Rare Musical Holiday Delights
November 20, 2006
They call him Father Christmas. We call him Santa Claus. But the U.K. shares the same holiday spirit with the U.S., which VH1 Classic will reveal in December when it unwraps two BBC specials never-before-seen in the States, starring Rod Stewart and The Kinks. Taken from the BBC series “Old Grey Whistle Test,” the “Rod Stewart Christmas Concert” features one of England’s most successful singers headlining a Christmas Eve 1976 special at London’s Olympia Theatre. The one hour show debuts on VH1 Classic on Thursday, December 21 at 8:00 PM.
Stewart performs a number of his hits as well as some rock and pop classics including “Tonight’s The Night,” “Maggie May,” “Losing You,” “Get Back,” “This Old Heart of Mine,” “The Wild Side of Life,” “Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller,” “The Killing Of Georgie,” “Sailing” and “I Don’t Want To Talk About It.”
VH1 Classic presents one of the U.K.’s longest-running rock success stories, The Kinks on Thursday, December 7 at 10:00 PM during “The Kinks Christmas Concert.” Caught live at the Rainbow Theater in London on Christmas Eve 1977, The Kinks tear through many of their classic songs including “Lola,” “Sleepwalker,” “Life On The Road,” “Well Respected Man,” “Death Of A Clown,” “Sunny Afternoon,” “Waterloo Sunset,” “All Day And All Of The Night,” “Slum Kids,” “Celluloid Heroes” and “Get Back In The Line.” The group also gives a rousing rendition on their holiday classic “Father Christmas” with Paul Davies’ donned as Santa Claus.
Let’s get the party started
November 20, 2006
Parties are supposed to be fun, right? And they can be. But if you’ve ever attended (or thrown) an absolute shocker, you might like to consider some party basics as you approach the festive season. Get some tips from the experts.
Venue: Never hold a party on a boat > This is one of the first things you need to get sorted. Because where the party is held will determine how many people you can invite, what food you can serve, what music and other entertainment you can provide.
There’s one thing on which experienced party-goers agree, never, ever hold a party on a boat. Everyone has horror stories of being trapped with a hundred people they’ve decided they don’t like after all, and no means of escape. Loved ones overboard is always a risk. Nasty accidents on rough seas is another (one gentleman remembers seeing a well-dressed woman travel the length of the craft on her bum).
“I was working as a journalist in Rockhampton,” remembers Jan Jacklin, who, over the course of careers in journalism and then marketing, has both staged and attended many parties, “and had to attend the launch of a new pontoon off Heron Island.” Various dignitaries first travelled to the pontoon on a cabin cruiser, bouncing up and down over the waves. The pontoon was rocking gently from side to side on the swell. From there they all were shepherded onto a glass-bottomed boat for a spot of reef-viewing. Unsurprisingly, Jacklin became violently ill.
But in an effort to get her head over the side of the craft, she only managed to spray the person next to her: Flo Bjelke-Petersen. “And where do you go from there? You still can’t get off the boat.” Luckily Lady Flo was a woman who’d seen it all. “Not only was she not at all fazed, she mopped my brow all the way back to shore.”
Christmas stories that warm the heart
November 20, 2006
Of course children get excited about what they will receive for Christmas, but perhaps there is too much emphasis on receiving and not enough importance placed on giving. Christmas is a time for giving and for sharing, but not just with material things. More importantly, one of the greatest gifts any of us can give is the gift of oneself, the gift of our time, our attention, our love to the important people in our life and to those we don’t know, especially a person in need.
Today’s reviewed books feature these themes in strong, loving ways. Share them with a child; you’ll both benefit.
“The Christmas Day Kitten” written by James Herriot, illustrated by Ruth Brown, St. Martin’s Press, 32 pages. Read aloud: age 3 and older. Read yourself: age 7-8 and older.
Mrs. Pickering has opened her home to a stray cat she names Debbie, who visits when she chooses, soaks in a few moments of solitude, eats a little food and then is gone. Mrs. Pickering never knows when Debbie will return, but Debbie has learned to trust and love Mrs. Pickering and that affection is clearly reciprocated.
One Christmas morning Mrs. Pickering telephones Dr. Herriot. Debbie had arrived early that day, and there is something terribly wrong. Dr. Herriot hurries to the Pickering house and discovers a bittersweet scenario. Sorrow turns to joy, however, when Mrs. Pickering receives the finest Christmas present she could ever ask for.
This superb story will cause readers to rejoice in the holiday spirit of love and giving.
“Prairie Christmas” by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk, illustrated by Ronald Himler, Eerdmans, 2006, 32 pages, $17.00 hardcover. Read aloud: age 5 and older. Read yourself: age 8 and older.
It’s Christmas Day, 1880, on the prairie in Nebraska. Emma is almost 15 years old, and instead of spending Christmas at home, she must go with her mother, a doctor, to deliver a baby. Emma can’t help but wish the baby would be born on some other day. But when she arrives at the house, she quickly comes to learn that she isn’t the only one whose Christmas has been interrupted. Two young children are waiting for their baby to be born, and they are worried. Emma decides she is must do something make the children’s Christmas special while they all wait to hear the newborn’s cry, and that’s precisely what she does.
A marvelous story about family, friendship, and the joy of giving, this selection is a wonderful story to share for the holidays or anytime.
“The First Christmas Stocking” by Elizabeth Winthrop, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, Delacorte, 2006, 40 pages, $15.95 hardcover. Read aloud: age 5 and older. Read yourself: age 8–9 and older.
Long, long ago in the north country, a young girl named Claire lived with her parents in a small stone hut. Claire and her parents were very poor, and the money Claire’s mother made from her beautiful knitting help add needed income to her father’s meager wages as a coal miner. Claire sat with her mother every day and she learned to knit, doing as her mother told her, to “dream your dreams and knit them into the wool.”
When Claire’s mother died, Claire took over her mother’s job and she knit beautiful stockings. A wealthy woman heard of Claire’s stockings and came to Claire’s door two days before Christmas, promising to pay her handsomely for three pairs of stockings for her children. Claire worked day and night to fill the order, but on her way to deliver the stockings, she came across a boy in rags, freezing in the snow. Clearly the boy needed her stockings more than the rich woman and her children, and the ramifications of her act of kindness had greater impact than Claire or her father could have ever imagined.
An extraordinary tale perfectly supported by lush illustrations, this selection is rich.
Pear Mear
November 20, 2006
Ingredients > per person
1 pear
1 glass red wine
100g sugar
1 stick cinnamon
Method >
Boil all the ingredients together for 20 minutes
Remove and place each pear in a dish
Garnish with the sweet wine sauce and serve with vanilla ice cream
