suspected them of being christmas elephants but dad assures me that they are goats. I would make up stories about the Christmas goats and move them around the house. They are magic goats.

PS This is a 100 word post, before the PS

The wendy house solstice cedar has found its way out from under the bed in the North wing to guard the lounge library from rampant seasonal partridges.

At 12 yrs I  considered having a crush on Greg  Lake because of his voice, song writing skills  and  wonderfully smooth unblemished skin.    Sometimes he even looked 12 years old….    

Greg Lake sang I believe in father christmas
(I suspect he didn’t actually believe)

The luxury 5 star  Forbury Hotel in downtown Reading went into administration this March.   Unlike many other businesses,   it  survived by new ownership.    The new owners  sent this portrait promoting seasonal greatings and special offers.  

Maybe one day we’ll meet in, or on the steps of, the Forbury.  

God Jul

Once again Reading’s December Poet’s cafe offered the treat of  the engaging Mr. Hegley.  

Mr. Hegley manages varied and entertaining audience participation during his perfomance.  

For one poem he found a member of the audience that was prepared to nominate another member of the audience to translate a poem from French.     John would read each line and the audience member translated.   For each line John would comment on the quality of the translation.      Some of the French phrasing lent itself you English people making   translational errors.   The mistakes lead to some smile and laughter inducing imagery.    

I giggled myself off the chair on several occassions,  

Another form of participation involved the audience being given a line to sing on cue from John.   For example,   when he said ‘blah’ we had to say ‘mange’.   I do like being able to take part.

During the evening’s events I learned many things including

• there are many, published, poets in Reading that regularly attended the poets cafe
• John’s head moves with agility through  all sorts of angles, often quite dramatic.
• AFH’s fingers are prone to splaying  and twirling

I wonder what bodily movement I should develop to enhance my (to-be-developed)  poem delivery talents?

of the office Christmas party

The supermarkets are stocking up with spirits for the drinking-even-more-than-normal usual season.   Buy one get one free.   When-ever I see a whiskey bottle I think of Phil Lynott,   his long legs and unfeasably tight jeans (before the invention of Lycra or Spandex).   Phil’s alcohol and drug problems have somehow become aligned in my consciousness with the local seasonal overdrinking.

Thin Lizzy sang Whiskey in the jar

Please note that your comments will have a prickly* reception

* more prickly than normal

at school in the 1980s, if asked to present work,   I stuttered.    Teachers and classmates made sure I never had to do it, I was complicit in avoiding this painful experience.

At university I joined the students amateur dramatics group to try and practice  the problem away. In at the deep end.    I helped with the make-up, brochure design, set-painting, costume creation and most of the time enyoyed being in the background.   Then pr0gressed to my first role. Rumplestiltzkin. Lead in the xmas pantomime, few lines, all rhymed, easy to memorise. I over-practiced to take the edge of my feelings of shere terror. First night, 300 people in the audience including my parents. Minor dose of terror.   It went well.

Over time I ramped-up my speaking parts.    In a  community theatre production of Peter Shaffers Amadeus  I played Constanza Mozart, a small significant part.    The production was so good were  invited to the Edinburgh festival.   I still pause to find the words  when I’m uncomfortable.

Then yesterday.

Half an hour in  phone conversation with an amazing expert with the worse stutter I’ve ever heard left my empathsing in action in subsequent conversation.   Temporary relapse.

Early on a chilly Friday evening afore Christmas Mr. Hegley and longtime associate Mr. Bailey jumped on a train from London Paddington to Reading Central.     Once in Reading they sought out the South Street arts centre and there joined the poets cafe.   The cafe was hosted by AFH who skillfully introduced us to the intricacies of the concept of first half,   second half and interval.   He cunningly avoided  reference to the powerful football analogy that subsequently snuck its way into several of Mr. Hegley’s poems including his opener which described the emotional ebb and flow of  Luton town beating Reading  town.   Both almost cities missed gaining city status in the Millenium celebrations  when the Queen granted 3 towns city status.John’s delivery was perfectly complimented by his companion, Andrew’s, acting skills.   Neither black bird, woman,   nor alien were beyond Andrews talented delivery.

At the poets cafe audience are also invited to be performers,   slips of paper, published and unpublished books proped newcomers and professionals alike while sharing their work about ghosts, parties, typewriters, family, and TV shows.     I slouched at the back with a pint of John Smith’s rapidly disappearing from my  plastic glass wondering if I should bring a piece of paper and a little pluck  to the second half…   …after the interval…   …of the next meeting.

First time Taxiing Bros:

Bros:   are we going the usual way (voice stress indicates  some concern)

Wendy: I don’t know,   you’ll have to direct me to the usual way

Bros:   it’s the other way

Wendy: 180 degrees in the other direction is  going the usual way?

Bros: Yes

I turn around in the car park of a local Medical centre.   Bros. explains this is the medical centre he normally uses.   It  will close for-ever when  another one is completed further away from his home.   Approaching Bristol, Bros continues describing the usual way then comments that he hasn’t done this for 2 years  so the Roads might have changed.    I managed to reproduce near-enough the usual way.   A way I had never taken because Uncle Vaughan set the usual way for my brother.

I placed & decorated an evergreen tree in my home this weekend.

Puuurrrr-itty

Christmastree.com suggests that a ‘christmas tree’ orginates from St. Boniface,   a British Christian,   trying to persuade some German Druids the Oak was not sacred.   Meanwhile:

“Centuries ago in Great Britain, woods priests called Druids used evergreens during mysterious winter solstice rituals. The Druids used holly and mistletoe as symbols of eternal life, and place evergreen branches over doors to keep away evil spirits.”

I used to spend the  second weekend  of December  in The New Forest gathering the Wiccan symbol of  Holly to decorate our home.   I miss the peaceful, social, activity of gathering natures wealth.   Definitely preferable to ‘Shopping’!   Mistletoe is more difficult to find.   Neither decoration appears common in the NW US wild or stores.

Audrey overlooks 3 different trees…

W Miss-Tree

Wikipedia provides a good summary including the lyrics from the song of that name.

Basically,   Christians celebrate for 12 days after Christ is born,   not before.    The 12th day after Christmas (6th Jan) is called  ’Epiphany’.   It is likely that this period was chosen by the Christian church to usurp pre-christian solstice  celebrations.   Evidently Shakespeare’s play ‘Twelfth Night’ refers to the 12 days of Christmas.

it was a crime to BE a Catholic in England  1558 thru 1829.  

The song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was  possibly a Mnemonic used  in England  to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith.   This carefully avoided written material that could lead to imprisonment or executed in very nasty ways.   Though these tenets do not appear different from those of the Anglican church.  

Codes used in the song include

True love = God

Me = Baptised person

Partridge in a pear tree = Jesus on the cross

2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch”, which gives the history of man’s fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

W must-finish-reading-Gods-secretaries…