Kidnap the sandy claws is a song from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare before Christmas which is one of my favourite Christmas (or Halloween) films. I love the combination of the frisson of Halloween with the sweetness of Christmas, and I find Jack’s story of change and redemption compelling. I love Burton’s work and find the songs refreshing – this one finds a trio of ‘bad guys’ (fairly clueless ones) planning a ‘wicked’ attack on Santa Claus.
The picture is that frog again, with added hat and snow. He hasn’t changed colour this time…
Dreidel by Don Maclean. Hannukah this year is between 10th and 18th December so I thought it was appropriate to choose a song for the festival. Dreidels are game pieces for a traditional Jewish game. They’re a kind of dice, spun rather than thrown, and the song reflects that. The game is popular at Hannukah and the pieces are given as small gifts.
The picture is of a New Year table (in Germany one year) but festive table settings are pretty interchangeable for various feasts!
Winter, according to the Rolling Stones. I think they’re probably my all time favourite group though Queen might be a strong contender. Quite a few groups have chosen winter as a theme and I would also recommend: California Dreamin’ by The Mamas and the Papas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-aK6JnyFmk
As you’ve probably gathered by now my tastes range through all kinds of music.
The tree in the picture is at the bottom of our garden. It’s a sycamore and I love watching it throughout the changing seasons. I can see it when I open the bathroom curtains and it tells me what the weather is doing as well as reminding me of the month!
Blow thou winter wind is John Rutter’s setting of the Shakespeare poem sung by Closer with photography by Lukas Fluri. A glorious combination! I’m also reminded of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNVstuJWus When icicles hang by the wall. Also Shakespeare, this time in a setting by George Wagner and sung by him. I’m not so keen on the music but it’s beautifully sung and the changing winter scenery is lovely. Another gorgeous version of Blow thou winter wind is Cleo Laine’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48r-c9_7JNs I prefer it for listening but the Closer version has the lovely film to accompany it!
The picture was taken in our local park. The waterfowl don’t seem to mind the way their world has solidified. Again – a couple of years ago.
Thanks so much to Jay for offering me space to witter about my new book on her blog, especially at such a frantic time of year. It’s my own fault really, publishing a book so soon before Christmas, but with a title like December Roses it seemed too good an opportunity to miss!
You wouldn’t necessarily think that a book about a gay British soldier recovering from a Belfast bombing and falling in love with a man he meets in a lost wilderness of a garden would have much to do with Tolkien. But Nat is no ordinary soldier; underneath his tough exterior he’s a sensitive soul who likes nothing more than curling up in a library with a good book, including The Lord of the Rings. Plus December Roses is more about romance and mystery (and gardening!) than it is about bombs or the physical process of recovery, and references from Tolkien’s Middle Earth seemed to fit very readily against that backdrop. I had fun seeing how many I could squeeze in.
For starters, there’s the name of the army rehab unit where Nat’s sent to recuperate. I chose Frogmorton, which is cheerfully stolen from one of the Shire’s less-well-known villages, partly because it sounds suitably rural and idyllic, and partly because it reflects the family crest (‛Three crowns and three frogs, don’t ask me why…’) referred to in the book.
Nat himself spots other similarities. Arriving at Frogmorton for the first time, he sees the setting sun reflected in the Towers’ gothic windows in a blaze of red, and his immediate reaction is ‛Christ, it’s like Mordor on a bad day’. Whether it’s an omen for good or bad, he (and the readers) will have to wait and see.
During a visit to the local town, the twisting passages of a bookshop remind him of the Mines of Moria (‛Well, I haven’t seen a balrog yet but there’s more than enough spiders…’ as the shop assistant says); while a pitch-dark secret tunnel from the Egyptian courtyard to the summer-house puts him in mind of Shelob’s Lair. And of course there’s elusive musician Richie, ‛Tolkien’s elf, made flesh and blood after all…’).
