The Queen's Christmas Message

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II delivers her annual Christmas message to the people of the Commonwealth.
Video

Alice in Wonderland in British Stained Glass

This image and our banner (above) are from the the Daniell Chapel in Daresbury, which contains the Lewis Carroll Memorial Window.

"To mark the centenary of his birth, Carroll enthusiasts from all over the world subscribed to a memorial fund, which resulted in a gift to All Saints' of this striking and unusual stained glass window, dedicated in 1935.
The window was designed by the stained glass artist Geoffrey Webb and depicts a Nativity scene, at which both Carroll and Alice are present. Below the Nativity scene are 5 panels illustrated with characters and scenes from Alice in Wonderland including the White Rabbit, the Lizard, the Dodo, the Caterpillar, Fish-Footman, Mad Hatter, Dormouse, March Hare, Duchess, Gryphon, Mock Turtle, Knave and Queen of Hearts. The famous Cheshire Cat can be found in the centre of the fifth panel. The 3 centre panels contain verses from the Lewis Carroll’s poem ‘Christmas Greetings (From a Fairy to a Child)’."

There are magnificent photographs of it - and related links - here:
http://daresburycofe.org.uk/index.php?page=alice-window
http://daresburycofe.org.uk/news/29/15/Lewis-Carroll-Centre/
http://www2.halton.gov.uk/content/tourismandleisure/localhistory/lewiscarroll/
http://www2.halton.gov.uk/yourcouncil/townsandvillages/daresburyvillage/

More links related to Alice
http://www.melaniebenjamin.com/world-of-alice.php
http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/fabled/cheshirecat.html
http://aliceinoxford.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=139
http://www.alice-in-wonderland.biz/backgroundthomson.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 Alice In Wonderland text online
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/114 Alice In Wonderland - Tenniel's illustrations



Find more magical British stained glass here -
The UK on-line stained glass magazine
and Stained Glass Register in 2010
News, views, and links to stained glass artists and suppliers
http://www.stainedglassnews.co.uk/

Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries

http://templars.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/wallpaper2007_07.jpg

The Monarchist gave Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries glowing reviews...

In one chapter, the reader travels on a mystical journey in search of the temple, ark and holy grail; in another, we are guided through a museum of holy crowns, sacred oil, swords and lances and other totems of antiquity. We begin to recover our lost senses...the question of why we dream of exploring mysterious islands or finding lost treasures; of why we value such hidden relics and attach almost divine significance to mystical regalia; is a curious one. Extrinsically, the Magna Carta of King John, and the Coronation Stone, are almost worthless objects; one is a discoloured old parchment, the other is made of mere sandstone; their value lies in sentiment alone. Destroy sentiment, however, and all that the human race holds dear vanishes with it; one might as well be a cow. One might as well be - dare we repeat it - a completely de-spiritualised republican.

Click the link and begin your pilgrimage!

British Birds Under Threat

http://www.rspb.org.uk/

We can help our birds - and it is so easy and pleasant to do.
British Birds Under Threat - On a wing and a prayer
RSPB - How to help birds on your farm
RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch

"Drink up thy Zyder"

We love the smell of simmering mulled cider - a traditional British and American drink - during the Christmas holidays, and offer guests hot mulled cider throughout the cold winter months.


Cider making in Somerset - video at link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2010/dec/06/cider-making-somerset

UKCider - the real cider website and directory anyone can edit
http://www.cideruk.com/
http://www.ukcider.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Mulled Cider
Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson from Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, 2007

Prep Time:30 minInactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:30 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 servings

Ingredients
1 pint (16 fluid ounces) cider
2 fluid ounces dark rum
9 fluid ounces apple and ginger tea, from herbal teabag
1 1/2 ounces soft dark brown sugar
2 clementines
4 cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
2 fresh bay leaves
2 cardamom pods
Directions
Pour the cider, rum and herbal tea into a wide saucepan. Add the sugar and place the saucepan over a low heat. Slice the clementines in half and stick a clove into each half. Add the clementines to the pan. Break the cinnamon sticks in half. Add the cinnamon, bay leaves and cardamom pods to the saucepan. Heat the saucepan until the mixture is almost boiling. Turn down the heat once the pan is near to boiling.

To serve, ladle the mulled cider into heatproof glasses with handles.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/mulled-cider-recipe/index.html




From Jamie Oliver -
Incredible mulled cider
drinks | serves 15
It wouldn’t be Christmas without mulled something, whether I make wine or cider, its just one of those things that tells me I’m home and it’s Christmas. I know there are loads of packaged mulled wine and cider flavourings in the shops these days but honestly, it’s not hard to make this from scratch so please don’t cheat! Just pick up a few bottles of decent Scrumpy and give this a try. You’ll be simmering away most of the alcohol so if the kids want a taste, it’s ok to give them a little glass.

Ingredients
• 2 litres good cider, such as Scrumpy
• 6 cloves
• 3 or 4 star anise
• ¼ nutmeg, finely grated into the pan
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla pod, halved
• juice of 1 orange
• juice of 2 clementines
• juice and seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 4 or 5 tablespoons of caster sugar, to taste

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/incredible-mulled-cider