Christmas, but not as we know it

This year is fast fading and what a year! I have to admit that I have struggled in the last few days as London went into the new Tier 4. It all happened so fast and we have had a decision to make, though I know we are luckier than a lot of people. My youngest son's girlfriend was due to come to us for Christmas. She is on her own (parents in Japan) and after the first lockdown ended she formed a bubble with us. However, my husband is Type 1 diabetic and worried about things. If she came she would have to stay for at least two nights as neither she, nor us, have transport. She lives in London, but not local. The decision has been made that my son will spend Christmas with his girlfriend. I am putting together a box of home made bakes, plus their Christmas crackers that I made myself.

During the stress of all this I started getting dreadful toothache - like over senstivity, but much worse. The pains went into my sinuses, my head and neck. I had to resort to painkillers which took the edge off. I phoned my dentist on Monday and got an emergency appointment for today. I ended up with two appointments whereby I had fifteen minutes at home to shove some food down myself before going back (porridge, was the quickest!). I saw a specialist in Endodontics. She is a miracle worker! After tests and x-rays she drilled into a crown to clean the area, put antiseptic on and pack it. She says that one of the nerves has died and the other is dying but inflamed, hence the pain. I have to go back in January for root canal treatment, but I am pain free and can eat and drink without going through the roof in agony. I am so grateful.

I thought I might get a chance to do some live carol singing as the choir I belong to was asked by a church if we would do that. It all went downhill when first we went into Tier 3 and some of the singers lived in Tier 2, so it was cancelled. Little did we know that just two days later we would end up in yet a higher Tier. I have missed singing so much. We are hoping singing might happen in the summer term, but that's so far away. I did do a voice part for the virtual choir (I have given the link at the bottom for the YouTube video), but other than that I have had to make do with with some Live Facebook concerts where I could join in with Christmas carols (and I had mince pies and mulled wine to toast them with!)

Though everything got on top of me.,I'm determined to enjoy Christmas. Everything is done and ready, save making my mince pies and a cake - not a traditional cake, but a vegan one! Apart from the Quorn Roast, which is vegetarian, not vegan, everything else will be vegan (and some turkey for the one meat eater who will be here!)

On the writing front, I am so pleased that I have finally finished my Christmas Novella. It's been at least three years in writing, but I love my characters. This is the first draft. I know there is still a lot to do, but the fact that I have finished the story is a point of satisfaction. 

I am still waiting to hear about the publication of the anthology which will contain one of my lockdown poems. My first novella-in-flash didn't make it to the next stage of the competition, though I was told that it was enjoyed and has much to recommend it. I intend to submit elsewhere now, but ultimately if I can't find a publisher, this is one that I would consider self-publishing.

I had a short story highly commended recently too, and this may at some stage appear in an anthology. I've had many rejections of poems and short stories - not unusual! I have written few poems in this time and have been unable to meet my writing buddy for several weeks. Instead, I have been buying books! I had a nice collection of three books from Valley Press a few days ago, the last part of subscription, as well the current book I bought from them called Glass Work Humans, a collection of stories and poems by Paul Cowan Tom Gillespie and John McKenzie, all Scottish! I've began reading it today and am really enjoying the collection.

I am hoping for a few books for Christmas too.

With a new year coming I am starting to think about new ventures. I love writing my travel blog, though at times with lockdown it hasn't always been easy, especially during the second lockdown when I wrote a blog a day for NaBloPoMo. I had to be resourceful. Strangely, I have walked and taken more photos this year than any other, and I am waiting for the green light to start proper travel. I have a long list of places in the UK I want to visit, and walks I want to do.

My plans haven't go further than that - planning for travel. It's the main thing I want to do.

This will probably be my last post here before Christmas (and probably New Year), so I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas, however you are able to spend it. Let's hope that next year is a much better one for us all. 

We Must Be the Change

 This is not writing related, but it is creative. I took part in another virtual choir project run by ex-Euphonix Musical Director, Ben, and the video is now available on YouTube. Fifty singers make up the virtual choir and the song was also heard first on TEDx-Bath Countdown on Saturday night, though no video and only a snatch of it. TEDx-Bath is a series of speakers promoting environmental change in these times of climate uncertainties, and the song speaks about how each one of us must be the change for the future. It's a simple song, but was quite difficult in the recording as there are so many parts. Still, Ben has made us sound great. I am at the top left singing the higher parts.

I must thank my son for helping me with setting up for recording. His patience was stretched, to say the least! He tells me I need a microphone as the quality on the laptop is not good enough. I ended up recording it on my Tablet, then needed my son's help to transfer it to my laptop as it was easier to email it from there. I played it to him this morning so he could see all the hassle I gave him was worth it.

Poetry, Dear Earth, singing, and ratty news

I am shortly to submit my last climate change poem to Live Canon for feedback, but it won't be the last poem of that nature I will be writing.. In fact this morning while I was sinking my first mug of tea of the day I had an idea for another so I wrote a few verses. I liked the start of it but struggled over the end verse. I put it aside and went back to it later and re-wrote some lines and found a way into the final verse. Now it's set aside to rest.

