Christmas Mass 2012

This year we went to the Christmas Vigil Mass. For the past few weeks, we've been staying around after Mass so J could practice for the Nativity. The Vigil was at 5 p.m. and we came to church at 4 for a rehearsal. Mostly the rehearsal was just getting costumes on. L decided she wanted to be part of the Nativity when she saw costumes.

Ready to shine

L and J ran around a bit. Then L had her fill and decided she didn't want to be in the play anyway.

A farewell hug

A farewell performance

Ready to play

Meanwhile, I was in church holding seats. Mommy and L came back at 4:40 to wait for the kids to come in. The performance was quite nice, though not as great as J's school nativity, but that will be a post later this week. The songs here were a bit too much like show tunes. I guess my taste is just old fashioned.

The sermon was definitely focused on the children and had a great message about the importance of giving and love. I wish it had a little more for the parents. At one point, father had a present and he asked some of the children to guess what was in it. J was a little dumbfounded at first, but then he guessed, "Frankincense?" Which got a good laugh.

Amazingly, Mass only ran a bit after 6 p.m., so bedtime was hardly delayed, even though we did have dinner and one present opened by each child, since they were so good all day.

J opens one...

L with her gift from J

Merry Christmas to all!

Mince Pies, UK Style

Last week, L's school invited parents to come for a "stay and play" session. I went and the main activity we did was making mince pies. The teachers had already whipped up some dough, so L and I only had to roll it out and cut out a circle for the pie shell. They had mince filling from one of the local grocery stores, so we spooned some in. Everyone was supposed to pick a shape for the top of their pies. L chose a triangle. The teacher cut a triangle shape out of leftover dough and put it on top of the pie. Once all the tops were on, the tray went to the oven. Later on, we had yummy mince pies! It was so easy we decided to try it at home.

Getting mince from the store was no problem (though I suppose it's a bit of a cheat for all you purists out there). Making the crust was a challenge. Usually crusts are buttery and crunchy and yummy, like the tastiest of pie crusts. My wife found a recipe here. You can tell its authentic because the ingredients are in grams and the oven temperatures are in Celsius (which would be a problem back in the States, but not here). She and the children forged on while I took a nap.  I'll let A take over the narration:

J and L were enthusiastic helpers. They demanded proper aprons, of course, and then wielded their wooden spoons with gusto--occasionally spreading flour far and wide. 

Dough Boy J

After mixing the dough we patted it into the muffin tins. This was surprisingly time consuming. The kids poked and patted the dough a few times in the pan, but it was a grownup job to pat everything up the sides. L fetched her cookie cutters and was eager to begin "making shapes."

L ready to make shapes

J and L each scooped the mince pie filling (raisins, apples, cinnamon, etc.) into the pies.

J gives a thumbs' up

Too cute not to post

The recipe next said to pat out rounds of dough and put them on top of the pies. L flourished her round cookie cutter and used it to cut several circles of dough. Then, unfortunately, The Great Mince Pie Meltdown of 2012 happened and L fell to the floor screaming and writhing with outrage about my lack of proper dough handling technique. I'm not exactly sure what my crime was, but I believe that I may have stretched one of the circles into an oval. L retired from mince pie making in protest.

J is the lone helper still standing.  Mince pies are shaped and ready to bake.

The pies smelled wonderful while they were baking. We waited patiently and were rewarded with the misshapen yet delicious results.

L is unclear about how they came out, or maybe she's just blurry

By this point I (Daddy) was awake again and got to enjoy a mince pie fresh from the oven. It was very yummy warm and went well with a cuppa tea. And we have plenty of leftovers for the coming days, so we can enjoy them again and again! Too bad the kids aren't interested in actually eating them. Their loss!

Another piece of English mince pie tradition is that a pie was made in the shape of a manger and used in the Nativity scene for the Christ child. At Christmas dinner, the pie would be eaten. The Puritans in 17th century England forbid the baking of mince pies since they considered the pies "idolatrie in crust." Protestant iconoclasm extended even to food back then! For a big helping of mince pie history and lore, listen to this podcast at Catholic Under the Hood.

TV Review: The Secret of Crickley Hall

The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012) directed by Joe Ahearne

For Christmas Eve, why not watch a ghost story? It's a popular tradition in England to read ghost stories on Christmas Eve, then at midnight open the door to let the ghosts out and the spirit of Christmas in.

