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Diary – 2018 December
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All my diary pages going back to 2009
DRAWING & PAINTING:
1 December
The lights always go up at the beginning of December. Just checking they
are all working, and then time to cover the windows and walls with them.
8 December
These foam shapes are made from kneeling pads, and they replace the
water lily leaves in winter, so that the fish can hide under them and
feel safer. The foams sometimes float around the pond pushed by the
wind, the aerator bubbles and the filter outlet, but tend to gather in
the corners.
I have some frog winter homes at the end of the garden, using spare roof
tiles leaning against the rocks and fence, and some curved ridge tiles.
The second picture is half of a broken concrete wishing well ornament,
so I put the two pieces end to end and covered them with piles of
leaves. This helps the blackbirds as well when everything else is
frozen, they can fling the leaves about and find worms hiding
underneath.
Someone has done the messy work of sawing out the panels and paint
stripping the door. I am checking that no bits have been missed. Here is
the reeded glass for the panels waiting on the table top and I am not
going to touch it!
9 December
We watched the Santa Dash in the park. There were hundreds of people and
these are the first ones in the lead. Meanwhile the swans were only
interested in food. Their two young ones are learning that people
sometimes have food in their bags and it is worth hanging around.
10 December
We went to central London on the train. I noticed this white triangle
which is the roof of a tall building, and it looks just like the Play
button on a Youtube video! We walked along the Embankment gardens. Here
is a statue of Robert Burns, who wrote the words to Auld Lang Syne,
which people will be singing in the New Year.
Further along there is a communal ping-pong table, and a sundial.
We then went to Somerset House to watch the skating. Here are the polar
bear skate aids waiting in their enclosure.
After that we went up the Sky Garden which is at the top of the
Fenchurch Street Building. In winter the views are best seen at night.
London is one giant lit-up Christmas tree. This view of The Shard is
from the open air balcony.
It was much warmer inside.
14 December
We went to the Christmas Tree Festival in Christ Church, Erith. Brown
Teddy said this first tree was the best, then later on all of them were
best ones as well!
There was lovely carol singing being broadcast all the time.
This is the altar. Some of the side window sills had sceneries on them.
We had a good time finding at all the handmade decorations amongst the
branches. I am glad the angel has a Christmas pudding, and clearly it is
not hot out of the oven just yet!
This tree is covered in Remembrance Poppies beautifully painted by art
club members. this is a good idea for next year's decorations, and we
have all year to paint different flowers, or cut them out of magazines.
I liked this stained glass window of The Sower Sowing The Seed, which is
eaten by the birds, crowded out by thorns, or falling on stony ground
where it won't grow. I am glad the parable says some fell on good ground
and produced an increase of a hundred times. I think the bird may be
saying, "Don't step on those spiky thorns!" I like how the seed is
coming down in handful clumps.
15 December
This is King's Cross Station in London, where we arrived very early for
our train to the Midlands.
We had an hour to wait, so we looked at these photos of cultural events
in China. Then we found our platform so that when the time came, we
could go straight there.
This is a garden centre in Oakham, it was absolutely full of lovely
Christmas things. We spent a lot of time looking at the model Christmas
villages, as well as all the wonderful decorations, trees, toys and
gifts.
This part has a working ski lift and a backdrop of mountains.
Later on we went outside to see Santa's reindeer. It was cold and windy
with icy rain beginning to fall, but the reindeer are cosy inside their
shed with lots of straw. It was quite late when we got back to King's
Cross. I like to take photos of railway clocks as some of them are quite
old and they are all different.
16 December
We went to Greenwich today, this festive post box is opposite the Cutty
Sark ship. We went to see the Pantomime Horse Race. First of all came
some knights pretending to ride horses, with someone clopping with the
coconuts to make the sounds.
They go from one pub to another, so the race is in sections. There were
big crowds.
The crowds followed the horses along the streets, with everyone taking
pictures and video on their phones.
In the evening, we put up the tree and decorations, and lights on the
windows.
This is the little fibre optic tree that goes up on the shelf, with
colour changing berry lights. I always put the holly and greenery over
the mirror, with tinsel all round in green and silver, and lots of
cotton-wool robins sitting amongst it.
Brown Teddy's favourite are the three little chicks with glass bauble
bodies and yellow pompom heads with black eyes and beaks. My favourites
are the three angels playing musical instruments. We had to make the red
wings for them when we bought them.
