Advent Day 5

Burley is a small village in Hampshire’s New Forest often featuring on my posts, with a reputation for witchcraft and demonology based on legends which are given in https://derrickjknight.com/2013/06/22/witchcraft/

It is a venue popular with our visitors, especially the younger ones, for what is to be found in its shops, especially ‘A Coven of Witches’ opened by Sybil Leek in the 1950s, shortly after the UK’s prohibition of witchcraft was lifted. Inside this shop I had a good long conversation with the owner who was hanging decorations. Last year we had bought a polished malachite stone for Malachi, so it was fascinating to learn that there are many fakes on line but that the provenance coming with those supplied here is guaranteed.

Here is my gallery from our visit at twilight this afternoon;

and here is Jackie’s.

This evening we enjoyed more chicken and vegetable stewp and crusty bread rolls, with which I drank Vina Albali Valdepeñas Gran Reserva 2017

Advent Day 4

It was in December 1963 that Mike Vaquer, a work colleague in the Yorkshire Insurance Company, introduced me to colour slides, of which I produced thousands when still using film, and we began

a series of annual trips to photograph West End Christmas lights together. These hung over Regent Street that year.

I spent the afternoon continuing my reading of Elizabeth Goudge’s novel ‘Gentian Hill’.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s nourishing chicken and vegetable stewp and fresh crusty bread with which I drank more of the Bediani.

Advent Day 3

This morning we transported another surplus water butt and 14 more bags of garden refuse to Efford Recycling centre and returned with an

apparently unused IKEA child’s wicker chair which we have placed beside the curtain behind which Ellie stood looking out of the window until the grandfamily moved away, waiting for their arrival for Christmas.

“Every year, one road in Hampshire takes Christmas cheer to another level with every house on the block transformed into a winter wonderland. In total, seven houses in Byron Road, New Milton, band together to light up the street with dazzling fairy lights to raise money for the NHS.

“The annual tradition was started by one couple just under 20 years ago and their enthusiasm for all things Christmas. 75-year-old Ged Hollyoake was a builder before he retired and he and his wife Susan Burley, 75, began decorating their home in 2004.

“Since then, the pair’s festive spirit has become infectious with neighbours helping and beginning to decorate their homes with roof lights, icicles, nativity scenes and giant life-size snowmen. Conveniently, the garage next door has offered out its car park as a place to store all the equipment to keep the road clear.

” “The display takes around two months to plan and Ged leave[s] all kinds of hooks and tacks up all year around so the lights can go straight on. He changes it up every year and there’s always plenty of decorations inside too. It’s very well organised and Ged helps the neighbours with theirs’ too. “

“The road sees thousands of visitors every year and on November 27, families piled in to see the countdown around 5pm. The annual event has not been without its challenges however as it was forced to close in 2020 due to Covid restrictions.

“In past years, some houses have stopped, or refused to take part because of the busy crowds that can gather. On the whole however, many people are supportive, especially as the display has raised around £90,000 for the NHS.” (Extracts from http://Hampshirelive.news/whats-on/family-kids/how-one-hamp…

Earlier this year Jackie and I met Ged at the Recycling Centre where he told us his wife had recently died.

The tradition is being continued by their son, Dax, although the charity being supported is now the Oakhaven Hospice.

“Dax said: “As the display became more of an attraction, we decided to start raising money around 15 years ago. This was largely to do with my mum who had been in ill health and Bournemouth Hospital were fantastic. We wanted to try and raise as much money as possible for the NHS, even more so after the Covid pandemic.”

“To find out more information on the lights, please visit the Byron Road Lights Facebook page.” (Hampshirelive news)

I have posted on these lights several times in recent years and therefore updating the story today.

Here is tonight’s gallery.

We enjoyed a long conversation with Ged and his 5 years old grandson, Dillon (?sp)

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie; moist spinach; tasty Brussels sprouts; tender runner beans; and crunchy carrots with which I drank more of the delicious Georgian red wine.

Advent Day 2

Every year, since 1947, the people of Norway have given the people of London a Christmas tree. This gift is in gratitude for Britain’s support for Norway during World War II.

About the tree

The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is usually a Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) over 20 metres high and 50 to 60 years old. It is selected from the forests surrounding Oslo with great care several months, even years, in advance. The Norwegian foresters who look after it describe it fondly as ‘the queen of the forest’.

The tree is felled in November during a ceremony in which the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the British ambassador to Norway and the Mayor of Oslo participate. It is brought to the UK by sea, then completes its journey by lorry. A specialist rigging team erects it in the square using a hydraulic crane. It is decorated in traditional Norwegian fashion, with vertical strings of lights. Energy-efficient light bulbs are used.

The lighting ceremony

Don’t miss the lighting of the world’s most famous Christmas tree, which takes place in Trafalgar Square on Thursday the 5th of December 2024. The 25-metre-high tree is a gift from the people of Norway to London, in thanks for Britain’s support in World War II. This historic tradition has happened every year since 1947 and signals the countdown to Christmas in London.

Recycling the tree

The Christmas tree remains in Trafalgar Square until just before the Twelfth Night of Christmas, when it is taken down for recycling. The tree is chipped and composted, to make mulch.

Blessing of the Crib

Join a special blessing of the Crib ceremony in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 8th December 2024.

Meet on the church steps for a torch-lit procession to Trafalgar Square led by the Lakeside Brass Quintet with the Choir and Clergy of St Martin-in-the-Fields.

For more information please visit the St Martin-in-the-Fields website.

