Monday, 23 December 2013

The Christmas Cheer


On Christmas Eve’s eleventh hour
All is hushed in wood and tower.
Birds shiver in the evergreen
But ye, who by the window lean,
Yes, ye who sit upon the sill,
Oh bend your ears until, until
You hear it fleeting through the air:
Hurrah!  Hurrah!
The Christmas Cheer!

On Christmas Eve’s eleventh hour
The snow lies on the ground like flour:
The Pastry Cook who lives Above
Shook it down through his great sieve.
And ye, who sit upon the sill
Shall hear a roaring from the hill,
Shall hear a rumbling from afar,
Shall hear it softly drawing near:
Hurrah!  Hurrah!
The Christmas Cheer!

Midnight is close and in their beds
Children lift their sleeping heads
And whisper soft:  Hurrah!  Hurrah!
As through the myriad of snows
Lilting, lifting as it goes,
It comes, that song from olden times,
Mingling with the midnight chimes
Hurrah!  Hurrah!
That now ring out for all to hear
Both near and far, and far and near,
Hurrah!  Hurrah!
The Christmas Cheer!

__________________

And may I wish a Merry Christmas to all you good Hawkers and Potters out there!

Saturday, 14 December 2013

Meh!

Well, of the four Hawker's Pot goat-themed Christmas cards this year, this one has been the runaway seller (leaving Scrooge and his nocturnal goaty visitants in its cloven-hooved wake):

Inside, needless to say, it says "Meh-rry Christmas."

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I will be peddling these in Stroud and Bristol over the next two weekends.  On Sunday 15th December I will have my suitcase open at Dennis Gould's Open Studio and Letterpress Workshop on Gloucester Street in Stroud (by the Star Anise Cafe) between 10 and 4.  Dennis's workshop is always worth visiting, so it's a real pleasure to have been invited along with my suitcase. 

The cards are also available in the Made In Stroud shop.