Tag Archives: Christmas

more books means more bookcases – so who will benefit?

English: The Ikea multistory car park at Ikea,...

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Neither Andrew nor I can be described as not having an interest in books. We have eight Billy bookcases from Ikea in our flat and we already know that we will need to acquire more bookcases to provide all our books with decent accommodation.

With most of our family knowing this, it seemed rather amazing that my mother, Andrew, and my brother all decided to give me more books for Christmas. Now, I don’t want any of them to get the wrong idea. I love getting new books (and second-hand ones). But I am not sure where we are going to manage to put them.

Today, I’m up in Ballymena at my parents’ as they are having an ‘at home’ to show off their new extension, and Duncan gave me the ones he had bought for Christmas:

  • Neil Oliver, The History of Ancient Britain
  • Kevin Joslin, 12 Reasons to Look Up Uranus
  • Graeme Donald, Loose Cannons

All three look like a great read. I am sure that we will both enjoy them. So thank you Duncan. I’m sure that Ikea will be grateful.

 

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December 28, 2011 1 Comment Short URL , , , , Ballymena, Blogging, Books

A time for families to remember all their loved ones

I am so glad that I am lucky enough to still be in touch with my family. I know that I am one of the lucky ones. Others, like Lee, are not so lucky. I hope that all families will remember and love all their children for the people that they are – and not try to make them what they are not.

Lee McCracken, a young lad from Belfast that I met during Belfast Pride 2011, has recorded a Christmas message to his family. As Lee says,

Its been almost a year since my family decided to cut me out of their lives. I havent stopped loving them. I made this video to tell them that and to make an appeal for reconciliation.

I leave you with his video. Well said Lee!

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December 26, 2011 0 Comments Short URL , , , , LGBT

It’s Christmas Day so I’m at the organ

It’s Christmas Day so somewhat predictably (although for the first time in a while) I am at the organ console this morning.

For once, I was allowed to choose the hymns myself. But considering the congregation, I chose mostly hymns that I think are well known…

First hymn: The First Nowell

Second hymn: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Third hymn: To-Day Be Joy in Every Heart

Fourth hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful

I am sure that most readers will know the words of the first, second, and fourth hymns, but as the third hymn is not one I’ve known before I found it in Hymns of Faith & Freedom which is the book used at All Souls’ Belfast where I am playing, I thought I’d put the words up here.

To-day be joy in every heart,
For lo, the angel throng
Once more above the listening earth
Repeats the advent song:

“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men!”
Before us goes the star,
That leads us on to holier births
And life diviner far.

Ye men of strife, forget to-day
Your harshness and your hate;
Too long ye stay the promised years
For which the nations wait.

And ye upon the tented field,
Sheath, sheathe to-day the sword;
By love, and not by might, shall come
The kingdom of the Lord.

O star of human faith and hope,
Thy light shall lead us on,
Until it fades in morning’s glow,
And heaven on earth is won!

F.L. Hosmer

 

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December 25, 2011 0 Comments Short URL , , , , Blogging, christian, NSPCI

what happens when you don’t follow instructions…

Fruit Cake Recipe of M E Campbell Picture © 2011 Mícheál Mac Caillein
Fruit Cake Recipe of M E Campbell Picture © 2011 Mícheál Mac Caillein

You need to take note of everything written on personal recipes.

I am married to a technical writer. I am forever being told that the manuals and instructions for everything that we get ought to be read before the equipment is used. Like my paternal grandmother I find it all too easy to just lift the thing and try to use it. Unlike her, however, I do tend to read the instructions on medicine bottles: she always unscrewed and took two pills – and then often found that she ought to have only taken one.

My mother is usually very good at reading manuals as well – perhaps that is why she and Andrew seem to get on quite so well. A longstanding family joke is that

unless Mum can read how to do anything from a book she won’t be able to do it!

It was, therefore, quite surprising to hear from Mum that her Christmas Cake for this year is not going quite according to plan. One family friend, formerly Head of Home Economics in a well-known Girls’ High School, is particularly impressed (?) that Christmas Cake hasn’t quite worked.

Mum told me of the problems as soon as I disembarked from the train yesterday afternoon. Apparently she had found an instruction in her recipe to

Make sure Michael gets pouring in some of the bowls. dated 1988

I can quite categorically state that I had no hand in the pouring in of the bowls of fruit this year, so perhaps that is the reason that the recipe has not gone according to plan!

Yesterday evening, Mum made the marzipan (from scratch of course) and put it on the cake, and has since iced the cake. She has also taken the precaution of buying Christmas Cake mix from Sainsbury’s – just in case (Peter would be proud).

Christmas Cake of M E Campbell with marzipan but no icing. Picture: © Mícheál Mac Caillein

Christmas Cake of M E Campbell with marzipan but no icing.

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December 24, 2011 2 Comments Short URL , , , , , , Blogging

it’s not just Ballymena that brings Christmas early…

The Belfast Telegraph asked in 2010: Could this be the first tree in the UK or Ireland?

My apologies to my readers that there has not been much from my desk in recent days, I’ve been on holiday in between a committee meeting of FLAGS and a ringing tour with FODS. But it seems that Bedford is getting ready for the holiday season of Christmas quite early in the year. As Peter and I returned from the Barley Mow last evening [or was it this morning?–Ed.] we saw that Bedford Borough Council had started to put the Christmas lighting up.

This reminds me of my home town where Ballymena Borough Council causes embarrassment to its residents by having to switch off the Christmas lights on Remembrance Day as they are switched on before that.

We’re not even into the month of November, we’ve not had Hallowe’en, or Bonfire Night, and still councils up and down the country are putting Christmas lights up way too early.

Is it too much to ask that Christmas is left until Christmas! It’s Twelve Days long. We all know the song the Twelve Days of Christmas, and some of us have now heard several alternative versions. Now that would make it special for all concerned.

Perhaps someone should ask the local Council what they are playing at here in Bedford? Oh, hold on, they have an ‘elected Mayor‘ Dave Hodgson. Perhaps someone can explain this system to me.

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October 13, 2011 2 Comments Short URL , , , , , , , , Ballymena, Bedford, news

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