Good things come in threes. Ho ho ho!
‘Tis the season - The Wrightington Towers Ghosts of Christmas
Robert fulfilling his cherished Dickensian fantasies… Duffy Cratchit… and Christmas Kind-of-Future (sadly Duffy’s advent calendar treats don’t see much future beyond NOW, but the principle stands)
*[Two of these images come courtesy of very kind gifts. You know who you are, and we heartily thank you!!]
We all know that good things come in threes - Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future, blind mice, good fairies bestowing Christening wishes, gin-tonic-&-ice, toast-butter-&-marmite, ships sailing by….
Oops. I’ve clearly got carried away and given you two trios of good things. So how about I simply offer another, making it a trio of trios?
Because yes - I am delighted to announce three shiny new Short & Sweet courses, thus completing next term’s programme.
Cue: A festive fanfare!*
*[Oh look - there are three trumpets!]
We start with a Short & Sweet on an artist who’s been much-requested - and who was apparently not unaware of the power of three himself (given that his most powerful works are triptychs)!
Next up, prepare to have two March Saturday mornings brightened up by the most exquisite colour palettes, via the logical successor to our series of courses on Impressionists…
Finally, something for those of you who like your history to be really old - and moving into new geographical territory…
So that’s our programme for next term now complete. We hope you like it!
If you haven’t yet got round to booking for next term but would like to, you can see all courses now available here.
Next up, a bit of housekeeping...
As those of you on our mailing list know from my recent email, I am currently tweaking how our website looks.
It seems a long time since I took my first tentative steps in building a website, but I confess that such things remain a labour of love (with a generous dose of frustration and crossed fingers)! The current tweaking is still a work-in-progress, but you may already notice some changes.
I don’t think that any links will be broken, but if you have any trouble finding anything, do please email me and I’ll happily point you in the right direction.
We would like to thank you all for your continued support, encouragement, and company over the last year.
We really do appreciate it.
Finally, as those of you who’ve been with us for a while may remember, we like to celebrate the season here with one of our favourite Nativity scenes.
Over the years, we’ve enjoyed various depictions of our beloved Nativity stalwart, Joseph. He’s appeared on these pages in his traditional modes of discombobulated, bewildered, and/or even possibly a bit miffed, and been joined on occasion by midwives, dragons, and a manger-cum-champagne coupe, but we’re giving Joseph a year off, and moving into a different theme for this year’s celebratory image.
Adoration of the Magi, The Douce Psalter, C12¾
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 293, f. 009v
Image here via: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/fe7c6cf9-6a23-4ec4-bb6c-692e36852f6e/
This has long been one of my favourite Magi scenes - partly because it’s twelfth-century (and therefore from The Most Exciting Century, IMHO). but also because the baby Jesus looks so excited about the prospect of his three (because of course it’s three again! ) imminent gifts. I confess, however, that it’s mainly because the Wise Men’s Wild Eyes have always made me happy.