Holiday listening....

 Last year I shared the lovely Truman Capote Christmas story  so I thought I'd share the lead up to Christmas break....

A couple of Agatha Christie Christmas stories are available to borrow on Hoopla.

A Poirot one, all about English Christmas traditions...and crime, obvs!

I did spend a bit of time worrying about teeth with that many bits of metal in the pud!

Not Christmas related, but also on Hoopla, I thought this very short story was quite fun. And for Agatha Christie a little easier to work out...rather than those insanely convoluted plots. (Don't get me wrong. I love her books, I just felt it had a different vibe).

This is one by Horowitz in the style of Holmes (I guess of Conan Doyle) and the plot is indeed as a Sherlock Holmes story would play out....this time Christmas cards of the less traditional style are in play. Available on Hoopla.

In preparation for his new book (on order) I was delighted to discover the Debutante. I got it on Audible. It's about Timothy McVeigh and Nazis (which maybe  a bit too soon to listen to for Australians, note Ronson is Jewish himself but some of what is said that he reports is offensive), but I listened before the weekend and found it interesting.

This one is not suitable for children for the political violence and racisim, and slurs quoted or recorded.

If you like Radio Plays there are some Graham Greene ones here. The New Yorker has a podcast that has short stories that are read and then discussed, like a mini book club. The Pulp Fury Radio plays are still available too. 

If you have a long car trip planned, there's plenty to listen to that will make the journey pass quickly.

Merry Christmas to you all

I have to say as I sit to write the last #XmasLinky for another year, I'm not feeling very festive at all so bear with me.

I'd like to thank you all for linking up each week. 

I'd like to wish you all a very merry Christmas or a happy holiday however you spend the break.

I hope that you reach out and offer people love and kindness. I hope that you help those worse off. I really hope that there is peace on earth, as far out of the realm of possibility as it feels at the moment.

Drive carefully and safe travels where ever you may go.

Have a happy new year celebration and may 2026 bring us joy and tolerance.

 

This is the last #XmasLinky for another year. Share your Christmas themed posts. Closes Christmas Eve. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Christmas Markets

Sydney has Christmas Markets - The Jolly Night Markets taking over Circular Quay and the Rocks. Food & gifts can all be purchased, while dazzled by lights and enjoying live music.

A lovely way to spend an evening. Running December 11th-21st, Weekdays 4pm -10.30 pm and weekends 11am - 10.30 pm. 

See the website here for full details of the locations. These pictures are of the Customs House location. There's also the MCA and Cadman's Cottage.

I've been getting about in my Christmas Tree dress, which is getting lots of laughs and compliments. It is very crazy, even for me!

Stay safe everyone (it is sad that when I say that I usually mean on the roads, however apparently I mean it from terrorists).

Remember, love your neighbour, give to the poor and hungry and show kindness to all. Invite those spending Christmas alone to join yours.

Have a wonderful Christmas break, enjoy the summer holidays and check out something new for the Festival of Sydney.

Happy New Year and may 2026 be better for us all!

Linking with #TravelTuesday #TuesdayTwirl. #XmasLinky

This is the last #Allseasons for the year. The linky will be back late January.

#Allseasons linky runs  from Thursday to Wednesday each week. 

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event.  Please link relevant posts only.

Make sure you link back to this  #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run. 

Housekeeping: This is the last #Allseasons linky for the year. It should be back late Jan, probably around the 22nd. Happy Christmas to you all. Thank you for visiting and sharing posts during the year. Hope to see you back next year.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tell Us About....A Christmas Carol

Christmas is filled with the ghosts of Christmas past - those missing from the table for a myriad of reasons. Also Traditions, the spectre of things you started as a child and for some reason continue, even though the reason for doing so may no longer be ncessary, it's just 'what you do' at Christmas.

People often reach out to people they don't see throughout the year, send cards to people that were once a much bigger part of your life, or were important and you aren't quite ready to let them go unrecognised or appreciated.

So Charles Dickens was on to something universal about Christmas, even if it wasn't exactly his point.

Do you recognise the ghosts of Christmas past in your celebrations and traditions? Do you have some '

Christmas future arriving this year, with newly married kids or babies now to be accomodated?

I guess the most important thing at Christmas is to anchor ourselves in the present, however it might appear. Enjoy time with friends and family, make the most of time on your own, do whatever you need to get through a difficult time if it's not exactly a festive time for you.

Lydia, what the Dickens are you talking about? Too bleak for this theme!

Okay, okay, a little music.

I talked about my favourite Christmas carols here, and this crazy Jul song that makes me laugh and laugh. Be warned - it's pretty irreverant and some people might be offended. Definitely not suitable for work. Some clips from the singalong Christmas show I went to are here.

The Krampus were covered here....so I leave you with a song I've loved and played at Christmas since I was a kid.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Linking with #TalkaboutitTuesday #Wwwhimsy #ComfyCozyChristmasLinkyUp #TellUsAbout #FineWhatever #TrafficJamReboot

and #XmasLinky goes live on Friday here for another week!

