My left eye has been doing most of the work for so long that the two have got out of the habit of working together, but things are improving day by day. I see the consultant again a week on Monday, when he will hopefully sign me off. Then just a little more patience and there’ll be no holding me.
If there had to be a right time for this enforced quiet, surely these weeks of Advent fit the bill perfectly. Instead of struggling with the unrelenting and indeed overwhelming early presence of Christmas all around me, I’m lucky enough to be able to concentrate on the preparations and anticipation and postpone the celebrations until they are due. Amazingly (except for my electronic Advent calendar) I have yet to hear my first Christmas carol, as all my shopping has been done online and Amazon and other sites don’t yet accompany the ordering process with canned music.
So I’ve been getting on with the baking and the card-writing in blissful peace, with only the occasional piece of Advent music to remind me of the season. The peace won’t last, but it’s been a lovely and very welcome gift.
Words: a modern Advent carol written by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) and set to the tune Besançon. It was first published in The Oxford Book of Carols in 1928.
Tune: This carol from the eastern part of France, appeared in the "Recueil de Noëls anciens au patois de Besançon," which was published in 1842. The melody is probably from the seventeenth century.
Image: Wikipedia
It sounds like your eye is progressing nicely. It must be very frustrating waiting to get the final okay and get your glasses though. Hopefully that happens before Christmas!
ReplyDeleteYour picture of the advent candle brings back childhood memories for me. We used to have one every year when I was small. Like you, I try to avoid "Christmas in October" and wait to listen to carols, etc. until just a few weeks before the actual celebration. In fact, my plan for today is to get out some decorations and try to find the Christmas CDs.
It's doing really well in terms of healing, Kristie, but still need to learn to be the dominant right eye it once was. It will come..... I think the new glasses will have to wait for the New Year as we'll be away for nearly two weeks over the festive season.
DeleteI love Advent candles, but didn't manage to get one this year before the season started, so am contenting myself with an ordinary one. I love carols too, and indeed everything to do with Christmas, but as you say, not in October. Time enough as the day itself approaches.
A period of calm and quiet is nice every so often, even if it occurs involuntarily.
ReplyDeleteThe period before Christmas can be so frantic. The whole country is in shopping frenzy mode now, so make the most of your enforced rest !!
Here in Wales life is pretty quiet most of the time, but this is exceptionally so. We save a lot of our socialising for the summer in France. :-)
DeleteAs I've got older I've found myself disliking the pre-Christmas frenzy more and more. In reaction our Christmas is becoming simpler, but every bit as enjoyable. The presents have all been bought and I shall enjoy wrapping them closer to the time. :-)
Peace and quiet - ooh that that sounds just wonderful. I've had a houseful of males this weekend, two of whom were grandchildren. But they're going in about an hour and love them as I do, am looking forward to a quiet evening with my feet up. Hopefully your eyes will be much improved when you see your consultant.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
Hi Patricia, lovely to see you back in blogdom. Gosh, if you've had a houseful of males you must be dying for some peace and quiet. My DH can cause enough disruption when he chooses, but he's engrossed in the snooker at the moment. :-)
DeleteThe optometrist says the prescription thing is just a case of some fine tuning once my eye has completely recovered. Day to day I can see very well to do ordinary things, so it's just a case of waiting a bit longer for the new glasses.
Peace and quiet sound like the perfect way to enjoy Advent. Your eye will be all the better for the enforced rest.
ReplyDeleteI hope you both benefit from the slower pace this year.
Thanks for the "People look East". Have sung a completely different version for the past three Christmases, and never previously encountered this much gentler paced one.
BlessingsX
It certainly means I don't have to struggle to find time for reflection, Ray, unlike so many Advents in the past. I've been doing plenty of reading, so my eye has had exercise even if my body has been resting. :-) DH has been absorbed in watching snooker, so we've both been very lazy.