The Secret of Crickley Hall is two ghost stories in one! The show starts with Eve, an overworked London mother who takes her young son Cam to the playground. She sits on a bench and tries to get some work done. She doses off for just a minute. When she snaps awake, no one is left in the playground. She can't find Cam anywhere. The police are brought in. They search in vain. Naturally she blames herself for the loss and is inconsolable. Eleven months later, her husband decides to take a job in the country so Eve and his two daughters won't be around home and the playground when the anniversary of Cam's disappearance comes. They rent a very inexpensive country house, Crickley Hall.

Why is it so inexpensive? Surely you've guessed, it's haunted. The hall was used as an orphanage during World War II. The headmaster was overly strict (i.e. he used his cane far too much) and a new, young teacher stirs things up when she questions his methods. We find out that the headmaster and all the children drowned in a flash flood in 1943. The spirits are not at rest and they reach out to the troubled Eve with the promise that Cam is still alive and they know where he is. So the story of the events leading up to the flood is told with the modern mystery involving the ghosts and the missing boy.

While this story travels a lot of familiar ground (grief over a lost child, skeptical husband and believing wife, abusive orphanage situation, isolated manor house, crazy old coot warns them not to stay in the house (especially the children, THE CHILDREN!!!!), spooky sounds in the house, creepy basement with a big hole in the floor (this time, it's a well)), it doesn't feel repetitive. The characters are different enough from the standards that they are engaging and you care from them. The skeptical husband is especially interesting. Even though he's sure there's no such thing as ghosts, he sees the damage caused by the nightmares of his daughters and the increased stress of his wife. He wants to leave just for peace, not because he's afraid of ghosts. When a medium is brought in, he is very reluctant because he thinks she is a con artist. He finds out about another paranormal expert who stayed in the house and found nothing. So he tracks him down just to convince his wife. Other characters are equally well drawn.

The atmosphere is nicely creepy. The music is a bit too much at times but they do know when not to use it. The phantom children are barely seen in outline, a new way to depict ghosts. The performances are good all around and the dual story line allows for both upbeat and downbeat endings in the story (though one story line is cryptically upbeat and detached from the story).

I enjoyed watching this show, though if you are like my wife and don't like seeing children in peril, this is not for you.

The show is available as three hour-long episodes, though not on DVD as I write. It's available on iTunes or at Amazon through the link below.

All Saints' Church, Ripley

The church of All Saints in Ripley in Yorkshire is a small town church with many unique items. The church was moved at the end of the 1300s to its present site, the south end of the town square. It is quietly nestled in among the trees and the tombstones surrounding it.

All Saints' Church, Ripley

In the graveyard is a unique find in English churchyards, the Weeping Cross. Its origin is unknown but its purpose is known. Pilgrims and penitents would use the knee holes to kneel outside to pray for grace and forgiveness. No other weeping cross is extant in England.

Weeping Cross

Inside the church is some of the standards with all local churches: the baptismal font (with the bell ropes nearby!), the organ, a spot for votive candles, the main altar.

Baptismal font and bell pulls

J and L from our summer visit

The organ

We lit some candles and admired the icon

Main altar

Also included in this church are the tombs of the local gentry, starting with Sir Thomas Ingilby (b.1290 - d.1369). His tomb has this note:

Who was knighted by King Edward III for saving his life from a wild boar. His wife is at his side and effigies of his children below. The tomb was brought up from the former Church now known as the Sinking Chapel.

Ingilby became the owner of Ripley Castle (which is just nearby) by his marriage to Edeline Thwenge in 1308/9. They lay side by side under the tombchest.

Edeline and Thomas Ingilby

Detail with children

Another tomb of note is Sit William Ingilby (b. 1546 - d. 1617). The sign by his tomb states...

Entertained James I in 1603 on his way from Scotland for his coronation. Important gentleman as can be seen by all his funeral pennants hanging from the Ingilby Chapel ceiling (opposite). Suspected of involvement with the gunpowder plot but acquitted before trial. 

Tomb of Sir William Ingilby

Many funeral pennants can be seen in the church.

Funeral pennants

Pennant and statue

The family still lives at Ripley Castle. You can read their amazing history here.

