It is hard, after everything To put the pain and frustration of years aside To tread softly and speak gently Because it could be your last Christmas It is hard to trust The evidence of my eyes You have lied so often Feigned illness or incapacity But you can barely hear You struggle to comprehend…
Here’s a Christmas cracker Open it with me It pops apart and Peace rains down On us like confetti Here’s a little bottle Corked in at the top Pop the cork and drink the Joy Down to the final drop Here’s a Christmas present Topped with a shiny bow Open up and find my love…
I do like the music of Christmas. Christmas carols and songs can be beautiful, funny, catchy and an enjoyable soundtrack to the season. (There are exceptions to this, of course – Rudolph and Frosty, I’m looking at you.) It can be interesting to know just how far back some Christmas carols go. So, I have…
The bell tolls The final candle flares to life on the Advent wreath It’s time The bell tolls People leave their homes and head toward the house of God Their hearts are full of joy The bell tolls The doors open wide for all the people Music sounds and voices lift in song The bell…
“The Father Christmas Letters” is a collection of letters and accompanying pictures written by JRR Tolkien for his children. Of course it is traditional in many countries for children to write letters to Father Christmas, but Tolkien’s children were lucky enough to receive letters back. (What a great dad Tolkien must have been, with so…
It’s a store-bought plastic tree Old now, been in use for years Branches askew, from a cat climbing through But still, it is right for what I need Put together, spread out the fake branches, just so Tinsel next, wound round and around Then each decoration comes out of its wrapping (chosen over many years,…
One of the things I enjoy about Christmas is the decorations. I love Christmas trees, and enjoy putting up and decorating mine every year. So, I've put together a few interesting facts about popular Christmas decorations, and where they started. The Wreath In northern and eastern Europe, in the deep winter, evergreen branches were brought…
Sitting in a carpark Noise and cars and people I must shop, but I’m so tired And everything hurts A nearby tree gives shade Its green leaves vibrant under a clear blue sky Waving to the tune of a cool breeze A butterfly flutters past A tiny smudge of orange and black Sometimes it’s the…
“The House of Usher” (1960) is one of Roger Corman’s series of films based on Edgar Allen Poe stories. Starring Vincent Price, it centres around the family of Usher, a brother and sister living in a rundown old house over a ‘tarn’ or mountain lake. A visitor comes to the house, who in the film…
Momentum versus inertia The science of everyday life Start, stop, start again A body in motion Inside a body in motion Must keep together Or there will be consequences What a lifesaving invention Is this momentum stopper This inertia preserver The humble seatbelt
Eclectic Assemblage 