I've just signed up to Satya Robyn's free e-course For Dear Earth, 28 daily emails to bring you in a closer relationship with earth. Satya is a Buddhist Priest and some years ago I took part in her monthly Small Stone Poems. I am only on day two of the e-course but I am finding it challenging to my emotions. I watched a half hour video made by Extinction Rebellion which was both very informative (fact wise) and scary. This course sits well with the work I've been doing with Live Canon and is making me think about what I do next. While I am making changes in my life, should I be doing more and getting out of my comfort zone? I am certainly still taking small steps in my plastic free life (though I haven't managed to stop other members of the household from buying bottled water yet). I'm trying to lead by example and am working on a solution to my bottle buying son who reckons tap water tastes awful.

One of things that bugs me is the amount of cartons I end up with for my soya milk. Oh for it to come in glass bottles! I'm considering trying to make my own oat milk, but I fear it won't taste the same and then do I have to time to make enough? I recently bought some silicon baking mats in order to reduce the amount if aluminium foil and baking parchment we use, and I've bought a reusable sandwich bag. The other day I used a shampoo soap bar for the first time. However, my hair felt rather sticky. I'll give it another go but I might have to find an alternative. I wish there was a refill shop near me. These things are still taking time but I'm hopeful I can find something nearby soon.

Thinking about Christmas I'm trying to be as eco friendly as possible. I'm giving one friend a Kilner Jar with ingredients for a cake. All she has to add is an egg, water and butter. I've written the recipe out. We always try to re-use Christmas wrapping (my husband spends ages peeling off sellotape), and I often make tags out of old cards. This year I'm making my own Christmas crackers - just enough for one each on the day. I used to do this years ago. I'm just waiting for the pack of 'snaps' to arrive.

This week has all been about singing, but I think this will be the last year I sing outdoors in winter because after a two hour stretch at Waterloo station the cold made me feel so ill. It's not the first time this has happened and I think I need to take notice now. Yesterday was our end of term concert which went well and was fun to do. We had our regular band for some numbers. Our last performance is at Kingston Parish Church on Saturday as part of their Christmas Tree festival.

And back to writing.....I was pleased to see that my poem Milkers was published by Visual Verse on their website this month. It was a prompt I could not refuse!

Oh and we successfully managed to get both Charlie and Ollie out on the sofa together without Ollie Bear (he looks just like a polar bear) biting anyone. He seems to feel less threatened out of the cage. Still not sure whether bonding with Rizzo will happen. The only time Rizzo and Charlie met there was a stand-off, a bit of sniffing and then Rizzo chased Charlie over the sofa and Charlie yipped. Not sure if Rizzo bit him, but certainly there were no marks. Still a way to go!

Charlie

Ollie Bear and Charlie

Charlie

Concert day - taken from the first floor of the Rose Theatre looking
down into the cafe where we performed.

What I am singing these days!

I belong to a choir. I might have mentioned this before. It's a community choir (no auditions) and sing anything from pop to folk and world. Yesterday was rehearsal day. We are working towards our end of term concert as well as a few Christmas appearances for charity. So we are learning two carols - In The Bleak Mid Winter and Quem Pastores Laudavere (close to the John Rutter arrangement). I do rather like singing in Latin, or in fact German. I find them easier than French.

We shall have one major rehearsal just singing Christmas carols before we do our spots at Waterloo Station and around Kingston in December.

Our end of term concert is also for charity. We will sing in the cafe of The Rose Theatre, Kingston, but this concert isn't just about Christmas as we will sing other things too.Our MD has done a wonderful arrangement of the Killer's Human. We sing it slower than the Killer's and our version has four parts. It makes for a very complex song and yesterday we managed to sing through the whole piece which was an achievement! We don't as yet have the final list of song we shall sing at the concert but they will include Queen's You're My Best Friend, Do You Hear the People Sing (from Les Miserables), Inchworm and a couple of songs from our last concert - Here Comes the Sun (Beatles) and Never Enough.(from The Greatest Showman). Oh and we will have a band!

I have been part of this choir for ten years, almost from its beginning. We have come a long way in those years. Everything is learned by rote, so no music required. We have lyrics for most songs but I do my best to learn them off by heart so I can really enjoy myself on concert day. Being part of the choir has given more confidence. I've always loved to sing. It makes me happy, and I love performing too.

The Big Sing

Euphonix Community Choir

Something a little different....but it's all art! On Sunday I took part in The Big Sing in Kingston with the choir Euphonix. Two weeks ago we were given the words to the three songs we would be singing with other choirs in the Market Place.  They were not easy parts and when we came to the rehearsal with all the other choirs we found ourselves lost! Because we only had the music for our own parts we didn't know when we should come in. We were starting to feel the whole thing was a shambles. The songs had also been arranged differently from the originals, just to make things harder.  Anyway, when we came to sing all together in the Market Place we just did our own thing and it went okay because with all those choirs it didn't matter if we lost our places!  The songs were Higher and Higher, Shine (Take That) and Hey Jude.  Thankfully the last one was easy and I really let it rip! I don't have any photos because it was too crowded for my son to take any.  He did get a sound recording of Hey Jude on his mobile but I'm not sure whether it is worth trying to upload it, or even if I can!  The photo above is from one of or own concerts at The Rose Theatre, Kingston.  I am just above the fronds of the plant! Our MD is doing his beat-boxing to one of our songs!