Hello again! Sorry for the lateness of this post. I have taken up a seasonal job for the time being, and things are mad as you can probably imagine, especially since Christmas is now in full swing. Now that it's Christmas Day I can take a moment to reflect on what's happened in the year, and what's going to happen next year.
Of course, I'm still working on my Mametz Wood project. Some of you may have seen the small preview I posted a while back, and I'm using that as the basis for the completed work. It's taken much longer than I originally estimated, but I'm much nearer to a concrete plan than I have been for some time. There's also great stuff currently happening on the YouTube channel, with almost all of the old videos remastered and a few new ones thrown in for good measure. My next few challenges in that department will include remastering 'Flying Hare', recording 'The Bear of Mysore', and potentially recording something relating to 'Defenders of the Realm'. That last one may be a bit ambitious, but we'll see.
I've also got more poems headed the way of the blog, and hopefully the next Frynwys Features will be here soon. Speaking of which, Frynwys is looking at its most festive today, despite the fact that there's a thick fog outside at the moment. The village hall has got a lot of lights on it, and the Christmas tree in the park is positively smothered in tinsel. I will say that despite the council's limited budget, they sure know how to save it for Christmas. In case you were wondering, I had a good few socks as presents this year, so when the inevitable blizzard arrives in March I won't have a problem with keeping my toes warm.
There will be plenty of things, poetry-related and otherwise, to look forward to when next year rolls around, but for now, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas! See you in the New Year!
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 December 2018
Thursday, 5 January 2017
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everyone!
Hope you're all doing well and had a nice Christmas. So far 2017 has had an uneventful start here in Frynwys, but things are definitely looking up for the new year. As for myself, I am currently searching for a job while I make the transition from postgraduate education to the world of work. I tried getting a part-time job at Frynwys's only shop, but they were looking for people with checkout experience. Not the best omen, but I will persevere in my search.
Poetry-wise, there is a lot to look forward to. Some of the poetry I wrote for my master's course is due to be published in my university's pamphlet, though who knows if anything will come of that. As for this blog, you can expect many new poems starting from the end of this week. I have had a bit of a writing spree of late, which is odd because Christmas was very quiet here.
Anyway, that's just a taster of what's to come. Thank you for stopping by, and I'll see you soon.
Hope you're all doing well and had a nice Christmas. So far 2017 has had an uneventful start here in Frynwys, but things are definitely looking up for the new year. As for myself, I am currently searching for a job while I make the transition from postgraduate education to the world of work. I tried getting a part-time job at Frynwys's only shop, but they were looking for people with checkout experience. Not the best omen, but I will persevere in my search.
Poetry-wise, there is a lot to look forward to. Some of the poetry I wrote for my master's course is due to be published in my university's pamphlet, though who knows if anything will come of that. As for this blog, you can expect many new poems starting from the end of this week. I have had a bit of a writing spree of late, which is odd because Christmas was very quiet here.
Anyway, that's just a taster of what's to come. Thank you for stopping by, and I'll see you soon.
Thursday, 25 December 2014
The Tiger Poet vs. Christmas
It’s that time of year again. In many ways it’s arrived sooner that I thought, but it’s always great when it does. Out of all the times to be at home, Christmas is perhaps the best. Having just returned home from university, I’m relishing not having to worry about conserving money, and the festivities are currently at the forefront of my schedule. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t take time out to write this post, as even poets have something to say about Christmas. The best I can do is to share a little bit of what Christmas is like in my home village.
I know some readers have been wondering where exactly I live in South Wales, and I’m pleased to finally provide the answer. I live in Frynwys, a small village to the south of the Valleys. It has a few central features; the village hall, a pub and a small shop all within a few hundred yards of each other. As a result everyone goes to the same place for their milk. The streets in Frynwys are quite close together, meaning that you can’t walk a short distance without encountering give different sets of Christmas lights. People who live here tend to be somewhat competitive with their lights, with some houses trying to outdo each other with the elaborate decorations. It makes for a Christmas that’s brightly illuminated if nothing else.
My house has now been decked with bells of holly and such. Actually it’s been decked with tinsel and baubles; there aren’t any bells of holly. But there are quite a lot of lights and a few Christmas trees about the place. Tinsel which didn’t end up on the trees is now decorating the bannisters, the kitchen and the living room. The presents started arriving last week and there’s a fair few of them already. How many there’ll be on Christmas Day is still down to guesses (when is it not?), but I suspect there’ll be at least twice or three times as many as there are now.
The last time Frynwys saw a white Christmas was ten years ago in 2004. I learned this week that for it to truly be a white Christmas, snowflakes must be falling on the day, as well as snow being on the ground. From what the weather forecast has been saying recently, the chances of this happening are slim to put it mildly. Instead we’re getting rain, and lots of it. It’s mostly light drizzle at the moment, but when it’s like this for days on end it feels like you’re trapped in a particularly gloomy painting. The most recent forecast is claiming that it will be a lot dryer on Christmas Eve, but the last time I trusted the weather forecast my hopes were dashed and I had to go to school that day.
Aside from the weather and the decorations, the things that most people look forward to on Christmas Day are the presents. When I was asked what I wanted this year, it took me a while to provide an answer. I don’t know why, but the same innate excitement at the prospect of dozens of presents under the tree has slowly evaporated. Maybe that’s what happens when you’re an adult, but it’s not great, and this year I’m going to great lengths not to see any presents being placed under the tree. It’s proven slightly harder this year because new presents are appearing all the time, but I think I’ve marginally succeeded in steering clear of the tree this year.
