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Diary – 2018 December

 

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1 December
 

 
The lights always go up at the beginning of December. Just checking they are all working, and then time to cover the windows and walls with them.

 

8 December

 

 
These foam shapes are made from kneeling pads, and they replace the water lily leaves in winter, so that the fish can hide under them and feel safer. The foams sometimes float around the pond pushed by the wind, the aerator bubbles and the filter outlet, but tend to gather in the corners.

 

 
I have some frog winter homes at the end of the garden, using spare roof tiles leaning against the rocks and fence, and some curved ridge tiles. The second picture is half of a broken concrete wishing well ornament, so I put the two pieces end to end and covered them with piles of leaves. This helps the blackbirds as well when everything else is frozen, they can fling the leaves about and find worms hiding underneath.

 

 
Someone has done the messy work of sawing out the panels and paint stripping the door. I am checking that no bits have been missed. Here is the reeded glass for the panels waiting on the table top and I am not going to touch it!

 

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9 December

 

 
We watched the Santa Dash in the park. There were hundreds of people and these are the first ones in the lead. Meanwhile the swans were only interested in food. Their two young ones are learning that people sometimes have food in their bags and it is worth hanging around.

 

10 December

 

 
We went to central London on the train. I noticed this white triangle which is the roof of a tall building, and it looks just like the Play button on a Youtube video! We walked along the Embankment gardens. Here is a statue of Robert Burns, who wrote the words to Auld Lang Syne, which people will be singing in the New Year.

 

 
Further along there is a communal ping-pong table, and a sundial.

 

 
We then went to Somerset House to watch the skating. Here are the polar bear skate aids waiting in their enclosure.

 


After that we went up the Sky Garden which is at the top of the Fenchurch Street Building. In winter the views are best seen at night. London is one giant lit-up Christmas tree. This view of The Shard is from the open air balcony.

 


It was much warmer inside.

 

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14 December

 

 
We went to the Christmas Tree Festival in Christ Church, Erith. Brown Teddy said this first tree was the best, then later on all of them were best ones as well!

 


There was lovely carol singing being broadcast all the time.

 

 
This is the altar. Some of the side window sills had sceneries on them.

 

   
We had a good time finding at all the handmade decorations amongst the branches. I am glad the angel has a Christmas pudding, and clearly it is not hot out of the oven just yet!

 

 
This tree is covered in Remembrance Poppies beautifully painted by art club members. this is a good idea for next year's decorations, and we have all year to paint different flowers, or cut them out of magazines.

 

 
I liked this stained glass window of The Sower Sowing The Seed, which is eaten by the birds, crowded out by thorns, or falling on stony ground where it won't grow. I am glad the parable says some fell on good ground and produced an increase of a hundred times. I think the bird may be saying, "Don't step on those spiky thorns!" I like how the seed is coming down in handful clumps.

 

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15 December

 


This is King's Cross Station in London, where we arrived very early for our train to the Midlands.

 

 
We had an hour to wait, so we looked at these photos of cultural events in China. Then we found our platform so that when the time came, we could go straight there.

 

 
This is a garden centre in Oakham, it was absolutely full of lovely Christmas things. We spent a lot of time looking at the model Christmas villages, as well as all the wonderful decorations, trees, toys and gifts.

 


This part has a working ski lift and a backdrop of mountains.

 

 
Later on we went outside to see Santa's reindeer. It was cold and windy with icy rain beginning to fall, but the reindeer are cosy inside their shed with lots of straw. It was quite late when we got back to King's Cross. I like to take photos of railway clocks as some of them are quite old and they are all different.

 

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16 December

 

 
We went to Greenwich today, this festive post box is opposite the Cutty Sark ship. We went to see the Pantomime Horse Race. First of all came some knights pretending to ride horses, with someone clopping with the coconuts to make the sounds.

 

 
They go from one pub to another, so the race is in sections. There were big crowds.

 

 
The crowds followed the horses along the streets, with everyone taking pictures and video on their phones.

 

 
In the evening, we put up the tree and decorations, and lights on the windows.

 

 
This is the little fibre optic tree that goes up on the shelf, with colour changing berry lights. I always put the holly and greenery over the mirror, with tinsel all round in green and silver, and lots of cotton-wool robins sitting amongst it.

 

 
Brown Teddy's favourite are the three little chicks with glass bauble bodies and yellow pompom heads with black eyes and beaks. My favourites are the three angels playing musical instruments. We had to make the red wings for them when we bought them.