DeleteI really like this version of "People Look East". It still sounds like a dance, which so many folk-carols were, but not an over-jolly one, as befits Advent. The time for jollity is still to come. :-)
I love that song. When I was in my college's choir, we used to do a Festival of Lessons and Carols every year at Christmas time and this was one of the songs. I'm sorry to hear about your vision situation. I hope that's resolved very soon so that you can be out there tearing up the roads once again. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's lovely too, and not as well known as it deserves. I'm missing the carol services at the moment, but hope to get to one before Christmas. As far as my sight is concerned, I can see very much better after my cataract operation. It's just a question of getting the glasses prescription exactly right. We'll get there. :-)
DeleteWhat a lovely piece for Advent! This year we'll be away for much of the holiday. We bought an Advent wreath and candles and lit the first one last Sunday in Hawaii. The second is tonight, also in Hawaii. We'll be home for the 3rd week and in Oregon with my grandchildren on the fourth week. Nice new tradition for us.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like, Linda. It's good to hear something a bit different at times. I'm smiling at the though of your travelling Advent wreath. Lighting the candles one by one as Advent progresses is a lovely custom and I'm glad you've taken it up. Safe journey home.
DeleteSo glad to hear that your eye is improving day by day. I hate the Christmas frenzy too, but I love Advent and Christmas
ReplyDeleteI can see very well for lots of things now, thanks, and I'm sure we'll get the new specs sorted out before long. I've always loved the Advent and Christmas seasons too, but find it hard when the meaning is overlaid by so much spending and noise. Christmas films in mid-November, forsooth!
DeleteSo glad your eye us coming along Perpetua. Yes, patience is the way to go, as I found out. It is all worth it in the end, and I'm sure you will be pleased. My Christmas preparations have been done in relative peace, and I haven't been out in the crowds yet. Our Sunday School Christmas program was this morning. They are always one of the best of Christmas celebrations.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bonnie. I remember it taking a while after your ops before everything was fine, which encouraged me to be patient too. I can see fine for everyday things, but need those new glasses for driving.
DeleteI'm sure you really enjoyed your Sunday School event. I always enjoy the things which involve children in the Christmas story, though I'm missing out a bit this year. Still, there's always next year....
Perpetua, you wrote...
ReplyDelete"and Amazon and other sites don’t yet accompany the ordering process with canned music."....
OH Please no!!
I was singing along to Slade in a French supermarché a couple of days ago...
and so were other people...
other French people that is!!
Keep shopping on line Muzak free...
at least, at home, we've the mute button!!
And don't go ber-zerk once you get the all clear, either...
but a good bit of singing will do you a world of good.
Tim, I wrote that with tongue in cheek and also real gratitude, as I truly hate canned music, especially at Christmas. By the time Christmas itself arrives most people are sick to death of carols, which is sad. In my case I shall really enjoy the carols at Midnight Mass, having probably sung very few up to that point. :-) As for going berserk - as if I would at my age...:-)
DeleteI can imagine it will take a little time for your eyes to co ordinate themselves...but it sounds as if you are making the most of the 'enforced' tranquility.
ReplyDeleteThis is always a season of reflexion for me (between calls for cups of tea and the arrival of visitors) and I found Reflex Anglican's recent post most apposite...certainly a more complex message than the one I remember from a church billboard featured in an old Giles cartoon - your husband may recall it...
Repent, or in ye fire ye goeth....
Thankfully the eyes are working well together for most things, but the optometrist wants to fine-tune the prescription to cover all distances properly, which means my lazy eye has to buck up and stop slacking at times. :-)
DeleteReflection is so important and I don't think we do nearly enough of it. I'm so glad you've discovered Reflex Anglican, which I think is super. It's written by the same blogger as the wonderful Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley, which is another of my top favourites. The ability to be both very funny and also profound isn't given to many.
I do not know this Advent carol, Perpetua. Winding down my day here listening to it is such a gift of the season. I truly appreciate you posting it. We've had the Lessons in Carols last week, which was so lovely; multigenerational, multi-ethnic, with a mezzo soprano soloist, traditional and non-traditional interpretations. It was most lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad your eye is doing well and the left and right are starting to get in sync. It is amazing what eyes (and brains, getting now new messages) can do. Continue to enjoy the quiet, Perpetua.
I didn't know it well either, Penny, which is why I wanted to include it, both to listen to myself and to share with others. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I do envy you your service of Lessons and Carols, which sounds very rewarding. I haven't managed to get to one yet - perhaps next week....
