How quickly the dark days are with us again. The clocks went back last Saturday and it really feels as if Winter has chased Autumn away. But never fear, this means you can wear your furry boots, woolly scarf and bobble hat and wait for Christmas time.
Winter in the UK never got to me as a child because I enjoyed Hallowe'en in October, then close on its heels was Bonfire Night... and before you knew where you were, it was time to start buying selection boxes and write out your wish list for Santa.
At school we did plenty of carol singing that really put us in the right mood to be jolly and deck the halls with boughs of holly. In fact my respective primary and secondary schools always made sure there was a Christmas Party for us to look forward to. Hmmm - it sounds as if I grew up in a golden age reading back through my text. Thank you to Kearsley Mount Methodist School aka Spindle Point School and Farnworth Grammar School. My teachers were obviously far more magnanimous than I gave them credit for.
Here in the Somme we are planning our 4th annual Christmas Truce Carol Service. We look forward to seeing the church filled with people of all ages from all backgrounds. The Truce is a moment of cosy fun with a large dose of remembrance and reflection thrown in.
This year we welcome the schoolchildren of the Catholic Primary School in Bapaume who are struggling with songs in Latin and English. I haven't tried any German with them yet.... but it will have to be done. We also thank our guitarists Vic Piuk and John Anderson, our keyboard player Marie-Geneviève Pelletier and we extend a welcome to the 13 musicians from the Orchestra of the Combles Community Council who have agreed to join us.
You can take a peep at the songs we will be singing by visiting pages 3 - 7 of my official blog:
http://pfk-battlefieldacademy.skyrock.com/
where you can exercise your vocal chords along to Gaudete with Steeleye Span, Mary's Boy Child, Deck the Halls (there we go again), I believe in Father Christmas, I'm dreaming of home ...plus a selection of French and German songs.
The Carol Service will start at 7pm on December 18th in the church in Pozières. The event is free, because all the participants are volunteers. However, we ask each family (or group) to bring a dish for the buffet that will take place in The Tommy Museum-Café on the main road in the village. Please leave your dish there before going into the church. Once we leave the church, having sung our throats dry, we head for The Tommy where we can mix and mingle to our heart's content, while enjoying an international buffet, given the presence of different nationalities.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Paula Flanagan
