Imbolc: Day 6

Although it's not quite the end of our Imbolc week, it was the big night for us. Rob was on shift on Thursday, so Wednesday was the night of our Imbolc dinner and festive film. There were a couple of other things today as well...

‘Candlemas’

The next chapter in my seasonal reading (The Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton) was 'Candlemas'.

The Nesting

A bit of wintery tram reading today... The Nesting by C.J. Cooke.

Ronald Hutton Lecture

Not strictly seasonal, but I really enjoyed another wonderful public lecture by Ronald Hutton for Gresham College tonight, on Anglo-Saxon Pagan Gods this time. So interesting and informative (and, as always, entertaining).

Imbolc Dinner

Rob did us proud tonight with our traditional Imbolc Dinner of colcannon, followed by pear crumble.

Imbolc Gifts

We swapped our traditional Imbolc cards and gifts tonight. It's the start of another set of seasonal whiskies that we'll save to enjoy in December.

Groundhog Day

And, of course, we watched the festive film of the season tonight.

Imbolc: Day 5

Tuesday was another really busy day at work, leaving no time for any festivities. I did manage another seasonal chapter from Stations of the Sun though.

‘Brigid’s Night’

'Brigid's Night' was next in Ronald Huttons The Stations of the Sun.

Imbolc: Day 4

Another day of celebrating Imbolc! Well, sort of. We were both in work on Monday (Rob was on a day/night shift, and I had back-to-back meetings through till 9pm), so there wasn't actually any time to do anything festive. I still marked the season, but it was only through reading a short chapter of a book!

‘Speeding the Plough’

I returned to my seasonal reading of Ronald Hutton's The Stations of the Sun today. I don't want to skip any chapters, so I'm reading around the entire season (Plough Monday-Valentines) this time, rather than just the Imbolc/Candlemas chapters. So, today's reading was 'Speeding the Plough'.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 24

And finally! I've reached the last day of our Countdown to Christmas! (Admittedly, it's taken me a while to post this, but I've got there in the end!) I'm going to end this post just at the point we headed off for Christmas Dinner with the family, as these blogs were more about how we celebrated the midwinter season, rather than Christmas Dinner and presents. So here's the last bit of build-up...

Advent Tea

The final day of my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Mojitea!

Advent Calendar

Each year, I make Rob an advent calendar filled with little envelopes to read each day. Usually, these envelopes contain a story, but this year they were clues for him to solve. After he'd decoded the message, it led him to a cupboard upstairs - the final door of the advent calendar, behind which there was a special nativity scene waiting for him!

‘The Reinvention of Christmas’

The final Christmas chapter of Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun was 'The Reinvention of Christmas'.

Hannah’s Bookshelf Christmas Special

My Hannah's Bookshelf Christmas Special aired today on North Manchester FM. As is tradition, I talked about a selection of newly published festive books on the show.

Castlerea Christmas Eve Session

Also tradition, I went in to Castlerea Care Home for a Christmas Eve celebration today. I read 'A Visit from St Nicholas' to the residents, and we had a bit of Gingerbread Latte flavoured Irish Cream and some mince pies. One of the residents also produced a big box of Quality Street for us to share!

Yule Candle

And finally... we lit our Yule candle from Chalice Creations today. It was scented with frankincense, orange, cinnamon and cedarwood!

And so, the countdown was over, and so that's where I'm ending this blog. The wheel of the year will turn again after New Year, when we'll be getting ready to celebrate Imbolc.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 23

It's my penultimate post! Wow... did not expect it to take so long to publish these! But here's what I got up to on Christmas Eve Eve!

Advent Tea

My penultimate advent calendar tea from Bird and Blend Tea was Mascarpone and Sour Cherry!

Ninja Book Box Week 4

My final Ninja Book Box advent parcels brought Syd Moore's The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas, a little book charm/decoration and a recipe for Gingerbread Latte Fudge!

‘Misrule’

The penultimate Christmas chapter in Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun was 'Misrule'.

Bailey’s Wood Winter Solstice Walk

To celebrate the season, I led a Winter Solstice walk for Friends of Bailey's Wood today. It was raining quite heavily, but we still got chance to enjoy some holly, ivy and silver birches, plus some midwinter folklore and stories.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 22

This is a relatively short post, as it was the last day of our holiday and we spent most of the day travelling back from Cornwall. Still, we had a nice little stop-off on the way.

Advent Tea

Day 22 on my Bird and Blend Tea advent calendar was Moondrop Dreams!

‘Hobby-Horse and Horn Dance’

The next Christmas chapter from Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun that I read was 'Hobby-Horse and Horn Dance'.

A Trip to Truro

We usually stop off in Truro on the way home from Lizard to do a bit of Christmas shopping. I always like to pop into the cathedral to see their Christmas tree as well while we're there.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 21

Another very belated festive post! This one's about our last day in Lizard, before we headed back home for Christmas.

Advent Tea

Day 20 on my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Mint Pistachio!

‘Mummers’ Play and Sword Dance’

The next Christmas chapter of Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun was 'Mummers' Play and Sword Dance'.

Muddlebox Cocktail

Tonight we opened our November Muddlebox box, and it was an Acapulco!

A Christmas Carol

Our final film at the cottage (as most years) was A Christmas Carol!

Black Lake Manor

And the last book I started while we were away (though I haven't yet finished it) was Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss.

Countdown to Christmas: Day 20

I'm still determined to get these all published, even though we're hurtling into 2023 now. This one is quite a big post, as we did quite a lot on 20th December. We'd had quite stormy weather while we were away, but this was a day when things calmed down a bit so we took advantage of that and went on a couple of trips.

Advent Tea

Day 20 of my Bird and Blend Tea calendar was Peach Soda!

Christmas Earrings

Today's Christmas earrings were a snowflake and Christmas tree combo!

‘Rites of Hospitality and Charity’

The next Christmas chapter I read in Ronald Hutton's Stations of the Sun was 'Rites of Hospitality and Charity'.

Coastal Path Walk

We went for a walk along the coastal path today to enjoy a bit of midwinter sunshine. Although the sun was shining, the sea was still pretty wild! And we got to see a waterfall as well, meaning that we ended the year in the same way we began.

Midwinter Greenery

There are some fantastic evergreens along the coastal path, including ivy and juniper, which was a nice reminder of the season.

Ann’s Pasties

A walk along the coastal path to Lizard took us straight to Ann's Pasties, of course!

Mousehole Harbour Lights

This evening, we went to Mousehole to see the harbour lights. Sadly, since lockdown, they haven't been able to do a big switch-on event as in previous years, but all the lights were up and on by the time we went.

Praze-an-Beeble

On the way back from Mousehole, we always like seeing all the little villages lit up for Christmas. One of our favourites is Praze-an-Beeble, who always put on a good display.

The Santa Clause

Our next bit of festive viewing was The Santa Clause trilogy!