On a more serious note, The Lord of the Rings is ultimately about a world that’s changing, and not necessarily for the better. December Roses is also about change, although on a smaller, more personal scale as Nat comes to terms with his injury and its consequences. I’d like to think that, even though he has to cope with some dark times, in the end there’s more hope, and more emphasis on second chances, than in Tolkien’s famous work.
If you want a drinking game to while away the long dark December evenings, try picking out all The Lord of the Rings clues in the book. Sadly there are no prizes, except perhaps a sore head in the morning, but it could be fun! And if you’d like to find out more about Nat and his journey of discovery, head for my website (http://www.fiona.glass.com/roses.html) where there’s a blurb and an excerpt from where he’s first introduced to part of his beloved garden.(http://www.fiona-glass.com/roses.html) If it (or this rather meandering blog post) whets your appetite to buy the book, you can find it for only £4.99 (approx $6.50) on Kindle (or free from Kindle Unlimited) from Amazon UK (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08PG2ZJQM/ ) or Amazon US (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PG2ZJQM/). I hope you enjoy it!
O tannenbaum sung by the Vienna Boys’ Choir is for everyone who has their tree up by now. I admit to having an artificial tree. Partly to avoid needles in carpets and pet paws, and partly because of this poem: little tree by e.e.cummings https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47304/little-tree
I love the poem (I love all his poems) but I can’t help feeling really sad for the tree. All that splendour then instead of life in the dark woods, the council rubbish tip…
A friend bought me the Jacqui Lawson Advent Calendar this year and the first animated scene had a jazz version of O tannenbaum playing. Lovely!
I don’t seem to have any photographs or icons of pine trees but this photo is of the trees in a friend’s garden in Germany one New Year (in snow).
A Winter’s Tale (David Essex). A haunting story of a failed romance set, in this version, against a backdrop of northern English countryside. Winter’s the time we snuggle round the fire and tell or read stories, isn’t it? This one is sad but evocative. I’m not quite sure where the pictures were taken but I think in the Yorkshire Dales, where I lived for a while. And to cheer you up after David’s angst, I’ve linked Dean Martin’s Walking in a Winter Wonderland in a video that includes the lyrics so you can sing along karaoke style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u92-2zNc4KQ
The photograph is of a milestone in the Peak District (near where I live) in heavy snow. Not this year though the other day we had some snow showers and I believe the hills were white. We drove out to see the ‘winter wonderland’ but it must be difficult for anyone who has to trudge through it, like farmers.
Winter, from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, performed by Federico Agostini against a backdrop of the Venice Carnival. Carnival is, of course, later, in February, but I’ve been to it and Venice in winter is very memorable, with fog over the canals and bridges, and masked revellers appearing around corners. I love the whole Four Seasons piece and had to have this movement in my choice of winter music. I actually like Kennedy’s recording best but this is good and I wanted the Venetian background.
The picture is by roxicons. All their pictures (I have used a few) and others from magic_art and nomnom_icons are taken from icon comms on social media and I have enlarged them as header pics. Roxicons did a great online tutorial about icon making and since then I have virtually abandoned the comms!
I adore The 2 cellos. I could watch them and listen to them all day (and have been known to). I’ve chosen the Game of Thrones theme for a winter offering because of course the whole idea of the series is that ‘winter is coming’ while the various royal houses squabble over the iron throne. I adore Game of Thrones too, but although I loved the show I read the books first and just wish he’d hurry up and write the final volume because for me it won’t be over till he does. Here, my favourite guys are in Dubrovnik performing the theme from my favourite show.
The picture is a social media icon I made from an official picture of a weirwood tree in the godswood at Winterfell. This will make sense to other GoT fans. It would take far too much explanation for anyone else.
Deck the Halls. I have to follow the Tom Lehrer with its reference to decking the halls, with the traditional Deck the Halls as sung beautifully by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. There is no apparent religious significance to the song though Yule is mentioned.
The photograph is obviously of a misericord but I can’t remember whether it was in Chester Cathedral or Beverley Minster. My photographs are in disarray… This jolly little mediaeval chap is clearly celebrating one season or another – all the year round.
Jay's World 