More National Railway Museum, York

It took almost a year for us to go back to the National Railway Museum in York. The museum is huge, with more than enough to see in a day. This time we visited the ride-on train, the playground, and the royal carriage exhibit.

The lion of the rails

Naturally we saw a lot of train cars when we were there. On our way to the train ride we admired some of the nicer cars.

Fancy rail car

J and a car

Old-fashioned Yorkshire coach car

Teddy the engine

The train ride was pretty cheap, 50p per person. The ride wasn't very long but was very fun, with plenty of things to see along the way.

Family on the train

Ready to ride

A roadside garden

A track sign

Willow tunnel

The whistle stop

Our engine

Right by the train ride is the playground. J and L insisted on visiting. They had a good time.

A train to play on

A ticket office to play in

A slide to ride down

We went back in the building and had a snack. I tried the very yummy Yorkshire ginger cake.

A good snack

Then we saw a collection of royal rail cars. Several samples from the past 100 years were on display, including Queen Mary's Salon. Queen Mary used the car throughout the 1900s. Wanting everything to be up to date, she had modern furniture and electric conveniences like fans and radiators added.

Queen Mary's Salon

Inside her salon

King Edward's Salon also features many modern conveniences. Used in the early 1900s, he had his train car modeled after his royal yacht. He even included a smoking room.

The bedroom

The royal bathroom on a train!

Nearby luggage on carts

It was a fun visit with guests from the States.

More Dealing with Darkness

Another way to deal with darkness is to have a light in your life. I have two!

J with sandwich

L with smile

For you, Grandpa!

Dealing with the Darkness

If you are looking for some deep and metaphorical reflections on the nature of evil, or the mystery of why bad things happen to good people, or the dark night of the soul, or the evil that lies in your own heart/life/friends/enemies/pets, look further. This post is about dealing with literal darkness, i.e. the fact that daylight is pretty short in the winter, especially at the winter solstice. We live in the northern hemisphere, so the winter solstice is December 21. And we live in the northern part of the northern hemisphere, so daylight is distressingly short.

Recently* I went to a workshop on dealing with the darkness. They started with the bad news. Light begins to dwindle in September but October is especially hard as we here at the Yorkshire latitude (about 54 degrees) lose almost four minutes of sunlight each day. That's over an hour less sunlight by the end of October. It gets darkest at the winter solstice, which is now as I post.

Why is this so bad? Sunlight causes an increase in serotonin, which makes people happy and energized. Darkness causes melatonin, which makes people sleepy. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD, possibly the most appropriate acronym ever) is a pattern of depressive episodes occurring in response to light deprivation. Symptoms include increased appetite, increased sleep (for which I would be grateful), daytime drowsiness, lethargy, joint pain, low mood, anxiety, and depression. Sounds awfully zombie-like if you ask me.

But there are plenty of ways to boost serotonin. One is to get a special UV light and have it on for twenty minutes a day. We have just such a "happy light" and use it at breakfast. Another way to get a boost is to go out during the day. Of course, Yorkshire has the classical foggy/cloudy/rainy weather England is famous for, so that is not always practical or as helpful as it could be. One way to encourage going out is to go see something new. The advice at the workshop was to visit new places regardless of the weather. Often the weather changes on a dime here. So don't wait for the rain to stop. There's no bad weather, only wrong clothes!

Another natural way to increase energy and mood is to get exercise. In addition to going out for a walk in the daylight, getting involved in sports or going to the gym can be a big help. Joining a sports team is a great way to get exercise and leads into the next advice.

Another recommendation is to socialize. Laughter also boosts serotonin, so hang out with your funny friends. If your friends aren't funny, find new friends! Actually, the boost from just being with other people is pretty good, so even hanging out is a plus. Play a game or go to the gym together or watch a sit com. Even commiserating about the lousy weather can buoy up sunken spirits. If you don't have enough friends, join a club or pursue a hobby that puts you together with other people. Socializing is satisfying.

So if you are down about the lack of light in your life, find a friend or get some exercise or go out when there is light (or fake it with a "happy light"). Plenty of methods are available to chase away the winter blues, no matter how far you live from the equator.


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*By recently, I mean it was a year ago, when we first arrived in England. I've only gotten around to blogging about it a year later. My excuse is the notes I took were lost for a long time. You can choose to believe that or not. I choose to believe it because it is true, but you only have my word for it.