history

Coming up in January 2014

This is, I hope, going to be a new monthly feature. My intention is that towards the end of each month to post a listing for the following month. The listings are likely to contain an eclectic mix of interesting anniversaries, historical events, red letter days and upcoming interesting (to me) “awareness events”, mostly UK-centric. As such this will replace the individual listings I’ve been posting erratically over the last year or more and allow me to add in days when traditional celebrations happen.
So let’s start off with what’s coming up for January 2014.
1 January
New Year’s Day. The first day of the new year and one of the important days for the wassailing of apple trees. Read more here >>>>
New Year’s Day has been a public holiday in the UK only since 1974. When I was young, before this was a public holiday, it always seemed daft to me that everyone went to celebrate and drink the New Year in, but we were then expected to be able to get up and go to work the following day.
First UK Shipping Forecast broadcast, 1924.
5 January
The Twelfth Day of Christmas and hence (in my book) Twelfth Night when all Christmas decorations have to be taken down, or left up until next year so as to avoid bad luck. The day is also sometimes known as Wassail Eve, being one of the occasions when we traditionally wassail our apple trees to encourage them to crop well this year.
6 January
Epiphany, the day the Western Christian Churches celebrate the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus.
Old Xmas Day. In the old Julian Calendar this was 25 December, Christmas Day.
This is also the day when most people, and most traditions, celebrate Twelfth Night and is thus an important day for wassailing apple trees.
7 January
Eastern Orthodox Christmas Day. Because the Eastern Orthodox Churches still follow the old Julian Calendar this is the day on which their Christmas now falls.
Marriage of Princess Matilda, 1114. 900 years ago today the 12 year old Princess Matilda, grand-daughter of William the Conqueror, was married to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V at Worms. Following the death of Henry V in 1125, Matilda married Geoffrey Plantagenet, heir to the Count of Anjou. Their son later became Henry II of England. Read more here >>>>


Daguerreotype of Louis Daguerre in 1844
by Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot

9 January
Birth of the Daguerrotype, 1839. On this day Louis Daguerre introduced the first publicly announced photographic process, which was to be named after him. Read more here >>>>
11 January
Old New Year’s Eve.
Birth of Sir James Paget Bt, 1814. Surgeon and pathologist who is best remembered for Paget’s disease, a chronic disorder of bone mis-growth. Paget was born in Great Yarmouth and is today commemorated in the name of the local hospital. Read more here >>>>
Charing Cross Station opened, 1864. Read more here >>>>
13 January
Plough Monday is the Monday after Epiphany. It marks the resumption of agricultural work after the Christmas festivities. In some areas of England the farm labourers toured the villages with their plough in a money-raising trip, perhaps with singing, mumming plays and dancing. Read more here, here and here >>>>
18 January
Winnie the Pooh Day. The annual celebration of the birth in 1882 of AA Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh.
19 January
Birth of painter Paul Cezanne, 1839.
World Religion Day. Founded in 1950 the aim is to unite everyone, whatever their faith, by showing us all that there are common foundations to all religions and that together we can help humanity and live in harmony. Read more here >>>>
20 January
Blue Monday. At a time of year when we all need cheering up Blue Monday is a special day for people to focus on doing good for each other. Not necessarily presents and cards, just small (or large) acts of kindness.
24 January
Global Belly Laugh Day. Go on, cheer yourself up, have a good laugh. Read more here >>>>

Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth

25 January
Burns’ Night. The annual celebration of Scotland’s most famous poet, Robert Burns (1759–1796) held on his birthday. Celebration includes the eating of haggis and the drinking of whisky. Read more here >>>>
26 January to 1 February
Farmhouse Breakfast Week. Breakfast is, we are told, the most important meal of the day and what could be better than a full English farmhouse breakfast? This is a week to celebrate and indulge in just that! Read more here >>>>
31 January
Chinese New Year. 2014 is the year of the Horse.
More next month!

food+drink

The Feasts of Christmas

We’re not ones for huge 2, 3 or more course meals. A simple main course is sufficient even on Christmas Day — we do try not to stuff (or drink) ourselves stupid! But we do believe in good, wholesome fresh food. So over the Christmas period we’ve had some seriously good food, starting with a Pheasant stuffed with Partridge stuffed with pork forcemeat brought (ready prepared) from Elveden Estate Shop on the way back from our Christmas visit to my mother — we always stop at Eleveden and we always buy some seriously good home-grown meat.


