BOOKS AND CAROLS

I love December because it means I can read my Christmas books and play my CDs - not that I don’t play them during the year, because I do - as I love Christmas Carols - but at least in December, if our neighbours hear them, they don’t think I have gone completely mad!

Mr. HCB is very good at finding Christmas books - and as I also love poetry, I was especially pleased that he bought me “Christmas Please!” a book containing 100 poems for the festive season.

One of my favourite carols in this book is entitled A Christmas Carol  - enjoy this version with words by Christina Rossetti, music by Harold Darke, and sung by King’s College Choir from Cambridge.  We are having unseasonably warm weather in the UK at the moment, but somehow, this carol just typifies Christmas for me.

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, 
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; 
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, 
In the bleak midwinter, long ago. 


Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; 
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. 
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed 
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. 


Enough for Him, Whom cherubim, worship night and day, 
A breast full of milk, and a manger full of hay; 
Enough for Him, Whom angels fall down before, 
The ox and ass and camel which adore. 


What can I give Him, poor as I am? 
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; 
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; 
Yet what I can I give Him... give my heart.

 Off to church now for our Carol Service - good job my throat is better - I need to hit those high notes for the descant in Hark the Herald Angels Sing!!