Rosie’s Ramblings – Winter 2025/26

Rosie’s Ramblings –

Welcome to the The Villager – Winter edition, 2025-2026!

As we’re nearing the end of the church’s Season of Remembrance, with All Souls’ Day and Remembrance Sunday, I’ve been doing a bit of personal reminiscence. Things have changed greatly during my long lifetime; quite often for the better, but not always.

I’m a great believer in living in the moment and appreciating the wonders that we see all around us day by day; so I really dislike the fact that there is so much commercial hype surrounding Christmas, such a ridiculously long time in advance, which puts a lot of unnecessary stress on people. It takes a lot of courage to resist getting pulled into it, but at my age I find I do have the courage, and every year I get better and better at ignoring Christmas until a sensible time – like the beginning of December, with the start of Advent, one of my favourite seasons.

When I was a child in the 1950s – 60s, growing up in Russell Terrace, one of my most magical memories was putting up the Christmas tree which my dad always did on Christmas Eve – not sometime in November or even October, which many people do nowadays. It was always a real tree. We put it up in the corner and decorated it with pretty ornaments that came out every year, arousing memories of previous times when they were on display. Then Dad would drape the fairy lights all around the tree, and it was a somewhat anxious time when it came to switching them on, because if only a single one was faulty, none of them would work, and it would be a question of inspecting and tightening each one, a painstaking task. Finally we would switch off the main light in the room, the tree lights would shine out and, as a small child, I found it a breathtakingly magical sight.

It seems crazy to me now that, in those days, all of us living in those little houses had a room which was never used – the front room. Except that at Christmas it WAS used, which made the occasion seem all the more special. Every year, there would be thirteen of us for Christmas lunch. I have no idea how Mum managed to produce a feast for so many, with only a small cooker, and no microwave or dishwasher, but she did a fantastic job. We weren’t particularly well off and in more recent times Dad would tell the story of one year when he had to choose between using his last shilling (5p) to get his shoes mended or putting petrol in the car to go and fetch his auntie from Southwold. Needless to say, he covered the hole in the sole of his shoe with a piece of cardboard and drove to fetch Auntie!

Christmas is a time of mixed emotions. It is a joyful time, of course, but also a time when we especially miss loved ones who are no longer with us or geographically distant. My mum and dad passed away only a few years ago, and Christmas is definitely not the same without them. Two of my children and all my three granchildren live across the Atlantic. I would love to be with them at Christmas, but I’m not. Thank God for the blessing of technology which enables us to chat together and see each other across thousands of miles.

Of course the MAIN POINT of Christmas is to celebrate the incarnation, which means that God, the maker of everything, came to earth in the form of a helpless baby Jesus, to share fully in our human life. Whatever kind of Christmas you experience this year, you can be confident of God’s presence. As we read in Matthew’s Gospel: “they shall name him Emmanuel’,which means, ‘God is with us.’”

Forget the hype and take time out from all the pressure. Details of all our Christmas services are listed in this magazine. Join us in St Andrew’s Church and celebrate the true meaning of the incarnation. You will always find a warm welcome!

Wishing you all the blessings of the festive season. Rosie