“It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
Happy holidays from the authors of Untethered Realms!
What is your favorite holiday read?
Christine Rains - Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. The Hogfather, Discworld's equivalent of Father Christmas, is missing and Death takes his place. As Death goes about his job, his granddaughter Susan tries to find the Hogfather and must deal with an assassin looking for him too. Hilarious, surprising, and wonderfully fun. It's a different sort of holiday read, but right up my alley.
Gwen Gardner - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is always my go-to Christmas read. Ebenezer "Scrooge" became synonymous with someone who hates Christmas. But through the visit of three ghosts over the course of a single night, Scrooge learns the real meaning of Christmas.
Here's my favorite quote:
“And how did little Tim behave?” asked Mrs Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart’s content.
“As good as gold,” said Bob, “and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”
Sooo, I guess this is the month for confessions. Last week, Catherine Stine confessed her current bookish fetish about Marilyn Manson. Today, I'm confessing...my fascination with graveyards. Not just any graveyard, though. Only old ones, especially Victorian.
When the hubs looked over at my laptop this morning and noticed I was on the Billion Graves website, he mentioned that most men might be concerned about their wives having this bizarre fascination. Murder, ghosts, graveyards...yeah, that's just a start.
But he's a brave man and we've been married a really long time, so some of my strange proclivities are just another day in the life of Gwen Gardner for him. And actually, I'm going to show you a photo of him posing, in a graveyard, as the Ghost of Christmas Future--without any prompting from me.
It started at the Old Saint Chad Church Cemetery in Shrewsbury, England, where we recently visited. We'd been there before, about twenty five years ago. We knew the secret, you see, and had gone back to find it.
Old Saint Chad Church, photo by Gwen Gardner
We went through the gates,
just as we had twenty-five years ago...
Old Saint Chad entrance, photo by Gwen Gardner
We searched,
and saw this...
Old Saint Chad Church Cemetery, photo by Gwen Gardner
...this...
...this...
...and this...
We couldn't remember exactly where it was...
...but the Ghost of Christmas Future showed up to point the way, just as he had in A Christmas Carol. Remember the scene when the Ghost of Christmas Future is pointing out a headstone to Scrooge, but Scrooge is too afraid to look in case it's his own?
The hubs at Old Saint Chad Church Cemetery, photo by Gwen Gardner
What was he pointing to?
Don't be shy. Come a little closer...
Old Saint Chad Church Cemetery, photo by Gwen Gardner
Still not quite sure?
Ebenezer Scrooge!
photo by Gwen Gardner
And now you know the secret.
The hubs and I stayed at a bed & breakfast in Shrewsbury twenty-five years ago. The landlady told us that the 1984 version of A Christmas Carol was filmed right there, and in fact, Scrooge's headstone was still in the cemetery. They used the back of an old existing headstone to make one for Scrooge.
Here's a little factoid: A Christmas Carol was filmed in the summer, so the actors were sweating their buns off during filming, all wrapped up because it was supposed to be December. A lot of locals were hired as extras. In fact, many of the locals were upset because an American, George C. Scott, was hired to play Scrooge, rather than an Englishman as Charles Dickens intended. But all was forgiven because George C. Scott did an excellent job of acting.
Here's a snippet from Youtube. The part of Ghost of Christmas Future doesn't show up until minute 4:35, but it doesn't contain the scene I mentioned above.
