We're down to the single digits - today we're featuring All Things British, appropriately enough as Laura and I went to London this summer for our 30th wedding anniversary. It's a beautiful city and a lovely, historic country, and it beats us black and blue with their assorted oddballs. Let's take a look!
We begin today's post with a photo feature the Sun (UK) ran a few days ago which showed what Christmas in Britain looked like up to 100 years ago. I am particularly fascinated by the World War II photos, like the gas mask mistletoe smoochers at left. Take a look at the whole set via this link!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2286105/the-worlds-scariest-santa-a-festive-air-raid-shelter-and-a-mistletoe-kiss-in-gas-masks-incredible-black-and-white-photos-show-what-christmas-looked-like-up-to-100-years-ago/
Continuing the history thread here for a bit, London also has bragging rights to the world's first Christmas card, sent in 1843 (the same year Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol) - for the full story on it, click on the link below:
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/742949/Worlds-FIRST-Christmas-card-sent-over-170-years-ago
Next up is the Royal Family all decked out in their Ugly Holiday Sweaters! Photoshop, you say? Not at all - this is an untouched photo, even though there does seem to be ... something off about it. Give up? It's the group portrait of the Royals at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. They are all dressed in their festively ugly sweaters (or 'jumpers', as they're known in England) for the annual Save The Children's Christmas Jumper Day (which is TODAY, I might add), which Wikipedia describes thus:
"Christmas Jumper Day is an
annual fundraising campaign in the UK organized by the charity Save The
Children. On a specific Friday in December, people are encouraged to make the
world better with a sweater and raise funds for Save the Children by wearing a
Christmas jumper and making a minimum donation of £1.
Those taking part can wear a
Christmas jumper they already own, decorate an existing jumper with festive
decorations, or even knit their own. Christmas Jumper Day is popular with
schools and workplaces. Groups may take part in additional fundraising activities
on the day, as well as making donations. Save the Children launched their
Christmas Jumper Day in 2012 on Friday, 14 December."
The Royals gave their full permission for the exhibit (LOVE the Corgi jumpers!) and it's something that has taken off in both schools and workplaces since it was first introduced.
The British are nothing if not obsessive. Case in point: this report from the Sun (UK) of a woman who's gone COMPLETELY 'round the bend' regarding presents. At right is a picture of her 2016 tree, which you can barely see. Why? Because she has - wait for it - 96 presents PER CHILD underneath (and to the side - and bulging out of the room)! Did I mention she has THREE CHILDREN? Did I mention her bill for all these gifts tops out at over 2000 POUNDS ??? If ever there was a person who needed an intervention, it's this lady. She's heard all the criticisms and has been featured on British TV and is still defiant about it all - read the whole story here!
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Coming Tomorrow: Reader Submission Day, where we turn the whole kit and kaboodle over to you!
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