Libre Paley's Blog: Libre Paley - Thoughts on Literary Erotica, page 5

Advent calendar 19: the gift wrap

“For the added touch that means so much… Hallmark gift wraps.”1956 Hallmark Christmas Gift Wrap advertisement Today’s image: the gift wrap Or, to be more precise, the gift wrap as by archetype, perfectly wrapped present, a square, perfectly wrapped gifted, swathed in ribbon, a large and perky bow perched atop it. It was going to … Continue reading Advent calendar 19: the gift wrap

Advent calendar 18: the shopping

“…the annual feeding frenzy in which shoppers queue all night, then stampede into the shops, elbow, trample and sometimes fight to be the first to carry off some designer junk which will go into landfill before the sales next year. The madder the orgy, the greater the triumph of economic management.”– George Monbiot in Heat: How … Continue reading Advent calendar 18: the shopping

Advent calendar 17: the card

“In the Evg [evening] Horsley came & brought his design for Christmas Cards”.From the diary of Henry Cole, entry for 17 December 1843. Today’s image: the greetings card Amongst its collections, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is proud to hold over 30,000 greetings cards. In fact, the first commercial Christmas card was sent … Continue reading Advent calendar 17: the card

Advent calendar 16: the ghost

“Do I believe in ghosts?… I am prepared to consider evidence and accept it if it satisfies me. I heard one cry in the night, and I heard one laugh afterwards. If I cannot forget that, I shall not be able to sleep again.” – M.R. James Today’s image: the ghost We may think of … Continue reading Advent calendar 16: the ghost

Advent calendar 15: the feast

‘A Christmas dinner, for the middle classes of this empire, would scarcely be a Christmas dinner without its turkey…’– from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management – ref 1005 (1859-61) Today’s image: the feast Way behind on seasonal preparations, I still need to decide on menus and complete the ‘big shop’ order. Not that there … Continue reading Advent calendar 15: the feast

Advent calendar 14: the ornament

Christmas is a box of tree ornaments that have become part of the family. Charles Schulz Todays image: the ornament What is this urge to decorate? But we decorated long before Christianity, and we as humans do so across many faiths and cultures. We decorate for a number of reasons. In terms of the Christmas

Advent calendar 13: the candle

It snowed and snowed, the whole world over, Snow swept the world from end to end. A candle burned on the table; A candle burned.  Boris Pasternak from A Winter Night Todays image: the candle How does an innovation thats over 5,000 years and originally made with reeds and melted animal fat become a signifier of luxury and Continue reading Advent calendar 13: the candle

Advent calendar 12: the gingerbread

And I had but one penny in the world. Thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.William Shakespeare, Loves Labours LostTodays image: gingerbread In centuries gone by, Advent was a time for fasting. This continues to be practised by some, including in the Orthodox Church. Today, for most of us with a Christian heritage, though, there Continue reading Advent calendar 12: the gingerbread

Advent calendar 11: the jumper

like the red cups at Starbucks or the hideously prolonged CGI Coke advert cute-fests, the Christmas jumper is just the latest incarnation of cynical yuletide marketeering.Harriet Walker in The Guardian Todays image: the Christmas jumper Lets first check what a jumper is in this context: in British English, this is not a kangaroo, nor a Continue reading Advent calendar 11: the jumper

Advent calendar 10: the fire

Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four oclock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without. Thomas De Quincey in Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821) Todays image: the fire Continue reading Advent calendar 10: the fire