Starman

Every time I hear about the preposterous amount of money we are wasting on 'going to Mars' I get so annoyed. Thinking they're smart enough to make that workable when not even knowing the basics of what happens to the human body in space? It's absurd.

In space, the human body is exposed to massive amounts of radiation, some of which is impossible (or extremely difficult) to shield against. This radiation exposure has greater damage to health outcomes than radiation exposure on Earth (and we know it causes cancer and degenerative disease here).

Gravity is another issue. Transitioning through different gravity fields affects spatial orientation and balance. It may be difficult to maintain blood pressure when standing. The weight-bearing bones lose mineral density in space flight and also muscle mass, and it may not be corrected by rehabilitation. The fluids in the body shift upwards to the head, and this can cause among other things, vision problems. Increased risk of kidney stones due to dehydration and an increase in the excretion of calcium from the bones is another issue to be dealt with. The list goes on...

Not sure what all the anti-vaxxers will do given the risks to their immune system will require a lot of shots?

We saw what a full year on the space station did - compared to the normal 200 days. And that was close to Earth! It only gets worse the further you go and the longer time spent in space.

So instead of throwing money into 'escape', why don't we stop wasting resources like water on AI and focus on creating clean air and cooler, stable temperatures on Earth? Food security requires it. Human life requires it. If you have all this money for science, why not put it to something useful?

NASA article here for more detail.

Linking with #WordlessWednesday #MuralMondays #WWOT #WordlessWednesday #TalkaboutitTuesday

 

The end of the Theatre Season....

I get a subscription to STC with some friends, which someone else organises. It's good to have those catch ups locked in.

This was meant to be the last show of the year but my night at King Lear got cancelled so I've still one more theatre night this year...Last night we discussed our favourites - Pharlap being one of the favourites - if it returns, definitely go, even if you aren't a fan of horse racing!

Sydney is lucky to have many theatres, and last night we discussed around October, everyone picking a theatre and maybe we lock in a few in each (because you rarely go wrong at Hayes Street Theatre or the Belvoir!)

We have 6 locked in for next year at STC and one booked for Belvoir but they don't start until May. So I am on the hunt for some other theatre offerings come March.

Do you go to the theatre? Do you get a subscription or do you mix and match?

As an aside, the best bit about last night was discovering that our fav little preshow dumpling place had not closed like we thought when we went to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? If it open so if in the area, treat yourself to some yummy dumplings!

Linking with #Skywatch #GaleriaHimmelsblick #WordlessWednesday

 #MCoW #WednesdayAroundtheWorld #KeithsRamblins 

December Reading

 Been a lot slower getting through the books this month.

We did Booth for bookclub. I felt it was two books, to be honest. I really enjoyed the first book about the father but then I laboured a bit through the second one that leads up to the assassination. I did however really enjoy the aftermath, as I'd not really thought about that. I liked that it was a lot of the women's perspectives, the politcal landscape on a 'people's' level and that there are no 'good' guys in history, it's all so nuanced. Overall I did enjoy it but just found it a little long in the 3/4 mark but it picks up again.

We are all completely beside ourselves  discussed here.

I liked the title of this and was unfamilliar with the actor. I found it very interesting though I didn't watch any of those shows. I found it very sad and there's a bit of unsaid stuff that made me very uneasy. 

It also put into context that case in Western Australia with the 16 year old ballerina who was starved and treated like a small child. I couldn't understand why anyone would do that and why a teenager wouldn't push back but this is all very similar. It's so sad.

But eventually this author gets free of the control. The book is funny at times, very sad at others and for me a little shocking.

Overall very interesting and I think I learnt a bit (greater understanding at least). 

Even if you don't know who she is, or the shows she was on, I don't think that makes any difference to the engagement level of the reader.

A collection of short stories that are just wonderful, as you would expect of Tove Jansson.

Funny, quirky and maybe even a little mean in some. Maybe not exactly mean...an edge. She also catches some human behaviours re friendships - the catching up doesn't eclipse the need to put down new memories or real engagement, the person you admired in school shrinks in adulthood and so on....

I really love her adult books. Slowly working my way through them all.

The Summer Book discussed here.

True Deceiver here

Travelling Light here.

Reading this for the podcast book club. Not a fan of Austen and this was one I hadn't read so I thought I'd give it a go. I found all the book and reading commentary really funny. I found some of the women's commentary on men funny but for the most part, I just find it a lot of banging on about nothing and I keep checking how much longer to go to get to the end. So while I probably enjoyed it more than I have S&S or P&P in the past, I'm not a convert....(I know, I know....)

I loved this. I saw the author talk awhile back and he intrigued me so I gave it a go. More than just a spy novel, there's a lot of focus on spycraft which I found so interesting and also on relationships and how the danger of the work tarnishes everything outside of work, Great holiday read! Will definitely make a long haul flight go fast!

Linking with #WOYBS #BookReview #FineWhatever #Bookdate #SundayPost #SundayBookends #MonthlyBookworms #SundaySalon #StackingtheShelves #SeniorSalonPitstop #TalkaboutitTuesday #WWWHimsy