18 December
At our local garden centre we made straight for the model Christmas
village. This year they also have wooden crates or boxes on their sides,
with fairy villages and homes inside.
Then we went to see the fish and say hello to the Koi. You can go up
some stairs to get a top view of their tank. They are very big, at least
a metre long.
These little fish are resting on the bottom, or should I say parked! I
think the fish would like this bauble covered in overlapping scales.
20 December
Here are the robins that sit over the big mirror. They like watch
everything that is going on!
21 December
This is Covent Garden and this year the decorations are huge bunches of
mistletoe.
These are ice creams in the shop window, but not real ones. The best
window was this baker where the man was just putting out fresh hot
cookies.
Covent Garden reindeer and Regent Street angel lights.
This is Oxford Street. It was extremely crowded and we made very slow
progress along the path.
This is Carnaby Street, it is narrow with just a pathway, no
roadway. It became famous in the 1960's for fashion shops.
This World Time clock map is in Piccadilly Circus Station. The central
time band moves round to show the time anywhere on the map. There is an
extra arrow to account for British Summer Time.
We ended up at Trafalgar Square.
This crib scene is here every year, with painted wooden models of the
Nativity characters, each spotlit in its place. Children were climbing
over the lions.
This is Strand, just near Charing Cross Station. I am not sure whether
this reminds me of bikes or gold coins - maybe chocolate money!
22 December
Another visit to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park.
These Dodgems are rather upmarket, done up to look like vintage
vehicles. Everything was noisy with loud music and sound effects.
This ride goes up a very high tower and drops
rapidly at the end of the ride. The carousel is more peaceful for
younger ones.
This is our favourite one to watch, the Looping
switchback ride, with very loud rumbling as each carriage goes round the
loops.
We watched the racing penguins for a while, as it
was a quiet and less crowded corner where we could eat our scones.
We watched the stall lady demonstrating a large
bubble wand and people were jumping up to catch the big wobbling
bubbles. Then the bubble machine started, blowing out white smoke-filled
bubbles.
Lastly we watched the skating, then the resurfacing
machine and then crowds of more skaters. Outside Hyde Park we glimpsed
through Queen Elizabeth Gate this lovely decoration of the Queen in glittering
lights, on the roundabout area just beyond. Buckingham Palace is nearby
and I am sure she can hear all the noise of the fun of the fair wafting
over to her windows!
24 December
I have been watching the NORAD Track Santa website
and working out the time zones, and realised it was already Christmas
Day (or at least past midnight) for people in the Pacific and the east
of the continent.
All the special plates are out of their box, ready
for washing, and the grand gravy boat of course. There is a stash of
extra ingredients on the cupboard shelf.
This is Brown Teddy's favourite card so far and he
will be saving them afterwards as well. It is just like our robin that
waits outside the kitchen window for bird pellets. We put all the
Christmas lights on as early as possible, before it even got dark, and
they will stay on until quite late tonight.
25 December
We got up a little later than usual for Christmas
Day. I helped in the kitchen and laying the table. We all had Christmas
pudding and mince pie with ice cream. Brown Teddy and I are playing at
pulling a cracker, but this was really a cracker-shaped present. It had
chocolate coins and real money inside!
Very interesting but it will be quite a while until
our tummies have any room for more sweets. I like this envelope, with a
nice flat present inside!
27 December
We went to the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Even the mosaic paving at the entrance is a work of art. I am glad to
say it was not crowded, so it was easy to see all the paintings.
I like this one because it shows up the shiny silky
dress, jewellery and all the sparkling silver tableware. I think the
table is covered in rose petals. This is a portrait of Beatrix Potter
who wrote all the Peter Rabbit books.
The birds just love all the statues, and
sit up there looking out for snacks from visitors, even though the
notices forbid the feeding of birds.
We went on to Somerset House to watch the skating
for a while, then saw the sun set over the Thames.
30 December
Today I cut up some of the Christmas cards, to demonstrate how to make
decorations with them, which is now on my Art Christmas page. With the
leftover bits, I made this pencil pot by stapling the sides together and
taping to a circle at the bottom.
You can use the space on your 404 page to help find missing people by embedding info from notfound.org See Yellow Teddy's 404 page
Where to report a lost or found teddy or
toy in
the UK:
https://www.facebook.com/LostboxTeddyBears
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