The morning after

It's the morning after Christmas. There's a candle near the window, flickering and guttering. I cross the room to see if it is one of those artificial kinds. I should have known: the LED ones don't gutter. I wonder why? I'm quite sure I could have designed something better, but I didn't and there's the catch.

It's the morning after Christmas. I've just listened to a recording of the Queen. She mentions the 75th anniversary of D-day and scenes of war atrocities flash through my mind. She talks about the effect of small steps and I am feintly encouraged for such are my own experiences. I look up the lyrics of the carol she mentions and am reminded, oh joy, that the angels are still singing whilst I step painfully...

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow,

Look now! for glad and golden hours

come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road,

And hear the angels sing!

For lo!, the days are hastening on,

By prophet bards foretold,

When with the ever-circling years

Comes round the age of gold

When peace shall over all the earth

Its ancient splendors fling,

And the whole world give back the song

Which now the angels sing.

It's the morning after Christmas and still dark outside - daylight hours are short here. I wonder if I'll take a few literally painful steps outside today?  It's -10'C and falling...

Christmas eve in Alaska

Ali has this thing about Christmas being a commercialised pagan festival forcing many to get in debt, with any allusion to Christ squeezed out, and that anyway Christ wasn't born in December and therefore no respectable Christian should celebrate it.

I'm not convinced. True, over the past few days I admit I've been over stimulated: what with Wasilla's amatuer performance of "White Christmas", a drive to Anchorage to enjoy a concert in which a friend JA performs followed by dinner at his home where we discussed Jacob Collier's rendition of Moon River.

The concert highlights for me were the brilliantly performed solo "What's this?" from The nightmare before Christmas with such evocative lyrics:

What's this? What's this?

There's color everywhere

What's this?

There's white things in the air

What's this?

I can't believe my eyes

I must be dreaming

Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair

What's this?

What's this? What's this?

There's something very wrong

What's this?

There are people singing songs

What's this?

The streets are lined with

Little creatures laughing

Everybody seems so happy

Have I possibly gone daffy?

What is this? What is this?

There are children throwing snowballs

Instead of throwing heads

They're busy building toys

And absolutely no one's dead

There's frost on every window

Oh, I can't believe my eyes

And in my bones I feel the warmth

That's coming from inside

Oh, look - What's this?

They're hanging mistletoe, they kiss

Why that looks so unique, inspired

They're gathering around to hear a story

Roasting chestnuts on a fire

What's this?

What's this?

In here they've got a little tree, how queer

And who would ever think

And why?

They're covering it with tiny little things

They've got electric lights on strings

And there's a smile on everyone

So, now, correct me if I'm wrong

This looks like fun

This looks like fun

Oh, could it be I got my wish?

What's this?

Oh my, what now?

The children are asleep

But look, there's nothing underneath

No ghouls, no witches here to scream and scare them

Or ensnare them, only little cozy things

Secure inside their dreamland

What's this?

The monsters are all missing

And the nightmares can't be found

And in their place there seems to be

Good feeling all around

Instead of screams, I swear

I can hear music in the air

The smell of cakes and pies

Are absolutely everywhere

The sights, the sounds

They're everywhere and all around

I've never felt so good before

This empty place inside of me is filling up

I simply cannot get enough

I want it, oh, I want it

Oh, I want it for my own

I've got to know

I've got to know

What is this place that I have found?

What is this?

Christmas Town, hmm

JA (and others) performing at the Family Holiday Pops concert

And then the duet in which JA performs: O Holy Night with its spine-tingly "A thrill of hope... O night divine" lyrics, arranged by the concert conductor Grant Cochran with unexpected but such beautiful harmony. A piano transcription is available on the internet and I intend to figure out the chords sometime.

Jacob Collier

The Jacob Collier experience was only indirectly connected with Christmas but what got me there was: here's a young man (English, by the way, and good looking) who comes across as being "clean", expertly exploring the mechanics and soul of music and opening and freely sharing his findings with the world. Which I see as a gift he is offering me. And the giving of gifts is a Christmas theme.

And then from White Christmas, not my sort of entertainment and yet the lyrics caught me:

I think about a nursery,

And I picture curly heads,

And one by one I count them,

As they slumber,

In their beds.

If you're worried,

And you can't sleep,

Just count your blessings instead of sheep...

And whilst being driven through the streets of Anchorage I see countless decorations, festive trees (think how many LED's made this year's Christmas!), the admittedly occasional nativity scene. And though Christmas might be good business to some, a time to gorge or just family enjoyment for others, there will be few that do not know that its origin, its very name, is about the birth of Christ around which the whole of history pivots. They've tried to inoculate dating with CE and BCE but really it's too late - the stage was set 2000 years ago.

Mild he lays his glory by,

Born that man no more may die:

Born to raise the son of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

Hark! the herald angels sing,

"Glory to the new-born King !"

It's early morning here in my son's house in Wasilla, AK: stockings pinned up on the mantelpiece, large (artificial) tree adorned with lights and baubles and gifts beneath, a heartly Christmas dinner to look forward to, and the joy of family time. No, I cannot just dismiss Christmas on the 25th of December. Perhaps there are those for whom it has no religious connotations, but I find it's doing something in my heart.

Best drone view of Wellington monument

In my last post I expressed my infatuation with the Wellington monument in Somerset. Having watched a few drone videos on the subject I vote this one the best I've seen yet. There's an internal staircase to a viewing platform with three round windows near the top and, apparently, a counterweight hangs inside the top of the monument to help balance it in windy weather. I'd like to find out more about these two details...  Whether common mortals will be allowed to ascend once the current restoration is complete is questionable.

Willand and Wellington

The Duke of Wellington got around. I fact there have been nine of him, the latest being still alive. But it was the first that most people know about and who won the victory at Waterloo in 1815. There are various monuments and other miscellania in memory of that victory - one in Phoenix Park, Dublin at 62m high, another in Trim, Co Meath, much to the chagrin of some of the locals. And the Wellington Monument, 53m high, near where Ali's mum lives and the nearby town named after the monument one supposes.  When driving to her home I habitually look out for the monument which is clearly visible from the M5, and this time I noted it was covered in scaffolding and reckoned it was worth a visit on foot. Google reckoned it was about 9.5 miles away so would be quite a challenge barefoot running.

Part of my track, monument off top right

I set off kind of hiding my intent from my alter ego (or one of them) for fear of the goal being considered too much especially in the winter. I told myself I could be just going to Uffculme. But at each crossroads I persisted in the general direction of the monument. In the event I was saved by a road closure towards the end - the road was closed presumably because of works on the monument renovation.  So I clocked up only 16.83 miles with elevation gain 484m. But I figured I could have made it there and back so, maybe in the summer...

A few days previous I had run 7.3 miles, this time to explore hitherto uncharted territory south-east of her home. Nothing of much consequence but opening up some ideas for my next visit.

Here I ascended Black Down Common, home of Culmstock Beacon, but I resisted the temptation to backtrack to the Beacon and ploughed on towards the monument.  The common is definitely worth another visit.

Black Down Common

View to the north

Note the ice!

The monument in the distance - here I turned back

Descent into sunset

Culm Davy church

Back along the river Culm and through Hunkin Wood

Approaching Uffculme

Uffculme square

Sunset at Bristol airport