Words and Photography by Nadine Wilmanns
September Christmas Chronicles
“This morning while it is still dark, I sit at the kitchen table, get out the current little black book and start this year`s Christmas list.”
(quote from ‘The Christmas Chronicles” by Nigel Slater)
September. Reading the Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. Mainly as part of my research for the book I`m working on, but I also really enjoy his writing, like how he says things.
Here are my favourite quotes:
“We never had Champagne. At least not the real stuff. All that mattered was that a cork went pop and there were bubbles in our glasses. No one minded that what we drank was tummy-twistingly acidic and had bubbles in the size of Maltesers. The point was noise and fizz.” – It reminds me that rituals and traditions are important markers of time and occasion for us. It`s funny, but it kind of is in human nature to want to create rituals or markers of events or happenings, symbols of something beginning, something ending, something to notice and celebrate. I find this so interesting to observe and also to try out in my own everyday life.
“A welcoming drink, may I suggest, is not just about other people. Something good in a glass can be a rather lovely way to welcome our own arrival home. God knows, we deserve it.” – I really relate to that. Nigel Slater meant it in the context of coming home after a day out. But the quote hit me in a different context: When I wait for guests to arrive, and have everything prepared, it`s such a good habit to not just rush into and through the event, not just welcome the guests, but also take a moment to deliberately welcome myself. Reminding myself: I`m also here to enjoy and celebrate. And this doesn’t only apply to celebrations, but to all sorts of encounters, meetings, and conversations.
