Sunday, December 16, 2012

CHRISTMAS CAROLS

 
A lone bell pealed 12 times, and my Choir for Ladies of a Certain Age
processed into the venerable old church ...
 
 
Last night we sang at the lovely Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service.
Of course, not dressed like this.
In 100 degree heat, we wore cool white shirts and a bit of Christmas bling.
But the music was beautiful as always, and I loved every minute.
Nothing brings the message of Christmas to me more than singing the old, and some new, carols.
 
 
My favourites:  The traditional Coventry Carol,
and John Rutter's Christmas Lullaby.
Wonderful to sing!
 
 
 
 
 
It was our 41st Wedding Anniversary last week.
Mr C bought me a mini white rose bush:
 
 
It will always be a Christmas rose to me.
It fits well beside the miniature gardenias and an iceberg rose bush.
 
I hope your rundown to Christmas is going well -
are you enjoying the fun?
 
I'm off to do a bit of pantry stocking now.
 
Have a great week..
 
xxx
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

22 comments:

  1. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols must have been lovely, extremely hot but lovely. And congratulations on the 41 years together - very rare nowadays.

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    1. Thanks Judith, we were very happy to reach this anniversary, after a couple of big challenges the past 2 years. Carols were gorgeous!

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  2. I would have loved to hear your choir perform the Christmas Carols program. The beautiful music is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Congratulations on 41 years of marriage. The white rose is such a lovely gift.

    The pantry stocking seems to never end. Always one more thing that I forgot on the previous visit to the store!

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    1. I should hold a virtual blog carol sing ... I'll think about that one. It was thrilling to be part of it, especially the rousing chorus of O Come All Ye Faithful at the end, with the high sopranos in full descant!
      One large food shop done, more to come...

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  3. Happy Anniversary! I love the caroling figures and small houses and angels and flowers. It's been a lovely Christmas season so far for me, too.

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    1. Thanks Beryl, having sung in choirs all my life, I am Highly Attracted to any Christmas decor on the subject. I include Angel choirs: we strive to sing like angels:))
      Happy to be here on earth, and still singing this year.

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  4. I love all the old Christmas carols! Congratulations on 41 years, that's fantastic. I am still running around like headless chicken, because there is always something really important we forget to buy.

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    1. He he Sulky, headless chicken here too! Every time I venture to ze shops, I miss something on the list. The old Carols are timeless - I hope they are never forgotten.

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  5. Happy Anniversary to you both and a Christmas rose, how lovely is that.
    Last year we were in Norway for Christmas where my granddaughter and her mother sang in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, this post has happily reminded me of that occasion.

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    1. Thank you Rosemary, A Norway Christmas would be beautiful, and I would love to attend the Lessons and Carols service in a snowy, wintry atmosphere. What a great memory for you.

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  6. Hello Patricia, I have found you, via Rosemary....and have just enjoyed a little hopping around your recent blogs. I look forward to seeing more of your garden, hearing more about your family and enjoying some glimpses of Australian life. Best wishes for Christmas, which I can see you will thoroughly enjoy. Janice.

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    1. Hello Janice and welcome to my blog. Have taken a peek at yours, and it appears we have something big in common. Wishing you a peaceful and loving Christmas with your family, and I'll be popping back to visit you soon! P.

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  7. Happy Anniversary, the white rose is a lovely gift to mark the occasion.

    While I get a little tired of Christmas music on the radio, I really love to see/hear a choir in person. You must really enjoy participating in singing the carols.

    Darla

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    1. Thank you Darla, I love the white rose. Singing is a wonderful joy, raises the spirits, brings friendships, and is a good aerobic workout! win win

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  8. Happy Anniversary to you ( coming soon three years behind you ; ).
    Over here, in Finland, we have a tradition to go to the church on Advents and sing " The most beautiful Christmas Songs ".
    The amount of people attending, is increasing all the time.
    A wonderful way to get really " tuned " for Christmas.

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    1. Thank you Mette, three years will go very fast. Long marriages are becoming rare these day. Carols in snowy Finland would be wonderful.

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    2. Happy anniversary, Patricia. I found you through your comment on Janice's blog.

      Your Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols sounds wonderful, though this English woman can't quite imagine it in 100 degree heat. :-) How nice to meet someone who openly says she loves Christmas. I do too.

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    3. Thank you Perpetua, and welcome to my blog. The heatwave continues, and we soldier on singing carols and decking the halls!

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  9. I have lovely visions in my mind of your carols and festival and what a beautiful rose to celebrate 41 years together...Congratulations to you both ♥♥♥
    Suzy x

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    1. Thanks Suzy, I love the new rose, which is bearing up under the heat, which would defeat many a small flower!

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  10. Patricia, you celebrate Christmas during the summer on the Southern hemisphere and still the Christmas decorations show snow. I'd love to celebrate Christmas and New Year's in the summer, actually. I'm a summer gal all the way.

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