Christmas is coming

23rd December 2020

Christmas will be different this year. I'm planning to take advantage of the technology we have discovered in recent months and meet as many people as possible over the Christmas period. I have 22 cousins who in turn have children and grandchildren! So I will start by trying to meet as many of these as possible, plus a few other parts of the Family Tree, over two sessions using Zoom.

I am still waiting to see the first snowdrop! The last Cosmos petals have fallen off, but hopefully it will seed to give me even more joy in November next year.

I was surprised to find roses still in bloom in a nearby park.

My neighbour has a small tree in the front garden tht is already in blossom.

This is a time when we remember the Holly and Ivy, but I cannot find any holly with berries in my garden and fear that I have removed the bushes that carried the berries and spread holly throughout the garden - I hope that some of the new bushes will carry berries in time.

When I first moved into our house - 40 years ago - I tried to plant some daffodil bulbs, only to find that every bit of ground seemed already to have a bulb! Now there are a lot of bulbs pushing up shoots. This year I am not sure whether these are from bulbs I planted in the Autumn or from previous years. Though the occasional distinctive daffodil shoot must be from a previous year and I cn identify the irises from my Autumn planting.

The cyclamen are slowly coming into flower and I suspect I will have daisies of one sort or another through the whole year.

Shopping is not my favourite pursuit and I particularly dislike running around trying to find presents for the grandchildren at Christmas, which are not needed or particularly wanted.. This year would have been particularly difficult and not worth the risk. However there are lots of children in Zambia who I know who would not normally be able to celebrate at Christmas. I have been able to send money on behalf of each of my grandchildren to children of friends in Zambia. Maybe the grandchildren will take an interest and link with the children over the years to come.

I hope that you have a Christmas full of love and that you are able to safely meet with you friends and family this year.

 

With love and prayers,

Chris

Waiting for Christmas

 

16th December 2020

Today has been particularly dull and wet after a reasonable day yesterday. Rain is generally looked on differently in Zambia, where the start of the rainy season is welcomed because it is needed to grow the household crops which provide essential food for many who have little income.

My friends are busy now tending their fields and watching the maize grow. Rain, sunshine and temperatures in the mid twenties make ideal growing conditions.So, as I see the shoots of my Spring bulbs push through I think of the maize growing in the fields in Zambia.

I am fortunate to be able to help my friends with a packet or two of seeds and some fertilizer. It is a delight when I hear in April or May that the crop is being harvested. Many years ago I sent my Dad a Christmas Card which told him that I had given away the money I had for his Christmas present to a friend who needed maize seed to grow food for his family. A few months later I sent my dad a photo of Osman in his field of maize - my father never forgot that Christmas present!

Here it is that strange time of year as we await Christmas - particularly strange this year. I am looking forward to mass meetings of friends and relatives this year! Before you think I am being irresponsible I should explain my meetings will be online. I have a plan to see as many of my friends and relatives as possible - including a meeting for all of my grandfather's descendents - I have 4 children and six grandchildren to start. Little is happening in my garden. There is now just a single flower on the Cosmos plant.

I was surprised to see a couple of campanula flowers in my daughter's garden, then found I also have a couple in my garden.

I was surprised to see a flower already forming on my forsythia - this bush usually gives a magnificent early Spring display.

Some years ago I was inspired by the idea of advent candles. I decided to place a set of lights on a small Acer tree for each week of Advent. We had the tree since we moved in about 30 years earlier and the tree was about 4-5 feet high - as it had always been. It is now more than 12 feet high!! I claim it is the effect of the Advent lights!! I put out a third set of lights on my Acer this week for Gaudate Sunday, only to find they failed to work when put on the tree. I need to buy more lights to compensate and make sure that by Christmas I have a fine display.

Keep safe,

Chris

Flowers in November

 

24th November 2020

I started to write this blog as The Spirit of Christmas in February 2013, then restarted as The Real Spirit of Christmas in January 2014, but neither developed.

At least on this occasion I am starting before Christmas - perhaps a more appropriate time of year for this blog! I am going to set myself a target of providing a weekly blog with pictures - mainly from my garden.

We have been in a strange world for the past 8 or 9 months. I have been very fortunate because I live in a pleasant part of the country. Here in Cheltenham there are many open spaces in which to relax and I have a garden which I love.

I am a real softy and enjoy some of the Christmas films. Few are artistic or technical triumphs and the plot is almost the same for all. At least one of the key characters is driven by success and money and has no time for the "frivolous" things of life. They meet the other key character and recognise and stsrt to see beauty in nature and in people. They fall in love and live happiliy everafter

I want to focus on nature. It is easy to get stuck inside with electromic devices and miss what is happening outside. Yesterday I went into the garden with the intent of finding something to photograph. I know that a Cosmos plant (a rather impressive name!) is in flower. So I was sure I had one subject. However, I find that there are a number of different plants currently in flower, as well as bulbs pushing shoots up through the soil and berries adorning the trees and bushes.

My faith is very important to me. The Christian church effectively squeezes it's story into four or five months - strting at the end of November with Advent and reaching a climax in April with Easter.

We start now with a period of reflection as we await the arrival of Jesus (God) as a little baby and look forward to celebrating his birthday. This year I am determined to have a very special Christmas. I will reflect during Advent to prepare for a wonderful celebration. I don't intend to meet others inside, but, if allowed will meet outside and perhaps go for a walk. I will think about what virtual actities we can enjoy together as a family. Maybe a virtual Christmas can involve family throughout the Country and the World!

I start now just before Advent which is the preparation for Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is easy to forget that Jesus was a real person born about 2000 years ago. There is a lot of historical information about him.

My garden is far from the tidiest and my photography leaves an awful lot to be desired, however life is pretty messy in reality - unlike the impression we might usually get from social media.

I will do my best to honour my weekly commitment and if one person finds it useful and is perhaps inspired to go out and see what joys nature has instore for her, then I will be very pleased.

As I write my friendly coal tit is knocking on my window before he takes a couple of sunflower seeds from the feeder - it is as if he is asking permission before moving to the feeding station.

With my love and prayers during this time,

Chris