Skip to main content

Advent 2022

It's the first Sunday of Advent coming up, and for once I feel fairly well prepared! Of course, the proof is in the (Christmas) pudding - whether I actually do all this remains to be seen. If you haven't even thought about Advent yet, do grab an idea to join in with. None of them require any advance preparation except for downloading, printing or book ordering - and one of them doesn't even start until 20 December.

Something to do

I recently went to a Mindful Advent workshop, run by the lovely Stacey and Ella from Create and Connect. We spent a happy couple of hours folding origami envelopes to make our own Advent calendars, with a few mince pies to nibble as the November rain poured down outside.


I'm filling my envelopes with a short activity for each day, a Bible verse from the Christmas story, and a tiny treat for each of us. Thinking of 24 different activities was harder than folding 24 origami envelopes! Mine range from "listen to your favourite Christmas carol" and "enjoy a cup of mulled wine" to "walk barefoot round the garden" and "do a 10-minute exercise routine".

click for a larger image!

For a quick and easy version, print out the mindful Advent calendar from Calm Moment here.

Something to read


My Advent book this year is Waiting on the Word by Malcolm Guite. I'd come across Guite's set of sonnets for the Stations of the Cross, but hadn't read any more of his work. Then I discovered he had also written sonnets for each of the "Great O" antiphons (no, I didn't really know what they were, either, but they are read on specific days near the end of Advent, if you're in a church which does that kind of thing). Those sonnets are included in Waiting on the Word, and so are lots of other poems by various authors, with a short reflection on each one. It's been a while since I read much poetry. I'm hoping I like it.

Something to listen to

Very exciting - the BBC has recorded a new podcast adaptation of one of my favourite books! The Dark is Rising will be available as 12 episodes, starting on December 20th. The book's action takes place from the winter solstice to Twelfth Night. Will's traditional family Christmas of carol singing, snowfall, and mince pies is threatened by a tense battle between the Dark and the Light, as Will discovers his new powers as an Old One. Here is the introduction - it sounds great.

Something to pray


I may have mentioned Lectio 365 a few times before. This app has got me back into a regular routine of prayer, with just ten minutes a day to pause, reflect, and listen to the Bible. The family version is good, too - we do that one together much more sporadically, but the boys seem to enjoy it. The Advent series on both apps this year is Voices of Advent. Advent always seems like a good (short-ish!) time to try to pray more, so why not give it a go?

...and a cheeky drink!



The Little Brewing Company, which is local to us, have released their new cans, just in time for Christmas. There's a Christmas pudding porter and an Epiphany pale ale - what more do you need? A few of these may be on our shopping list pretty soon...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Derwent Valley: Derby City and the Derwent Pilgrimage

It was 8 am and I was already hayfeverish, headachey and hot. Why on earth was I setting out to walk through the middle of Derby, when I could be up in the hills of the Peak District? No one was forcing me to do this section. I could skip it entirely. But I knew I wouldn't, because this was the next part of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way. And besides, I had a suspicion that it would be better than it looked. Alvaston Park was certainly a good start. It's a wide sweep of green grass and mature trees. I used to come here quite often when the boys were small. I was glad to see some of the planets were still there - although Mars has had a lot of feet standing on it, I think. Here's a tiny Toby in 2013 with Mars... ... and a more battered Mars today. Alvaston Park I kept off the roads for a while by following a cycle route. Even when I joined the traffic, it wasn't bad. The factories and office blocks had roses outside. This road, now the A5194, used to be the A6 coming in...

Derwent Valley: Exploring the Astons

It was the hottest day of the year so far, with a forecast high of 32°C, and I was setting out to walk around three places with very similar names: Elvaston, Alvaston, and Ambaston. I was mostly hoping they would be shady! I was expecting to park at Elvaston Castle Country Park, where there is pay and display parking, but I spotted a large layby in Elvaston village, which was not only free, but also shaded by a large hedge. This meant that I didn't walk through much of the country park. Instead I skirted the edges, passing the village hall, with its decorative windows, and approaching Elvaston Castle itself along an avenue of yew trees. Elvaston village hall yew avenue Elvaston Castle was built for the Earls of Harrington and sold to Derbyshire County Council in 1969. Unfortunately the council is struggling to find enough money to keep the building in a state of repair. The castle isn't open to the public, but the gardens are well worth a walk around. The estate church, St Bart...

Greece is the word! Part 2: Epidaurus

For the first part of our Greek holiday, see here . Day 4 - continued After much waiting around, we acquired a hire car and set off for the second part of our holiday. I am so glad that Graham can get into a strange car in a foreign country and drive away with no problems. I would be a nervous wreck. Even Graham was a little spooked by the Athens traffic - very narrow lanes crowded with cars and buses, and mopeds zipping in and out of every available gap. I had left Google Maps set to "avoid tolls", which meant that we stayed off the fancy new highway and took the old road towards Corinth instead. There was practically no traffic, so although it was slower, it felt very relaxed. We passed hills, hotels and oil refineries. Along the way, we stopped at a supermarket for supplies and drank Green Cola at the beach over the road. Crossing the Corinth Canal at Isthmia, we started heading south through the mountains of the Peloponnese. The sky had been growing darker and darker, and...