Swanley History Group – December 2021 meeting
After no meeting in December 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown and having pulled out all the stops to organise a seasonal meeting for Swanley History Group on 7 December 2021, our committee were faced with the Met. Office warnings about Storm Barra, and the growing presence of the Omicron Variant. It is true that our attendance was down but those who bravely set out found a warm welcome, excellent entertainment in the form of readings from a selection of Christmas stories, poems and prose by Ian and Penny Bevan and a festive drink and mince pie during the interval – a cheerful and enjoyable evening in the bleak midwinter!
‘Bah Humbug’ was the flavour of the first reading - ‘Christmas – An Atrocious Institution’ by George Bernard Shaw. In contrast, Ian then told us how the well-known emblems of Christmas originated, mostly during the Victorian period, such as having turkey instead of roast beef or goose (for families who were fortunate enough to afford those meats) and how sweet-maker John Smith devised Christmas crackers. We learned about a seemingly dangerous game played on Christmas Eve called ‘Snapdragon’ where players attempted to eat raisons floating in a shallow dish and soaked in brandy and set alight! Definitely not recommended! An entry from the famous diary of Samuel Pepys took us on a visit ‘to chapel followed by plum porridge and roasted pullet’ in 17th century London.
We were all familiar with Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, where grace was said by the Cratchit family before enjoying the goose with stuffing leaking out, mash potatoes and apple sauce. Ian’s melodious Welsh tones were just right for a reading from ‘Memories of Christmas’ by Dylan Thomas and we tittered at Robert Salter’s take on the accommodation provided for Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem in the style of a complaint to a travel company.
Personally I found the readings restful and comforting as well as entertaining. We hope everyone arrived home safely especially after that second glass of wine some of you had!
Merry Christmas All.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser
After no meeting in December 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown and having pulled out all the stops to organise a seasonal meeting for Swanley History Group on 7 December 2021, our committee were faced with the Met. Office warnings about Storm Barra, and the growing presence of the Omicron Variant. It is true that our attendance was down but those who bravely set out found a warm welcome, excellent entertainment in the form of readings from a selection of Christmas stories, poems and prose by Ian and Penny Bevan and a festive drink and mince pie during the interval – a cheerful and enjoyable evening in the bleak midwinter!
‘Bah Humbug’ was the flavour of the first reading - ‘Christmas – An Atrocious Institution’ by George Bernard Shaw. In contrast, Ian then told us how the well-known emblems of Christmas originated, mostly during the Victorian period, such as having turkey instead of roast beef or goose (for families who were fortunate enough to afford those meats) and how sweet-maker John Smith devised Christmas crackers. We learned about a seemingly dangerous game played on Christmas Eve called ‘Snapdragon’ where players attempted to eat raisons floating in a shallow dish and soaked in brandy and set alight! Definitely not recommended! An entry from the famous diary of Samuel Pepys took us on a visit ‘to chapel followed by plum porridge and roasted pullet’ in 17th century London.
We were all familiar with Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol, where grace was said by the Cratchit family before enjoying the goose with stuffing leaking out, mash potatoes and apple sauce. Ian’s melodious Welsh tones were just right for a reading from ‘Memories of Christmas’ by Dylan Thomas and we tittered at Robert Salter’s take on the accommodation provided for Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem in the style of a complaint to a travel company.
Personally I found the readings restful and comforting as well as entertaining. We hope everyone arrived home safely especially after that second glass of wine some of you had!
Merry Christmas All.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser