Yes, I know that it’s almost Twelfth Night and all that, but I can still issue forth seasonal salutations if I want to, can’t I? In any case, I live in West Wales, and we celebrate some peculiar things around here: Mari Lwyd*, Calennig, and the “Hen Galan”—which is sort of Christmas, only a week or so later. We never had a problem with the old Julian Calendar, you see. Then those blasted Gregorians came along and took away ten of our days, and this has played havoc with us for centuries, particularly when it comes to remembering when Christmas is, and, for me, my wife’s birthday.
Anyway, by way of Gregorian seasonal greetings, great friend of this society and arch-appreciator of telegraph poles, Charlie Warmington, sent us the photo you see below. Charlie has a famous nom-de-plume in larger and realler life and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to reveal it. So I’d probably best not.
Charlie’s photo says Happy Christmas in many ways: There’s the gracefully dressed carrier bag that flaps and waves delicately from the top of this handsome DP in Newtonabbey, Co. Antrim. And what a delightful spread of dropwires taking internet cat video joy into every home in the cul-de-sac. And, that rainbow just makes you want to reach for a large one doesn’t it. Charlie tells us that even the hanging baskets on the fence are ‘celebrational’ – they’re made out of wood from an IRA Anti-Internment rally bonfire! I think this has all the makings of a Christmas card.
Speaking of calendars – and I promised myself that I’d lay off it – I still have just two left. Two final chances to get yourself a piece of telegraph pole history. See our shoppe page.
*Mari Lwyd. This is an olde Welshe traditione whereby we come around your house at night with a horse’s skull on a broom handle and scare the bejesus out of you as we try to steal your mince pies. And sherry.
