Advent 18: The Royals

At 3pm on Christmas Day each year, the majority of British citizens switch on BBC TV to listen to The Queen’s Speech.

There will be clips of the Royals and what they did throughout the year; as well as a topic which will be the focal point of what the Nation will focus on in the coming year. This could be an emphasis on: older people who live on their own, disabled veteran servicemen and women, war and our defences, unity of faiths, what is a Christian? etc.

However the speech is really commissioned by the Prime Minister for the Government of the day. People watch The Queen intensely to see if there is a flicker of approval or disapproval in her manner while delivering the words.

For instance, in her last speech at the re-opening of Parliament in May 2016, it was virtually a list from Cameron’s Conservative Party manifesto and The Queen looked very miserable. She just looked down and read it off the paper: “Proposals will be brought forward for a British Bill of Rights. My ministers will uphold the sovereignty of Parliament and the primacy of the House of Commons…”

The programme ends with a rousing anthem of God Save The Queen and though I know of many who will be crashed out and snoring on the sofa by this time on the 25th of December, there will be others standing up and raising their glasses.

Santa took this selfie but where did he go?  The Royals as depicted by Madame Tussauds waxworks in London

 

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December 18, 2016 by southamptonoldlady Categories: Advent, art, Britain, celebrities, Christmas, Cornwall, England, London, performance, Photo, Tradition, UKTags: Advent, Britain, British, Christian, Christmas, England, Festival, London, Royalty 16 Comments

Advent 15: Oh! Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding…

Blumenthal’s Banana and Bacon Trifle from Waitrose, though I believe Elvis ate it first © Southampton Old Lady

At Christmas time, we are bombarded with both new and traditional weird combinations of rich eats that we would not bother with at any other time. Each year celebrity chefs and supermarkets offer shocking products to pile on the calories and get in the news – it has become more like a jungle challenge from “I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here”

Michelin Star chef Heston Blumenthal, who brought us the likes of snail porridge and lollypops made from real mice paté has come up with Banana and Bacon trifle this year to replace our traditional English one.

Turkish delight and bon-bons

A variety of dates

Some British try to sample every single item that is considered ‘traditional’ over the festive period, which costs a fortune and prevents you from moving from your armchair.

By no means exhaustive, there’s: Russet apples, Anjou pears, quinces, clementines, Medjool dates, Quality Street chocolates, chocolate mice, chocolate tree decorations, advent calendar chocolates, chocolate selection boxes, Belgian chocolates,

Seafood

chocolate biscuits, short-bread biscuits, gingerbread, lobster, prawns, salmon, raised pork pie, turkey, venison, goose, Brussels sprouts (which no-one seems to be able to cook properly), pickled onions,
pickled gherkins, pickled red cabbage, assorted chutneys, parsnips, turnips, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, pigs in blankets (chippolata sausages wrapped in bacon), nut-roast, chestnut-stuffing, Stilton cheese, baked Brie, panettone, stollen, samosas, Turkish delight, sherry trifle, crisps, walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, chocolate Yule log, and lots of cakes and puddings made with dried fruits, marzipan and all soaked in alcohol (I’ll need a separate post for the booze, though WordPress are telling me I am running out of space on my post): Christmas cake, mince pies (nope no meat in these).

Set fire to Christmas pudding

Then pour plenty more alcohol over your figgy pudding (Christmas Pudding) and set alight to it!  Serve these with brandy-butter, rum-cream, vanilla custard or any flavour ice-cream you fancy – Heston has brought out marmalade-on-toast flavour for Waitrose this year!

Photos © Southampton Old Lady

Oh, bring us some figgy pudding,

Oh, bring us some figgy pudding,

Oh, bring us some figgy pudding,

And bring it right here.

Good tidings we bring

To you and your kin;

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a happy New Year.

we won’t go till we get some,

We won’t go till we get some,

we won’t go till we get some,

So bring it right here.

Have I left out any ingredients?

