Festivities

Christmas Blogging

~ beetleypete ~ 96 Comments

Only a few days to go before the three-day Christmas break, and some bloggers are already disappearing from their blogs to make trips to family or preparations to receive them.

This is always a quiet time of year in the blogging community, something to be expected.

With this in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to wish a happy and peaceful Christmas to anyone who will not be around for the next week or so.

And at this time of year, let us not forget those who will not be in the mood to celebrate the festivities. Those who have lost loved ones in 2021, or are living alone without family or close friends. Widows and widowers, orphans, those suffering from depression or debilitating medical disabilities, and the many who are ill from the symptoms of Covid-19.

As we eat too much, drink a little too much, and exchange gifts, we have to remember those who have nothing to look forward to, and keep them in our thoughts.

Feeling Festive In Beetley

~ beetleypete ~ 73 Comments

As you know, I am something of a ‘Bah Humbug’ when it comes to Christmas. However, my wife loves the season.
So this is now in the far corner of our living room, in front of the side window.

It is an artificial tree. We wouldn’t have a real one, as the pine needles would get into Ollie’s paws. It is pre-lit, so just plugs in. There are various coloured lights available, including flashing options. But we choose to have the white lights, and no flashing.

Julie has collected the baubles for the past eight years, and many have special meaning for her. Some are also ‘personalised’.

So despite my seasonal ‘Grinch’ impersonation, we are finally festive in Beetley.

The Seasonal Rollercoaster

~ beetleypete ~ 55 Comments

All the presents were bought and wrapped long before the end of November. Though we send few cards now, they are written, ready for posting.

The restaurant is booked for the 25th, and the relaxation of the restrictions means we will actually be able to go.

Ollie’s gifts are also bought and wrapped. Three new soft toys.

Because the 25th is a Friday this year, the following Monday will be a holiday. That extends the ‘celebrations’ by an extra day.

Next Wednesday, I have to get the tree and decorations down from the loft. So by the 12th, it will be sitting decorated in its usual place at the back corner of the living room.

Despite obvious differences because of the Coronavirus, that sense of seasonal deja-vu is well and truly consuming me.

The rollercoaster has started, and I am already on board. So far, it has only started its climb to the first big drop.

Roll on the 27th!

Thinking Aloud on Christmas Eve

~ beetleypete ~ 87 Comments

Of course, it is also Sunday, but I thought I would give this post a seasonal title.

I woke up thinking about a lot of things this Sunday. Not least how much stress and panic goes into the Christmas season every year. So much time spent in preparation, so much money spent too. Few of us have the time for the real spirit behind the annual celebration, and many will be lonely and depressed as they watch others excitedly prepare for that one day of excess. Every year for many years now, I have vowed not to ‘play the game’, not to be a part of the commercialism. And every time I weaken, give in, do it all just to ‘keep the peace’. But I do it with a heavy heart, as I don’t enjoy any of it.

Blogging also takes a seasonal break. Bloggers around the world travel to see family and friends, or become consumed with their own preparations. There are less posts to read, and less comments around the blogs too. I am still around of course, hiding away from the enforced jollity, and the hectic merry-go-round that borders on mania, for at least two days. The tree is up and lit. The decorations, such as they are, placed around the room. Candles add light and fragrance, and the hours of cleaning has left the house looking smart.

Tomorrow will be a day of rushing around, before settling into a very quiet evening later. Just the two of us, and Ollie, quietly contemplating the following day, when the real work starts for us on the 26th. Is it all really worth it, for a festival that I don’t even believe in? Call me a bah humbug if you wish, but I don’t think so.

For all of you who love this time of year, enjoy it. They will start counting down to next Christmas, come Tuesday.

A Christmas message

~ beetleypete ~ 18 Comments

I noticed today that the only visitors to my blog are from countries other than the UK. Time differences make it more suitable for those who live in zones where Christmas has already been, or has yet to start.

To all readers and followers, I would like to send the beetleypete compliments of the season. Whatever your faith, or lack of it, and however you intend to (or have already) celebrate the season, I wish you well, and hope that you have an enjoyable time. Thinking of those spending this time alone, or those in difficulties, also made me think of those bloggers who have disappeared from the scene. I miss being able to read the thoughts and activities of so many fellow bloggers. Once part of this community, and no doubt many others too, they have chosen to no longer publish their writing, their photos, recipes, or marvellous stories. Some have simply decided to stop following my blog, and I respect that wish.

On the off-chance that they are still reading this blog occasionally, I send my regards to A, The Witch of Endor, Sophie, The British Chick Across The Pond, Tracey of Food and Forage Hebrides, A of needjustice, HJS7777 a busy student, Sue of sparaszczuster, and a good dozen more. They will know who they are. I hope that life is treating you all well, and that your desire to blog will return one day. To those new followers who have replaced them, I say not only ‘thank you’, but also send my appreciation for your likes and comments over the past year.

It has been a quiet and peaceful day in Beetley so far. After some early present opening, we enjoyed a traditional English breakfast. A few phone calls followed, and then I took Ollie out for a walk. He was fortunate to find one of his pals, Big Rocky, also enjoying a seasonal stroll. They had a good-natured tussle, which Rocky won. As Rocky is a Newfoundland, Ollie stood little chance of victory. We continued on to Gingerbread Corner, before a chill wind drove me home. Later this evening we will enjoy a roast duck, some wine, and perhaps a dessert. If we have room for it.

A pretty good Christmas Day, by my reckoning.