DIY at Christmas

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I was just reading all the moans in the papers about the fact there were going to be over 600 repeats on the telly this Christmas.

“This Christmas, almost 600 hours will be shown on the four main terrestrial channels. The BBC will screen re-runs of Dad's Army, Morecambe and Wise, Only Fools and Horses and Blackadder. “

Isn’t it a pity that so many people have to rely on someone else to entertain them all the time. We all need a good Show every-now-and-then and some form of entertainment but 600 hours of repeats!

Our ancestors had one enormous advantage …… they made their own entertainment, and most of that entertainment was music.

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The CD player is no substitute; there is little to do with CD’s once you have played them, except play them again.

With live, home-made music on the other hand, the variety is practically infinite.

Piano solos, duets, carols, comic songs, rounds, recitations, however amateurishly performed will be more exciting than pre-recorded entertainments.

To the Victorians, Christmas meant sorting through the music stool for the well-tried favourites, and visits to the local dealers for this years latest novelties.

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In many of the homes, where among the families of those who could afford one, the parlour piano was the focal point of social life.

Music evenings, always popular with the Victorians, came into their own at Christmas and a whole new repertoire of domestic music came into existence.

Ezra Read produced dozens of "Descriptive Fantasias" which were very popular in his time, especially at Christmas. I have many of his works in the collection. Here's a couple for Christmas.

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Not only was music confined indoors in Victorian life; Many writers have left vivid descriptions of the waits preparing their annual onslaughts of carols.

Together with the armies of organ-grinders and other itinerant musicians who crowded the streets, Christmas shopping must have been an ear-splitting occupation.

Present-day supermarket ’seasonal’ tape recordings would make Rudolph’s nose pale into insignificance by comparison.

"A Winters Tale"

On Christmas eve, a little old lady was sitting in front of the fire with her faithful old Tom cat on her lap.

Suddenly there was flash, a bang and in a cloud of smoke a Fairy appeared out of the fire.

“Little old lady,” she said, “During the last year you have been good and kind to everyone and I am going to grant you three wishes. What would you like?”

When she had recovered from the shock the little old said, “First, I would like to be financially secure and live in a nice house for the rest of my life.”

The fairy waved her wand and the room was transformed into a luxurious drawing room and on the table were bags of gold.

“Next wish, please” she said.

“Please make me young and beautiful,” said the little old lady, and she was immediately turned into a glamorous blonde. “For my third wish, will you please turn my Tom cat into a handsome young man?”

Immediately, standing before her was a fine specimen of manhood who stepped forward and took the lady’s hand, kissed it saying,

“Aren’t you sorry now that you took me to the vet?”

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