December 15, 2016December 15, 2016 by southamptonoldlady Categories: Advent, Britain, celebrities, Christmas, Festivals, London, Photo, Shopping, Tradition, UKTags: Advent, cake, Christian, Christmas, floods, fruit, meat 15 Comments

Advent 14: Silly Jumpers

Christmas jumper party at the Southampton Christmas Market © SOL

As children we wore our Christmas sweaters all winter – They were more like the tasteful Nordic ones then only not as good crafting.

Scene from Bridget Jones Diary (2001) 

Presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield wearing Christmas jumpers

For anyone that has read or seen the Bridget Jones Diary (2001) movie, they will know that in the UK we wear silly pullovers at Christmas. Knitwear presents are popular and if your aunt has spent the year knitting that embarrassing sweater for you, then the least you can do is wear it to family gatherings over Christmas.

But since that film these jumpers have taken off in a big way. Sixteen years later, we now even import cheap acrylic ones from China. We have a Christmas jumper at work day to raise money for charity and Presenters even wear them on television! There are nights out and pub-crawls where it is compulsory to wear your Christmas jumper.

Here are more photos I took from the Christmas jumper night out at Southampton’s Christmas market – click on to enlarge:

North Pole – Christmas jumper night out at the Southampton Christmas Market © Southampton Old Lady

Let It Snow – Christmas jumper night out at the Southampton Christmas Market © Southampton Old Lady

Chill Out Christmas jumper night out at the Southampton Christmas Market © Southampton Old Lady

Some of my favourites:

Light up tree

A twosie from Cheesy Jumpers

Christmas Pudding Jumper

A firry friend

Take a look at these Cheesy Jumpers on WordPress

What do you wear at Christmas?

 

December 14, 2016December 14, 2016 by southamptonoldlady Categories: Advent, Britain, celebrities, Christmas, Festivals, film, ornament, People, Pub, Shopping, Southampton, UKTags: Advent, Britain, China, Christmas, England, Family, Festival, film, Happy, High Street, photography, Pub, Shopping, Southampton, television, UK, Verve 25 Comments

Advent 6: Christmas Birds

Two Turtle Doves © Southampton Old Lady

Birds feature heavily at the British Christmas table.

The Victorians always carved goose at Christmas, but later ate turkey when Charles Dickens wrote about it in A Christmas Carol, adopting it from the New World (America).

“Christmas is a-coming, the goose is getting fat… Please put a penny in the old man’s hat… If you haven’t got a penny a ha’penny will do… If you haven’t got a ha’penny then God bless you!“

A few years ago celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall featured his 10-bird roast. Multi-bird roasts are different types of birds each stuffed inside a larger one, and the more birds involved the better.

12 bird roast as depicted in The Mail Online

Seven swans-a-swimming © Southampton Old Lady

Whittingstall was harking back to Tudor times when stuffing birds this way was fashionable. Or a different bird was eaten each day of the 12 days of Christmas (the 12 days between 25th December and the 5th January – the eve of Epiphany or Kings Day)

” 7 swans-a-swimming – 6 geese-a-laying – 4 calling birds – 3 french hens – 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree”

Since then the  3-4-5-7-10-12 bird roast has made a big come back – there is a very interesting article about it in: The Mail Online

However the most popular bird at Christmas in the UK is still Chicken – possibly because it is the cheapest yet tastiest – and the bird of choice with British Hindus, who marinade it in spices for days for slow roasting it.

The Dodo bird was eaten to extinction by Victorian sailors. Photo taken at The Bristol Museum © Southampton Old Lady

My three gals!

December 6, 2016 by southamptonoldlady Categories: Advent, celebrities, Festivals, Medieval, Tradition, UKTags: Advent, animals, Britain, Christmas, cooking, Food, Victorian 11 Comments

Stars in Strange Places

Marilyn Monroe © Southampton Old Lady

Dean Martin © Southampton Old Lady

Audrey Hepburn © Southampton Old Lady

Frank Sinatra © Southampton Old Lady

 

October 7, 2016 by southamptonoldlady Categories: amazing people, celebrities, film, People, Photo, Photo ArtTags: actors, f, Hollywood, singer 10 Comments