In the
Bleak Mid Winter
The
winter season is speeding headlong towards the the 25th and it's busy. I get to
the warehouse early as we've got a mass of orders to go out. We're based
outside of Penzance, edging on to countryside, and I share the building with
various creative industries and an undertakers - mmm yes. Christmas is hotting
up directly in inverse proportion to my freezing work conditions. It's cold,
the grass is crispy white and Maggie, my dog, creates wispy clouds as she
sniffs out the rabbit runs. I'm questioning my style aversion to Uggs. They
would keep my tootsies warm but reduce my already truncated Cornish legs to
furry, suede ended stumps - and my friends and family will laugh at me, so I'll
settle for intact pride and frost bitten toes and desert boots. It is still and
quiet. Maggie sits out side waiting for the wind to catch and send a leaf or
two flying so she can chase. I hobble around in my arctic cave packing aprons
and oven gloves, cutting lengths of oilcloth. I fold and tuck, willing
the pile of orders to come to an end. I listen to women's hour and the splendid
Jane Garvey and a London fashionista tells us the Ugg has had its day. A
lucky escape, I am relieved that I hadn't succumbed.
As the
chill encroaches I’ve been seeking out warmth for you and have been tempted by
beautiful woollen throws by Bronte. I love their subtle colours inspired by the
landscape and nature. Bronte Operate from one of
Britain’s last remaining vertical mills they convert raw wool into beautiful products including
the initial design, dyeing, blending, spinning, and weaving. Their
products are
stocked
by Interiors Hyde Park in Plymouth see them on Facebook/interiorshydepark.
For your
winter table this season an affordable alternative is to scour your charity
shops and auctions for mismatched glassware. I have quite a collection of
crystal glasses cast out over the last couple of decades by people less
enamoured by the chintzy glitter of cut glass. A mismatched table of glasses,
water jugs and decanters adds impact especially if you keep your table simple,
white cloth and crocs and classic bone handled cutlery. Place a few natural wax
candles in between and some ivy strands and see them twinkle.
I have
various projects prior to Christmas, mostly food related but one is proving
more difficult. For many years now I have been collecting vintage Christmas
decorations. This is way before Kirsty Alsopp raised her posh snoot above the
'make do end mend' parapet. Each year as the year ends I trawl charity shops
and auctions for once loved glass baubles and tacky santas. I have gathered some
delights in my travels but the pickings in recent years have grown slim due to
the popularity of vintage lifestyles and interiors. These 'Johnny come
latelys' have made my little talismans of Christmas wonder thin on the ground.
But joy of joys this week I chanced upon a small box of battered and
loved glass ornaments with their delicate tin clasps and wire hoops that help
suspend the precious globes - and all for 2 pounds. Nonchalantly I take the box
to the counter along with a rather bald Father Christmas figure who will
add a winsome charm to my Xmas tableau. Two lovely ladies officiated at the
charity shop, one dressed as a fairy, white and fluffy as a middleaged
snowball, the other as an elf, the kind of elf that would send cats up curtains
and children screaming behind parents legs. These charming girls could not have
known my pleasure selling me a box of yesterday's tat. I won't say what
my husband said when I bought them home ….