Sunday 22 December, Evening: Pot-roast Partridge stuffed Pheasant; venison sausages; roast root veg; jacket potatoes. Bottle of Rioja Eguía.
Monday 23 December, Evening: Cold Partridge stuffed Pheasant; cold sausage; tomato & avocado salad; homemade bread. Bottle of Bardolino Naiano.
Christmas Eve, Evening: Roast Capon; jacket potatoes; steamed fennel & cabbage; homemade sage & onion stuffing; mushroom sauce. Bottle of Beaujolais Villages Blanc Domaine Matray.
Christmas Day, Lunch: Smoked Salmon sandwiches. Large Gin & Tonic.
Christmas Day, Evening: Roast leg of pork; garlic potatoes; roast root veg (carrot, swede, celeriac, Jerusalem artichokes); homemade onion & armagnac stuffing; apple sauce. Bottle of Roger Brun rosé champagne.
Boxing Day, Lunch: Cold roast capon, cold roast pork, cold sausages; sauté leftover potatoes; stir-fried leftover veg; cold stuffing; pickles. Aspall’s organic Suffolk cider.
And even after a few rounds of sandwiches we still have enough cold chicken and cold pork left to make a substantial meat loaf/terrine.

photography

Advent 25 – Happy Christmas

An Advent Calendar
Some of Favourite Images from Other Photographers on Flickr.
Happy Christmas
and a Prosperous 2014
Click the image for larger views on Flickr and details of the photographer

Note that these images are not mine and are copyright the original photographer who may be identified by following the link to Flickr

current affairs

Boris on Europe

There was an interesting article by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph in which he asks if “Europe” is going to turn out to be one of those things which we’re always told are necessary but turn out not to be.

KCM598
Click the link to read the full article

As always with Boris the article is well written and well argued, with rather deeper thoughts than may at first meet the eye.

photography

Advent 24

An Advent Calendar
Some of Favourite Images from Other Photographers on Flickr.
Click the image for larger views on Flickr and details of the photographer
Primeval Banknotes
Note that these images are not mine and are copyright the original photographer who may be identified by following the link to Flickr

photography

Weekly Photograph

Something different for this week’s photograph, and no, nothing Christmas-y either. This is a detail crop from an experimental shot of a collection of easels; taken some years ago at an evening class.

Click the image for larger views on Flickr
Easels Again
Easels Again
Harrow; September 2007

photography

Advent 23

An Advent Calendar
Some of Favourite Images from Other Photographers on Flickr.
Click the image for larger views on Flickr and details of the photographer
Symphony of Colours
Note that these images are not mine and are copyright the original photographer who may be identified by following the link to Flickr

history, ramblings, topographical

Christmas & New Year Traditional Events

This time of year produces a lot of traditional (and often strange) events around Britain. So many places seem to have their traditional event — some are relatively modern while others go back hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years.


I remember when I was a kid there was a relatively modern (started in 1908) Boxing Day tradition of a football match between the Bakers and the Sweeps which survives to this day. The participants, dressed and made up accordingly, paraded round the streets collecting money for charity before playing a fairly rowdy football match on one of the local recreation grounds. This tradition, like many others (both new and ancient) across the country, survives because it raises money for local charities.
I can’t hope to find out about and list here a tithe of the events happening across Britain — and there seems to be nowhere which lists them — so you will need to search out ones that interest you or that are happening near you. IanVisits lists a small number in his monthly “Things to do outside London” listings for December and January.
The most important dates to look for are:
     Boxing Day, 26 December
     New Year’s Eve, 31 December
     New Year’s Day, 1 January
     12th Day of Christmas, 5 January
     Old Christmas Day, 6 January
     Old New Year’s Eve, 11 January
As you see many of these traditions are tied to the old calendar and/or to traditionally important days. They deserve to survive both because they are a traditional part of the British heritage but also because so many do good work raising money for local charities.

photography

Advent 22

An Advent Calendar
Some of Favourite Images from Other Photographers on Flickr.
Click the image for larger views on Flickr and details of the photographer
Gossamer Wave
Note that these images are not mine and are copyright the original photographer who may be identified by following the link to Flickr