DeleteThe eye continues to progress and my poor old brain is doing a grand job of relearning. Once the consultant gives the word and the optometrist is happy with the prescription, I'll be getting those long-awaited new glasses. :-)
What a beautiful Advent carol, Perpetua. I think it's wonderful that you've chosen to observe the peace of the season rather than lament and complain at waiting for your eyes to finish their adjusting. It is a wonderful time of year to prioritize contemplative time. A quiet life sounds most appropriate! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely, isn't it, Debra? I think I'm getting much more relaxed and philosophical with age and don't fret like I once did over things I can't change. Accepting the limitation of not being able to drive is of course made a lot easier by online shopping. :-) I'm really enjoying these quiet, peaceful days.
DeleteNot being able to drive certainly changes one's life, doesn't it? Enjoy the quiet time, which will be over before you know it. I'm sure you are baking all sorts of Christmas delights for your family. People Look East is a carol I like too, in fact I enjoy singing it with both my choirs. The advent carols seem fresher to me, because they are not overused in shopping malls, and cheap recorded versions. I'll be singing in one of the Festivals of Lessons and Carols next Sunday, which is always a treat. It is good to know your eye is on the mend, and by end January no doubt you will be doing everything possible again. :-))
ReplyDeletein the quiet I've been baking mince-pies and am about to start on the gingerbread. :-) I thought you'd know this carol with all your choir experience, Patricia, and you're so right about the freshness. All our lovely Christmas carols become very tired and hackneyed when heard over and over again through a supermarket sound system. Enjoy your Festival of Lessons and Carols. I'd love to be able to hear you sing.
DeleteOnce Christmas is over we'll see about getting the new glasses so that I can get out on the road again. :-)
Give yourself time to adjust - train those two to read together with blogging. Christmas is still miles off- don't listen to that awful commercial gong that is sounded earlier and earlier every year. Do people still sing carols in the run-up to Christmas? It's one of my best memories of Christmas Eve, followed by eating mince pies and watching the adults drink too much and talk about things they never said when they were sober. Those were the days.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm doing, MM, and blogging is a big part of it, though I have to be careful not to do only close work. :-) The Christmas frenzy seems to start earlier every year with several channels on our digibox devoted to endless Christmas films from about the second week in November! Sigh....
DeleteProbably because I normally get a generous quota of carols in church, we don;'t normally sing many carols at home, but carols round the tree was definitely part of my childhood too, as were the mince pies. However my parents didn't drink when I was young, so we didn't get the unwise comments you so fondly remember. I believe my father had the odd drink when playing snooker in the village institute, but never at home, and my mother only learned to enjoy a glass or two in later life. :-)
My parents didn't, either. They were as amused as I was by the hosts who drank too much and gave too much away... :-)
DeleteIn vino veritas, eh?
DeleteI love the peace before christmas Perpetua. I also think, as we get older, other things become more important.
ReplyDeleteI am not decorating this year.. just the Nativity and some candles.
I will be spending it with my family in Lisbon.
I am behind with comments.
I have been going to see Mr. M. in hospital.
Here its like spring. I watered the garden this morning.
such blue skies.
I hope that it wont be long for you to wait before your eyes are in aliegnment... take care.
lovely video clip and carol. the church is stunning.
happy week
love val xxx
We think alike on these things, Val, and I too have found my priorities change with age. This must be a hard Advent for you with Mr M so ill in hospital, so I'm glad you'll be with your family for Christmas. I'm glad you enjoyed the Advent carol.
DeleteI must say I envy you your warm, sunny weather. It's not quite so cold here today, but still very grey. I'd like more blue sky for my better sight to enjoy. :-)
Sometimes enforced peace and quiet is just what you need. I hope the eye continues to improve and normal sight will be resumed as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm not religious, and really only think of Christmas as a family time of joy and happiness, I do love carols and choirs. I find them very moving. We won't be having Christmas here, but it doesn't bother me. I would love it if I could be whisked over to my daughter's house for a couple of hours on Christmas Day though just to see my grandsons xx
I'm sure you're right, Ayak. It's certainly meant that I've been able to keep an eye on DH and make sure he takes care of himself and he does the same for me. :-)
DeleteI'm glad you enjoy carols and choirs and though this is an Advent rather than Christmas carol, I really like it. It's a pity you can't see your beloved family on Christmas Day itself, but at least you will be seeing them very soon after, which will be wonderful for you.