 

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18 December

 

 
At our local garden centre we made straight for the model Christmas village. This year they also have wooden crates or boxes on their sides, with fairy villages and homes inside.

 

 
Then we went to see the fish and say hello to the Koi. You can go up some stairs to get a top view of their tank. They are very big, at least a metre long.

 

 
These little fish are resting on the bottom, or should I say parked! I think the fish would like this bauble covered in overlapping scales.

 

20 December

 


Here are the robins that sit over the big mirror. They like watch everything that is going on!

 

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21 December

 

 
This is Covent Garden and this year the decorations are huge bunches of mistletoe.

 

 
These are ice creams in the shop window, but not real ones. The best window was this baker where the man was just putting out fresh hot cookies.

 

 
Covent Garden reindeer and Regent Street angel lights.

 

 
This is Oxford Street. It was extremely crowded and we made very slow progress along the path.

 


This is Carnaby Street, it  is narrow with just a pathway, no roadway. It became famous in the 1960's for fashion shops.

 

 
This World Time clock map is in Piccadilly Circus Station. The central time band moves round to show the time anywhere on the map. There is an extra arrow to account for British Summer Time.

 

 
We ended up at Trafalgar Square.

 

 
This crib scene is here every year, with painted wooden models of the Nativity characters, each spotlit in its place. Children were climbing over the lions.

 


This is Strand, just near Charing Cross Station. I am not sure whether this reminds me of bikes or gold coins - maybe chocolate money!

 

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22 December

 

 
Another visit to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. These Dodgems are rather upmarket, done up to look like vintage vehicles. Everything was noisy with loud music and sound effects.

 

 
This ride goes up a very high tower and drops rapidly at the end of the ride. The carousel is more peaceful for younger ones.

 


This is our favourite one to watch, the Looping switchback ride, with very loud rumbling as each carriage goes round the loops.

 


We watched the racing penguins for a while, as it was a quiet and less crowded corner where we could eat our scones.

 

 
We watched the stall lady demonstrating a large bubble wand and people were jumping up to catch the big wobbling bubbles. Then the bubble machine started, blowing out white smoke-filled bubbles.

 

 
Lastly we watched the skating, then the resurfacing machine and then crowds of more skaters. Outside Hyde Park we glimpsed through Queen Elizabeth Gate this lovely decoration of the Queen in glittering lights, on the roundabout area just beyond. Buckingham Palace is nearby and I am sure she can hear all the noise of the fun of the fair wafting over to her windows!

 

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24 December

 


I have been watching the NORAD Track Santa website and working out the time zones, and realised it was already Christmas Day (or at least past midnight) for people in the Pacific and the east of the continent.

 

 
All the special plates are out of their box, ready for washing, and the grand gravy boat of course. There is a stash of extra ingredients on the cupboard shelf.

 

 
This is Brown Teddy's favourite card so far and he will be saving them afterwards as well. It is just like our robin that waits outside the kitchen window for bird pellets. We put all the Christmas lights on as early as possible, before it even got dark, and they will stay on until quite late tonight.

 

25 December

 

 
We got up a little later than usual for Christmas Day. I helped in the kitchen and laying the table. We all had Christmas pudding and mince pie with ice cream. Brown Teddy and I are playing at pulling a cracker, but this was really a cracker-shaped present. It had chocolate coins and real money inside!

 

 
Very interesting but it will be quite a while until our tummies have any room for more sweets. I like this envelope, with a nice flat present inside!

 

27 December

 

 
We went to the National Portrait Gallery in London. Even the mosaic paving at the entrance is a work of art. I am glad to say it was not crowded, so it was easy to see all the paintings.

 

 
I like this one because it shows up the shiny silky dress, jewellery and all the sparkling silver tableware. I think the table is covered in rose petals. This is a portrait of Beatrix Potter who wrote all the Peter Rabbit books.

 

 
The birds just love all the statues, and sit up there looking out for snacks from visitors, even though the notices forbid the feeding of birds.

 

 
We went on to Somerset House to watch the skating for a while, then saw the sun set over the Thames.

 

30 December

 


Today I cut up some of the Christmas cards, to demonstrate how to make decorations with them, which is now on my Art Christmas page. With the leftover bits, I made this pencil pot by stapling the sides together and taping to a circle at the bottom.

 

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