Speaking of presents, I’ve bought a few for my family while I was away at university. They took a while to find, but I’m just hoping they’ll like them. One thing I’ve discovered since being a student is that time management is of the utmost importance. Because I’m the most unpunctual student there’s ever been, I ended up buying my presents at the last minute. Then again, I suppose since many people are doing this when Christmas comes around, maybe I’m not as monumentally late as I think.
I hope this has given you some idea of how Christmas is going for me at the moment. As this post is going out on the day itself, I hope everyone is well and that you all have a brilliant time.
Merry Christmas Everybody!
I know some readers have been wondering where exactly I live in South Wales, and I’m pleased to finally provide the answer. I live in Frynwys, a small village to the south of the Valleys. It has a few central features; the village hall, a pub and a small shop all within a few hundred yards of each other. As a result everyone goes to the same place for their milk. The streets in Frynwys are quite close together, meaning that you can’t walk a short distance without encountering give different sets of Christmas lights. People who live here tend to be somewhat competitive with their lights, with some houses trying to outdo each other with the elaborate decorations. It makes for a Christmas that’s brightly illuminated if nothing else.
My house has now been decked with bells of holly and such. Actually it’s been decked with tinsel and baubles; there aren’t any bells of holly. But there are quite a lot of lights and a few Christmas trees about the place. Tinsel which didn’t end up on the trees is now decorating the bannisters, the kitchen and the living room. The presents started arriving last week and there’s a fair few of them already. How many there’ll be on Christmas Day is still down to guesses (when is it not?), but I suspect there’ll be at least twice or three times as many as there are now.
The last time Frynwys saw a white Christmas was ten years ago in 2004. I learned this week that for it to truly be a white Christmas, snowflakes must be falling on the day, as well as snow being on the ground. From what the weather forecast has been saying recently, the chances of this happening are slim to put it mildly. Instead we’re getting rain, and lots of it. It’s mostly light drizzle at the moment, but when it’s like this for days on end it feels like you’re trapped in a particularly gloomy painting. The most recent forecast is claiming that it will be a lot dryer on Christmas Eve, but the last time I trusted the weather forecast my hopes were dashed and I had to go to school that day.
Aside from the weather and the decorations, the things that most people look forward to on Christmas Day are the presents. When I was asked what I wanted this year, it took me a while to provide an answer. I don’t know why, but the same innate excitement at the prospect of dozens of presents under the tree has slowly evaporated. Maybe that’s what happens when you’re an adult, but it’s not great, and this year I’m going to great lengths not to see any presents being placed under the tree. It’s proven slightly harder this year because new presents are appearing all the time, but I think I’ve marginally succeeded in steering clear of the tree this year.
Speaking of presents, I’ve bought a few for my family while I was away at university. They took a while to find, but I’m just hoping they’ll like them. One thing I’ve discovered since being a student is that time management is of the utmost importance. Because I’m the most unpunctual student there’s ever been, I ended up buying my presents at the last minute. Then again, I suppose since many people are doing this when Christmas comes around, maybe I’m not as monumentally late as I think.
I hope this has given you some idea of how Christmas is going for me at the moment. As this post is going out on the day itself, I hope everyone is well and that you all have a brilliant time.
Merry Christmas Everybody!
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Christmas and New Year Updates
Hi everyone, just checking in before Santa gets here. Obviously my posts have become slightly sparser of late due to the festivities taking up quite a bit of my time. With this in mind, let me fill you in on what's happening on this blog during Christmas and New Year, and some of my plans for 2015.
For Christmas Day, I will devote a post to discussing Christmas itself. I know I've never talked in depth about my home village before, and in this post I'll describe how it looks at Christmas time, so this should be fun. There will also be a couple of poems, one on Boxing Day and another before the New Year.
Also, I intend to have the audio version of my poem 'Kalua' available on YouTube within the next week or two. I know I've kept saying it, but this time I mean it, and it will arrive when it arrives.
As for 2015, there's a lot happening there. I'm going to keep the poetry arriving at a fairly decent pace. Hopefully my posting won't be as infrequent as it has been this year, and I'll be writing some more articles about various topics, including the First World War, Ted Hughes and J. R. R. Tolkien. And there is still my Dark Souls article waiting in the wings.
So, that's a lot of stuff to take in, but stick around for my post on Christmas Day and we'll work from there.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
For Christmas Day, I will devote a post to discussing Christmas itself. I know I've never talked in depth about my home village before, and in this post I'll describe how it looks at Christmas time, so this should be fun. There will also be a couple of poems, one on Boxing Day and another before the New Year.
Also, I intend to have the audio version of my poem 'Kalua' available on YouTube within the next week or two. I know I've kept saying it, but this time I mean it, and it will arrive when it arrives.
As for 2015, there's a lot happening there. I'm going to keep the poetry arriving at a fairly decent pace. Hopefully my posting won't be as infrequent as it has been this year, and I'll be writing some more articles about various topics, including the First World War, Ted Hughes and J. R. R. Tolkien. And there is still my Dark Souls article waiting in the wings.
So, that's a lot of stuff to take in, but stick around for my post on Christmas Day and we'll work from there.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
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