The Winter's Tale and Twelfth Night


These lovely books retells the story of Shakespeare's late and lesser known Winter's Tale  and the sseasonal Twelfth Night. They are beautifully illustrated and would be a great present for a child or an imaginative adult. I'm loving them. The reteller is Georghia Ellinas and the artist Jane Ray. It is done by Shakespeare's Globe.

View of Rooftops (Effect of Snow) by Gustave Caillebotte

 


Winter Landscape by Caspar David Friedrich 1811 02


 

Christmas Catechism 03



25. How many natures does Messiah have and what are they?
Jesus has two natures, a divine nature and a human nature.
26. How many persons does Messiah have?
He is just one person.
27. What did Joseph decide to do about the fact that Mary was pregnant and he was not the father?
He decided to divorce her quietly so that she would not be publicly disgraced.
28. Why did he not divorce her in the end?
An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him to marry Mary as the child was from the Holy Spirit.
29. What are we told in the very last verse of Matthew Chapter 1?
That Joseph did not sleep with Mary until after her baby was born.
30. Where was Messiah born?
In Bethlehem in Judea.
31. Who was ruling over the Jews at the time when Messiah was born?
The Romans.
32. What was the name of the Roman Emperor at that time?
He was called Caesar Augustus.
33. What decree did he issue that meant that Messiah was born in Bethlehem?
He issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
34. What important rule did he make about where people should register?
He decreed that everyone should go to their own town to register.
35. What did Joseph have to do to register?
He had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and move to Bethlehem in Judea.
36. What famous king was from that place and was one of Joseph's ancestors?
King David.
37. What did Mary do for her baby when he was born?
She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger.
38. Why was he put in a manger and not in a bed?
Because there was no guest room available for them in Bethlehem.

New Second Edition Of My Christmas Readings Book


A new edition of my Christmas Readings book is now available on Amazon. It also contains a Christmas Catechism. See here.

British Library Crime Classics


There are at least two books of short stories in the Britsh Library Crime Classics series, both edited by Martin Edwards and containing 12-15 short stories. These appear to be the fourth and fifth.

Winter Landscape by Caspar David Friedrich (1811)

 


Train in the snow 06 Hawkins

Flying Scotsman at York Philip Hawkins

Winter Scene With Skaters Griffier

Winter Scene with Skaters Jan Griffier (ca 1652-1718)1652-1718

Christmas Catechism 02



13. What was the name of Messiah's mother? She was called Mary.

14. What was the name of the man she was pledged to be married to? His name was Joseph.

15. Where did they live? In Nazareth in Galilee.

16. How did Mary became pregnant? Through the Holy Spirit. He overshadowed her so that although she had never been with any man she was able to become pregnant with the holy one, the Son of God.

17. Who told Mary she was going to have a baby? The angel Gabriel.

18. What did Gabriel say about the baby she would give birth to? He would be great and called Son of the Most High; God would give him the throne of his father David and he would reign over God's people forever, his kingdom never ending.

19. How did Mary first react to this news? She humbly accepted it by faith.

20. How did she react later on? She wrote a song about God's kindness to her and to his people. It is found in Luke 1.

21. What word do we use for the fact God became man and was born a man on earth? We call it the incarnation.

22. How does John refer to Messiah before his birth? He calls him the word.

23. What does he say about the word at the beginning of his Gospel? The word was with God and he was God.

24. What does he then say about the word? That the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Horslips Christmas Album 50th Anniversary re-release


Known for their impact on Celtic Rock and the incorporation of Irish traditional music, Horslips have a special release for fans.
Horslips have announced they will release the 50th anniversary re-issue of Drive The Cold Winter Away on November 7.
The acoustic folk album was originally recorded in Dublin and released in 1975.
"While it probably wouldn't be the first time a rock band recorded an “unplugged” album, we thought to give it a unique twist by making it a seasonal record," said Horslips drummer Eamon Carr.
"Everyone in the band had fun suggesting tunes and songs and it was a joy to hear the arrangements take shape. Getting back to Trend Studios in Dublin, where we’d recorded our first demos and early singles, and work again with larger than life studio engineer Fred Meijer, was another important milestone."
Horslips are considered by many to be the 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' and are regarded for their Irish traditional music influences. The band came into the scene in 1970 and performed their final show in 2022.
Track listing
SIDE A
  1. Rug Muire Mac Do Dhia
  2. Sir Festus Burke / Carolan's Frolic
  3. The Snow That Melts the Soonest
  4. The Piper in the Meadow Straying
  5. Drive the Cold Winter Away
  6. Thompson's / Cottage in the Grove
  7. Ny Kirree Fo Naghtey

SIDE B
  1. Crabs in the Skillet
  2. Denis O'Connor
  3. Do'n Oíche Úd I mBeithil
  4. Lullaby
  5. The Snow and the Frost Are All Over / Paddy Fahey's
  6. When a Man's in Love