From

“The Christmas season officially opens in Central London with the switching on of the lights to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree.  Our annual gift from the people of Norway in recognition of Britain’s help during World War Two, the tree has been a feature of the capital since 1947.  This is how I, with my Kodak Retinette 1b, recorded the scene [more than] fifty years ago [in December 1963]: “

taken from my post https://derrickjknight.com/2013/12/06/a-gift-from-norway/

After drafting this I cleared six months worth of administration and accompanying filing, including a detailed 20 page questionnaire about my cancer treatment.

Elizabeth joined us for dinner again to help us clear the freezer for the amount of food required for the Christmas influx of family. Today we enjoyed Jackie’s wholesome chicken and vegetable stewp with fresh crusty bread accompanied in my case by Bediani Saperavi Premium 2022 dry red wine and Elizabeth’s FreeDamm non-alcoholic lager.

Advent Day 1

Today I embark upon an Advent Calendar juxtaposing new and old Christmas decorations beginning with the communal green at Milford on Sea and some shop windows.

Elizabeth joined us for the afternoon, accompanied me on the photoshoot, and stayed by invitation for dinner.

Here is my gallery from the trip;

and here is Elizabeth’s.

Our dinner consisted of wholesome cottage pie; cauliflower, carrots, and Brussels sprouts with which I finished the pinotage and Elizabeth drank FreDamm beer

An Avian Post

It was the raising of this manhole cover by human waste that had recently caused us to contact Greg of Mouland Drainage who provided his usual exemplary service at a Senior Citizen’s discount.

Knowing that there would be two other points requiring clearance we made them accessible to Greg as best we could. This meant the artefacts on top of the covers had to be returned in place afterwards.

Just after lunch I righted the owl and planters covering the first of

these, while the other with two filled aluminium tubs is, for fear of toppling over, beyond me now.

This year is the first that the Japanese maple above the patio bed has enjoyed colourful autumn foliage.

On this perpetually overcast, yet warm open-waistcoat weather we took a forest drive.

I negotiated the pools on Tanners Lane to photograph the beach with

its water-beaten breakwaters and

distant views over which I could discern distant honking geese in flight, without realising that they would emerge over Tanners Lane

where Jackie would be able to photograph them from much closer;

another flock crying out to those overhead;

starlings switching from wires to tree in rotation;

a buzzard keeping eyes peeled for potential prey;

and me, before I later added

a pheasant face-off on St. Leonard’s Road.

Having begun with an owl on the patio we completed today’s theme with Jackie’s nourishing chicken stewp welcoming the addition of one of yesterday’s chopped duck breasts and crusty rolls with which I drank more of the pinotage.

Reminders Of Storm Conall

The gently pastel-streaked dawn photographed by Jackie didn’t really live up to promise;

neither did the brief sunshine tipping the trees on Beckley Common road remain long enough to provide a hoped for visible sunset

when, on a forest drive, we splashed around lanes like Gorley Road making us feel grateful that we had not received the severe flooding experienced elsewhere in the UK.

Later, I read more of Elizabeth Goudge’s ‘Gentian Hill’, after which we dined on roast duck breasts, tender inside yet with crispy skins and Yorkshire pudding; boiled new potatoes; crunchy carrots; firm Brussels sprouts and cauliflower with its leaves simulating cabbage, and tasty gravy, accompanied, in my case, by South African Coastal Region Pinotage 2022.

Sunset At The Beach House

This is a photograph from https://derrickjknight.com/2016/01/20/the-beach-house/, showing the room in which we shared teas and coffee with Giles and Jean this afternoon until just before sunset. Our friends were on good form and we enjoyed pleasant conversation.

Jackie photographed the windows of this room from outside.

These are her views of the skies.

I wandered slightly further afield, taking in a dog walker, The Isle of Wight, The Needles, the lighthouse,

and reflecting patterns on neighbouring windows.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome Shepherd’s pie; boiled new potatoes; firm carrots and cauliflower (with its chopped leaves doubling as tender brassica); moist spinach, and tasty gravy, with which I finished the Fleurie.

A Leaky Butt, Garden And Loo Refuse

With Storm Conall raging all around the south coast, yet leaving us

unscathed we transported 12 bags of green garden refuse and a leaky water butt to Efford Recycling Centre this morning and returned with what Jackie termed a glorified toilet roll holder which fits neatly in the

downstairs loo and keeps a good supply in there. This is her photo.

Martin had to negotiate a severe flood stretching some distance from Ringwood to Bransgore, no more than five miles from us.

In the dark later afternoon with a lamp strapped to his head the excellent Greg Mouland visited and cleared a drain blockage. I had only sent him an e-mail yesterday and he squeezed us in after all the rest of his work.

As Jackie said, “we got rid of an awful lot of shit today”.

This evening we dined on roast chicken; boiled new potatoes; crunchy carrots; firm pure white cauliflower with its chopped leaves; tender spinach and green beans; and tasty Brussels sprouts, with which I drank more of the Fleurie.

Autumn Has Arrived

Today’s culling involved a few pictures from April 1969 – not these of Elizabeth feeding Matthew.

This afternoon we took forest drive.

Autumn leaves still clung to the trees along Holmsley Passage, where a few holly berries hung and trees were reflected in the rippling stream bubbling under the ford.

On Bisterne Close a mere handful of ponies, one wearing a bracken mask, wandered among the woodland

which Jackie photographed, including me.

Just before a somewhat cloud-obscured sunset I photographed a tree against the darkening sky.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome shepherd’s pie, firm flavoursome carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts with which I drank more of the Fleurie that involved opening another bottle.