Day Twenty-five: Merry Christmas! This is my favourite picture of the three of us taken last year.
Merry Christmas from David, Christine and Artie x
I wish you and yours a wonderful festive time!
Love,
Christine, David and Artie x
Phew! What a year!
I think 2017 has been a wonderful year for David and I! What an adventure 2017 has truly been! I will think back at all the wonderful places and sights we have seen and feel blessed we were able to share them together! Here’s my twelve pictures that sum up our 2017!
January:
2017 started with an eight mile walk around Coniston. We took a detour to visit Banishead Quarry.
Banishead Quarry
February:
Not everything was plain sailing in 2017. We suffered five deaths in our aviary. Poor Tarn, a Blue Faced Parrot Finch was one of the hardest to bare.
Tarn
March:
I treated mum to a special birthday afternoon tea at Liverpool’s Jam restaurant.
April:
Riley enjoyed many walks with David and I in 2017. None more so than at the beach!
Which way should we go?
May:
I embarked on my first wild swim of the season! Crummock Water, was choppy, chilly but exhilarating!
Swimming in Crummock Water
June:
June was all about The Wildlife Trust’s 30 Days Wild. Part of the month long celebration we took a trip to Claremont Farm on the Wirral to pick our own strawberries!
Strawberry picking
July:
July was a fun filled month. We went wildlife spotting at Mere Sand’s Wood, took a visit to Birmingham’s Big Sleuth and had a two nights stay in the Lakes. A ten mile walk around Beda Fell and Angle Tarn Pikes was exhausting!
Angle Tarn
August:
Following in much the same vein as July, August seen many more days out. Partaking in my my first Welsh wild swim was simply outstanding!
Swimming in Llyn Cwellyn
September:
The dawn of autumn saw David and I head towards Morecambe and Leighton Moss RSPB Nature Reserve in search of more wildlife.
Grey Heron
October:
I surprised myself by completing the #walk1000miles challenge some two months earlier than expected. I completed on the 8th October 2017. 1000 miles + has been walked to date!
Walk 1000 miles medal!
November:
The only highlight of this dark, dreary month was a theatre visit to The Liverpool Empire to see the 10th Anniversary of War Horse.
December:
December is again undoubtedly all about Christmas. This year David and I played host to family for Christmas dinner. I have to admit it’s been a very tiring month! Here’s to a more relaxing start to 2018!
Merry Christmas
I wish you all good health and happiness for the new year ahead! Let’s make 2018 a year to remember!
Thanks for your continued support,
Christine xx
I would like to wish my fellow bloggers and readers all a very merry Christmas and all the best for the season!
Best wishes,
Christine, David and Artie x
Friday, 15th December I treated my mum and I to a Christmas Recital at the parish church, St Bridget’s. Tickets were £5 per person. The performance was by local soprano Gussie Knopov, accompanied by pianist Per Nielsen. I think the appeal of the evening was due to following Wirral soprano Charlotte Hoather’s blog and also wanting to support local events.
The performance was at 7.30pm. We wrapped up warmly from the cold, with fairy lights flashing from darkened windows, we walked along damp roads towards St Bridget’s. The church was busy with people when we walked in.
Soprano, Gussie Knopov, a former member of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir, has trained in Manchester and Edinburgh. In 2016 she started her undergraduate studies at the London, Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
Gussie Knopov and Per Nielsen
Gussie was accompanied by Per Nielsen, who from his Linkedin page has an impressive CV of working at Archbishop Blanch and Liverpool Hope University. His credits also include studio recordings for National Danish Radio and Radio Three.
The programme featured songs from the stage, among them were My Fair Lady and Jesus Christ Superstar, interjected with Christmas carols such as Ding Dong Merrily on High and Oh Holy Night. I found Gussie’s diction was clearer on the more classical pieces, (showing her training in action), such as the two Schumann love songs and her rendition of Bizet’s Habanera which she chose to do as an encore.
The programme also featured Per Nielsen’s masterful skill on the keyboard. One highlight was his solo performance of Debussy’s The Snow is Dancing from The Children’s Corner. Through Nielsen’s retelling you could imagine snowflakes dancing in the air.
The interval was a bit longer than the 20 minutes billed, but there was refreshments of wine, cordial and cake to make the wait all that more sweeter.
The event was better than I had anticipated and the caliber of both performers was outstanding. Nielsen’s experience was glistening and Gussie has a bright further ahead! All the best to them both!
Gussie Knopov and Per Nielsen
I’ve not attended events locally before but I would definitely look out for more in future.
Have you attended a similar event?
Thanks for reading,
Christine x
Wishing all my lovely readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’ll do a year review and look ahead to 2016 after the weekend!
Cheers!
© Christine x
Merry Christmas!
From
Christine, David and Artie! x
Christmas 2014 for me started in mid November when I sat writing my Christmas cards while David played console games with his friends in the living room downstairs.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited and really looked forward to Christmas. Perhaps it’s because I am in my own home? Or that I am in a better place, emotionally and mentally? Either way come the 1st December I put up my new (muchly contested) Christmas tree.
Christmas Tree
In the weeks following, I busied myself making the obligatory mince pies and Christmas cakes, of which I made 40 individual ones!
Mini Christmas Cakes
Since the middle of December, I’ve been listening to Christmas carols and songs. I remember as a child, listening out for Father Christmas’s float as it passed our road, and of the carol singers who came knocking at our door. It’s a shame they don’t visit any more.
Whilst enjoying the festive music, I made a playlist, with such tracks as:
1. A Christmas Overture (Hess.)
2. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (Andy Williams)
3. Sleigh Ride (Anderson)
4. The Snowman Suite (Blake)
5. A Christmas Festival (Anderson)
Artie will be witnessing his first Christmas with us. He has had an Advent calendar with chocolate catnip treats daily and has a stocking full of toys from Santa Paws!
Santa Paws’s stocking
With Christmas Eve upon us I am more excitable than ever. Christmas day is an anticlimax in contrast to the eve when my child self comes to the fore, all excited and nervous, hoping to hear the pitter patter of Rudolf’s feet on the roof!
Christmas lunch will be a concoction of Quorn roast and vegetables for me and a gammon joint for David.
Merry Christmas!
Christine, David and Artie! x
Christine Lucas 