All Things Bright and Beautiful

"The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky"

These lines were suddenly recited this morning by MrsB who was helping me prepare the Christmas meal vegetables. Her only allocated task (I am the chief cook and bottle washer today) was to peel some exotic-looking Purple Brussel Sprouts, so I suppose this is what triggered the response.

"Say what?" said I. She replied that she thought it was a Wordsworth poem and was a distant memory of her Girls School run by Roman Catholic nuns in the late 1960's Colombo of Sri Lanka. It was used she said, both for singing practice and to help pupils with their English grammar and elocution.

This is the very same school her father, a devout Muslim once removed MrsB and all her sisters from school temporarily on the grounds that no one had told him it was a Catholic Convent School. "But what did you think it was Mr Kaleyfaanu? We are nuns" explained the Mother Superior. I digress, that is a longer story for another day.

I did some Googling, and turns out it is actually a verse from All Things Bright And Beautiful the Anglican Hymn, and the verse quite appropriate for both Christmas and the purple sprouts. She never ceases to amaze me with her stories that MrsB of mine.

It is 11am now, and we have already opened our presents around the tree, and laughed at J telling of being out with her friends last night and finding herself in a room with 4 ex boyfriends.

We are heading out shortly for a very quick Christmas Sniff of the Barmaids Apron down at the Lord Eldon pub with our neighbours Kevin and Tracey and their family. Thereafter, it is the Queens Speech and roast duck for Christmas Dinner for just me, MrsB and J. We have a house full for New Year, so we are enjoying the calm before the storm!

Hope you all have a lovely happy Christmas out there in Blip land wherever you are, and thank you so much for dropping by on my own modest little blog from time to time over 2012. I have really enjoyed catching up with you all, and look forward to seeing what you have all been up to very soon.

With lots of love from me, MrsB and J. Xxx