Monday, 5 January 2015

January Week 1!

New Year's Eve!

It was another fabulous evening at Messrs Matthews and Clare's, I made a pavlova as usual (one of my most well risen I have to say) and headed off to The Palace to find a beautifully laid table ready for our lovely menu of delights!

Mine Truly was unexpectedly able to join us before midnight which was a lovely surprise and made for an especially happy new year for me!

 







 
 
As midnight approached I did the traditional reading of Robert Service's The Passing of the Year;
 
My glass is filled, my pipe is lit,
My den is all a cosy glow;
And snug before the fire I sit,
And wait to feel the old year go.
I dedicate to solemn thought
Amid my too-unthinking days,
This sober moment, sadly fraught
With much of blame, with little praise.

 
Old Year! upon the Stage of Time
You stand to bow your last adieu;
A moment, and the prompter's chime
Will ring the curtain down on you.
Your mien is sad, your step is slow;
You falter as a Sage in pain;
Yet turn, Old Year, before you go,
And face your audience again.

 
That sphinx-like face, remote, austere,
Let us all read, whate'er the cost:
O Maiden! why that bitter tear?
Is it for dear one you have lost?
Is it for fond illusion gone?
For trusted lover proved untrue?
O sweet girl-face, so sad, so wan
What hath the Old Year meant to you?

 

And you, O neighbour on my right
So sleek, so prosperously clad!
What see you in that aged wight
That makes your smile so gay and glad?
What opportunity unmissed?
What golden gain, what pride of place?
What splendid hope? O Optimist!
What read you in that withered face?

 
And You, deep shrinking in the gloom,
What find you in that filmy gaze?
What menace of a tragic doom?
What dark, condemning yesterdays?
What urge to crime, what evil done?
What cold, confronting shape of fear?
O haggard, haunted, hidden One
What see you in the dying year?

 
And so from face to face I flit,
The countless eyes that stare and stare;
Some are with approbation lit,
And some are shadowed with despair.
Some show a smile and some a frown;
Some joy and hope, some pain and woe:
Enough! Oh, ring the curtain down!
Old weary year! it's time to go.

 
My pipe is out, my glass is dry;
My fire is almost ashes too;
But once again, before you go,
And I prepare to meet the New:
Old Year! a parting word that's true,
For we've been comrades, you and I --
I thank God for each day of you;
There! bless you now! Old Year, good-bye!

And of course it wouldn't be New Year if there wasn't at least a little bit of inappropriateness!


Give in to legwarmers

Nope, I chose to give in to armwarmers instead rebel that I am! Bernie got me these fabulous things for Christmas and they're perfect for either home or the office so I can carry on doing whatever I need to do (knitting, typing etc) and keep my hands and arms warm at the same time.







I also gave in to handwarmers in the form of these similarly fabulous things from Kevin and Ray for Christmas, these I like to 'pop' and slip into my coat pocket before I head off to walk into town :-)

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