Christmas Talk for them this week. But sleep is the last thing we want to do, with so many lovely things going on at this time of year.
Following a period of very heavy rain recently, the weather has at last turned seasonal. We woke to see the early morning sun gleaming low in the sky, lighting up capricious tendrils of mist lying just above the pastures beyond our garden. By the time I managed to photograph the scene it was already fast-changing.
Whilst I had my camera I just had to take a picture of the rambling roses on the fence outside our sitting room window. They don’t seem to understand that it’s wintertime, and are still producing fresh flowers. 
We decided to make the most of the sunshine (albeit rather cold) to walk round the village and beyond, to deliver our Christmas cards to friends and neighbours (together with my current Hall Committee Minutes). We stopped on the old stone bridge over ‘our’ river, to find the water really fast-flowing and so much deeper than usual. – not surprising I suppose, given the rainfall during recent days. John stopped to photograph the ivy growing thickly over the ancient stonework, and his picture seems to fit these lines from the same gifted book…..
“The Ivy, of our native flowers
That now among the latest pours
It’s pale green bloom, and ripes it’s seed
Of black and shining balls to feed
Impervious to the winter’s frost,
The little birds …..”
We were out much longer than planned, as of course we stopped to chat to lots of people en route, returning just as Christmas lights were appearing in windows and around front doors. And our own lights too, on timer switches, provided a warm and festive welcome.
Off this evening to our Orchestra Christmas party …… ‘tis the Season to be jolly!
