My Christmas Wish to all my Friends

By -
This Christmas I wish you all the best that the season of peace on earth and goodwill to all men has to offer:

  • My your little darlings be angels in the school nativity play, not cows*
  • May your panto hero actually be able to hear you shout "He's behind you!"
  • May you remember to blow out your advent candle before it burns halfway through to next week*
  • May your carol singers actually sing carols, rather than mumbling a half-hearted verse of "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and then holding out their hands for money*
  • May the children remain peacefully asleep as Father Christmas places their filled stockings on their beds, and may they remain peacefully asleep until the sun has risen
  • May you remember to put on your shoes when you go to church, and not find yourself standing in the foyer in your slippers trying to pass them off as a festive statement*
  • May your crackers contain hats that fit, jokes that are funny, and novelty gifts that are actually useful*
  • May your sprouts, parsnips and carrots taste sweeter than any vegetable has a right to, and may there be enough roasties to go round. (And may you not forget the bread sauce this year.)*
  • May your Christmas pudding flame elegantly without setting off the smoke alarm
  • May the children be so enthralled by their new toys that they let you have Christmas day afternoon in peace to watch the Queen's Speech, Room on the Broom, Doctor Who and Downton Abbey.
  • May your mince pies always come with "warm, with custard?" as an option.
In short, Merry Christmas!

 (* applies especially to me.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eight Things I wish I'd known about Electric Cars before I bought one

By -
Image
  Last September my husband and I bought an MG 5 LR EV Exclusive. That "LR EV" stands for "Long Range Electric Vehicle." Our first electric car. I'd long been thinking that we were the ideal family for an electric car. We rarely drive long distances, we have our own driveway, and with three members of the family suffering from asthma we're keen to be part of cutting emissions. Hubby said he would have been okay with a hybrid, but that sounded like fence-sitting to me. With the price of a litre of diesel touching £2.00 at the time (US$8.40 per gallon) and the petrol crisis still fresh in our memories, I was keen to get away from the need to buy fuel at the forecourt. Our diesel Kuga was approaching the end of its contract and it was time to choose a new one. So off we went to the Ford showroom and asked what electric cars they had. Only two: a Mustang (a sporty beast) or a Transit van. The Mustang looked very pretty, but wouldn't fit Roderic's hockey
Read more

I Wore a Skirt to Church on Sunday

By -
Image
I'm very grateful to have permission to reproduce here something by Carrie Stringham Teasdale. I've never met Carrie, but her words had quite an impression on me so I sought her out to ask whether I could share them on my blog.  As background this past Sunday, 16th December, was designated by a group of Mormon feminists as "Wear Pants [Trousers] to Church Day". They felt that being required to wear a skirt or dress to church is indicative of the oppressive and patronising attitude in the LDS church towards women. Now, whilst I'll readily admit that it is a patriarchal church, I personally have never felt less valued or respected in it, or in any way inferior to my brothers in Christ's church. I also only ever wear skirts or dresses because I find them way more comfortable than trousers. In fact, I don't currently own a pair of trousers (that fit). I have held some pretty major callings (on the Stake Public Affairs Council, YW President, Primary Preside
Read more

The Importance of Reviews - and Chocolate

By -
In my last blog I talked about the expense of publicity and why, therefore, it is important to attract readers through other means. Social networking, blogging and and just being "out there" apparently helps people to know your name and have an interest in your work. A gripping, intriguing and well-written back cover blurb is vital, but personally I think you can't beat reviews and recommendations. If someone else has read the book and loved it - especially if they are someone I know and trust - then there's a good chance I'll want to read it too. When a potential buyer is considering the book on Amazon a good review might be the difference between clicking "buy" or not. To this end, I have a proposal. The "Chocolate and Reviews for Books" proposal Here's how it works: You, the author, email me a word document of your book (to anna [at] buttimore [dot] org [dot] uk - and include your postal address in the email). I post you a bar of British
Read more