It may be enforced but it does seem very wise to take things slowly - and if the doctors are thinking it will take time for your eyes to adjust, then enjoying the peace whilst that happens seems very sensible to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad we don't have a lot of Christmas hype here. Yesterday, we had some Christmas lights put on in the town centre but apart from these - which are lovely and festive - there have been precious few over-indulgences. We don't have TV so haven't had any adverts rammed down our throat. I have been thinking of digging out my Carols for Christmas, which I love because David Wilcocks' harmonies are just incredible. Spanish choirs can't do carols! (And I rather wish they wouldn't try...)
Axxx
You're quite right, Annie, and I'm just going with the flow now, instead of fretting about what I can't do. The weather too is conducive to hibernation mode, being uninvitingly grey, if quite mild outside, and i have a pair of socks to finish. :-)
DeleteIt must be lovely not to have Christmas force-fed to you from early November. We do have TV, but always mute the sound during the adverts, which helps us to ignore the pressure to buy. I still enjoy the modest local street decorations, but find myself using fewer and fewer at home. Enjoy your carols - there's nothing like them at the right time for putting us in the mood.
Good timing - When I was in England I hated the insistence of Christmas before Advent had even begun. Try and put it off for a bit longer and enjoy the anticipation and preparation.
ReplyDeleteYes, I couldn't have timed it better. :-) The early onset has almost completely passed me by this year and I'm enjoying the slow unfolding that is Advent. Our Christmas when it comes will last until Twelfth Night. :-)
DeleteOh lovely! I haven't heard that carol for ages, although we learnt it at school - but I only remember the 1st verse! I really enjoyed singing along with it, as I love that tune. It sounds like a Provençal pipe and tabor dance melody, but the harmonies and counterpoint are great - super arrangement. Thank you for it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've just looked it up in my Oxford Carol Book, and Lo! All the verses are there - so why didn't I remember them?? Old age, I assume!! There are some super carols in that book that I remember we did 60+ years ago. Oh dear :-(
DeleteIt's lovely, isn't it, though not sung as often as I would like. That's probably why your couldn't remember all the verses. I know it's in the Oxford book, but as I can't find my copy at the moment, despite much searching, it was good to find this super version on YouTube.
DeleteFrom what I discovered from Wikipedia, the tune comes from eastern France (Besançon is very near the border with Switzerland) and like many carols would originally have been sung to dance to. Now there's an idea for the Nine Lessons and Carols!
This is Marty Haugen's voice and arrangement. He's written wonderful stuff to sing in Church, including a Mass/Eucharist setting: Now the Feast and Celebration, which I love. His style is very distinctive and the accompanying voices I recognised but, just to make sure, it was him, I looked it up on UTube. HIs work, like that of Bernadette Farrell, needs more airing, I think. BTW, he has 15 albums to his name.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny, and welcome to my blog. Thanks so much for the information on Marty Haugen. I must confess that I'd never heard of him until I found this version of People Look East on YouTube and very much liked it. I agree he deserves to be heard more and have bookmarked the MP3 album this comes from, the CD being sadly far too expensive for me. Now to explore his work further...
DeleteThere is a reason for everything ... your 'recuperating' period is a time for reflection and enjoying the real reason for Christmas. Too often we become frazzled with the commercialisation of Christmas and the reason for the season is lost in the bustle. You are blessed!
ReplyDeleteThat's the conclusion I've also come to, Shirley and I'm finding this quiet Advent very special. Having been housebound for Holy Week and Easter, I'm now having the same kind of Advent. It's been quite a year! The freedom from the commercial frenzy truly is a blessing. :-).
DeleteVery glad to hear that your sight continues to improve Perpetua and do continue to enjoy your enforced Advent rest.
ReplyDeleteWe have to hold our services of Lessons & Carols earlier in Advent than I would like to simply because so many of our regulars aren't here in the Czech Republic at Christmas. So we had a wonderful Lessons in Carols in Brno last Sunday evening & will hold the Prague service this coming Sunday evening.
Fortunately, 'People, look East' is in our hymn book & we sang it for the first time in Prague, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent last year. Though I haven't yet chosen the hymns for Sunday 22nd yet, I think we will sing it again this year too.
