Eating
Caribbean Christmas 2023/24, Part One
This year I’m only off for two weeks, but as I’m flying to pick up the ship in Barbados, so it is a full two weeks in the sun. As a single passenger I must [more…]
Christmas
Fiction
Merry Christmas, Sergeant Edge
Edge knew that he was coming down with something. His head felt muggy and the back of his throat and soft palate felt enlarged and spongy. He had been unable to clear his left ear, [more…]
Arts
Christmas, How Did Yours Go?
I saw a piece to camera from Sonia Poulton before Christmas who felt Hollywood was less than helpful in its portrayal of a Christmas as a sugary confection of unreasonable expectation. True of course because [more…]
Drinking
The 12 wines of Christmas
In no particular order are here my 12 wines of Christmas with the descriptions as found online From left to right Mersault J.M. Boillot 2019Beautifully crisp and textural Meursault with fresh white fruit and striking [more…]
Arts
Going Postal’s Monster Christmas Quiz
What do you or your family know about Christmas, and how it’s been celebrated and portrayed over the years? 120 Christmas questions! Doing the whole quiz in one go might be a bit much for [more…]
Fiction
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
The haggard, ruddy-faced detective sighed heavily as he groped across the table for the tape machine. He hit a button and began speaking in the weary, nicotine-and-vodka drenched tones of a man resigned to keeling [more…]
Christianity
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Painted in about 1470/75, it is in the National Gallery. One of Caroline’s favourite carols: In memory of Caroline Catherine McNicholas 2nd October 1957 – 3rd January 2022 OldTrout
Christianity
Silent Night (Stille-Nacht-Kapelle)
The Silent Night Chapel (Stille-Nacht-Kapelle) is located in the town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg in the Austrian province of Salzburg, and is a monument to the Christmas carol Silent Night and its librettist, Joseph Mohr [more…]
Hobbies
Festive Postcard from Cirencester
For many years, Mrs. 10210 and I would head to London for a long weekend in December. However we had become fed up with the hustle and bustle as well as the feeling of being [more…]