And it will be even better when I get the new glasses, Ricky. These are getting to be very old and scratched. :-( The Advent rest is lovely and online shopping has saved the day. :-)
DeleteI can quite see why you have to anticipate Christmas to some extent in your circumstances. Much better to have an early but well-attended service of Lessons and Carols than a thin one at the proper time. Please do remember me to people on Sunday and wish them a very happy Christmas. I shall imagine you all there in lovely Saint Clements, hopefully singing 'People Look East' with heart and soul. :-)
The carol is new to me, and I really enjoyed listening to it. I hope the daily improvement with your eyes has continued and that you are still enjoying this somewhat forced period of relaxation. I seem to be rushing around like a mad thing at the moment, and am making myself stop. Realising that I can now rush around is actually making me overdo things a bit, so I am forcing myself to rest a little. It is surprising how tiring working in the charity shop can be, after all my months of doing very little !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder that peaceful interludes are good for body ...and soul ! Jx
It's not very widely known but is very pretty, which is why I enjoyed including it, Janice. Yes, my sight continues to improve gradually and I'm sure we'll get the prescription sorted out before long. I'm getting very used to the quiet life and of course winter is much the best time for it. :-)
DeleteI can well imagine it must be such fun to be able to do all the Christmassy things you didn't much feel like doing this time last year, but you're wise to be aware the temptation to overdo the busyness and take time out to rest. Any job, however part-time, that involves contact with the public can be very tiring til you get used to it, but it must feel every worthwhile.
Dear Perpetua, what a lovely carol. I've never heard it before and found it so filled with the joy of the eight days before Christmas when the Church sings the great "O" antiphons at Vespers. Thank you for sharing it. I've always enjoyed the poems of Eleanor Farjean, but I've never read this one before. I'm going to try to find this on YouTube and save it so that I can listen to it each day.
ReplyDeleteToday is Tuesday, so I hope that yesterday you saw your doctor again and that all is well with your eyes. I've been caught up in shopping and wrapping gifts and so the peace of your days without that truly appeals to me. You've reminded me that it is Advent and its expectations and possibilities in which we now live. Peace.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this lovely Advent carol, Dee. You're right that it fits beautifully with the great 'O' Antiphons and I shall listen to it when I use the antiphons in the week before Christmas. If you put - 'People Look East' Marty Haugen - into the search box on YouTube you'll find it straight away.
DeleteThanks for the good wishes, but in fact I see my doctor next Monday (16th) when it will be almost 6 weeks since my operation. I'm hoping he will be ready to sign me off by then. I've really enjoyed not having to rush from shop to shop this year. As the parcels arrive by post I can take my time wrapping them, which feels very peaceful and enjoyable. Lucky me!
Enjoy the peace. Perpetua. I'm sure that once you get your new prescription in the new year you'll notice even more improvement in your vision and I expect you're looking forward to seeing your family in a week or two. I do like folk carols and I don't think I've heard before the one you have shared.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the carol, Linda. It's so attractive. The peace and quiet I wrote about is even deeper at the moment as DH is visiting his mother for a few days, so I have the house to myself. :-) My sight is so much better already, that the fact it isn't perfect isn't worrying me.
DeleteWe always love seeing our two and their families over the festive season. This year it's Yorkshire for Christmas and Oxford for New Year. :-)
Lovely. Haven't heard or sung that Advent carol for years.
ReplyDeleteNeither had I, but I've listened to it a lot this week. :-)
DeleteI am pleased your eyes are getting better – it is good that you are patient – seeing better is worth the wait. I have heard this song before, I mean the melody, I think it was played on a dulcimer, but without lyrics – I enjoyed the video.
ReplyDeleteMerci, Vagabonde. :-) That's just what I tell myself. The carol tune is of course French, so you may well have heard it during your childhood, perhaps played as a folk-dance tune. Joyeux Noel.
DeletePopping in to wish you both a wonderful Christmas. I have been so busy lately but I do try to keep up. Take care of yourself and enjoy the quiet days. Hugs Sue
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue and the same to you and Petal. I know what it's like when life just takes over, even though I'm standing on the sidelines at present, just watching. :-)
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteLOVE with the capital 'ell', ever waiting the opening of our inner doors... what a delightful carol and totally new to me. Continued blessings and prayers for your healing. YAM xx
(PS - apart from the odd hurricane, the weather has been very timid since I arrived!!)
Thanks, Yam. It's super, isn't it? It features in some more modern hymn books and I've sung it with pleasure during Advent in the past.
DeleteGlad the weather has been relatively kind since your homecoming. It's been an odd mixture of very calm and occasionally horribly windy (like today).