An English Thanksgiving then on to Advent

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you. I hope the day was marvelous as ever with all of that turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. It was an odd experience to be here for this holiday since it was a workday. I taught my two classes and we all soldiered on as ever. The College did host a formal thanksgiving dinner for the students and faculty in the evening however. Amazingly enough it was a proper holiday meal! While the turkey wasn't just off the bird and there was no dark meat in sight (I was hoping for maybe a pheasant option since it is in season), it was juicy and offered in generous portions. There was sage and onion dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, very tasty cranberry sauce, and for those who wanted them, sweet potatoes. Dessert included an overly sweet apple crumble and very tasty pumpkin tartlets made with that rare thing over here: tinned pumpkin for pies. Rumour has it that Harrod's was the only place they could find it this year. There was white and red wine poured round along with hot cider, coffee, and tea. The students were all dressed quite smartly as were we all...appropriate considering we were dining in the Long Gallery. It was a lovely evening. Once everyone adjourned, the faculty had planned to move to the senior common room for drinks and conversation when I observed that the fire in the Great Hall was still blazing and wouldn't it be perfect to enjoy our holiday seated around it, sipping our favorite after dinner drinks. I did joke about going upstairs to fetch the wind-backed chairs to complete the scene but we settled for the ordinary chairs left over from the earlier Thanksgiving service that was held before dinner. It was a wonderfully relaxing evening. We turned off all the lights and just enjoyed each others company. I was among the last to leave around midnight though the fire was kept burning through the night in preparation for the tree-trimming party on Friday.

As so, with only ten days left at Harlaxton, we shift our holidays immediately to Christmas. I came to the tree trimming early when I found out the fire was still going and held court comfortably fireside, keeping the blaze stoked and sipping hot chocolate. There were quite a few students there (those who hadn't left on the last weekend of traveling) and they made quick work of the decorating.

The tree is quite tall and perfect for hanging lots of small ornaments. Andrew, the head groundskeeper and his two gents had all the upper parts of the tree done before the students came in so they didn't have to deal with standing on ladders. The students of course had a great time. There was a tinsel fight and the odd ornament lost to the marble floor but it was a perfect way to spend the chilly afternoon.

The weekend was complete with Sunday's trek to Cambridge to attend the Advent Procession at St. John's College. This is the service that I had heard was an even bigger deal than Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve and was meant principally for the College community. St. John's did offer a means to apply for a ticket which I did...almost two months ago...and I managed to get one. King's College also has a big service on this first Sunday of Advent but it is so full they tell people not to bother to queue and of course they don't offer tickets to the commoners.

So off I went on Sunday morning, dodging rain showers, to the lovely city of Cambridge. I wandered through the Fitzwilliam Museum, a lovely small art museum near the Botanical Gardens. They were having the last of their Sunday musical recitals while I was there so I pulled up a chair in one of the lovely galleries of British painting to listen to a baritone sing cycles from Brahms, Faure, and Warlock. There was a pianist accompanying him and all in all a lovely way to spend an hour, especially when the heavens decided to open again.

I wandered my way further up into the city centre, exploring the Christmas market that was set up in the market square. I still had about 45 minutes before I really needed to be seated in the chapel so I found a lovely Chinese restaurant and enjoed some of the best hot and sour soup I have ever had. The szechuan prawns were delicious too. Since the place was full of Chinese diners I figured it was a good choice.

But then I saw people beginning to go in to the chapel, which was right across the street, in every larger numbers so I had them put the remainder of my prawns in a container and headed into the College and into St. John's Chapel which is what you see here in the picture. Of course it is not as grand as King's but the choir is every bit as good and the service was being broadcast on the BBC that night. Consequently, we were rehearsed through opening verses of hymns like O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Come Thou Long Expected Jesus to make sure we pronounced our consonants clearly. We also rehearsed saying the "amens" and other responses before being encouraged to hold back coughs and another noises especially during the silences. The service, which turned out to be a version of Lessons and Carols with much more emphasis on readings from the Prophets and focusing on the coming Kingdom than the more familiar service, was breathtaking. They used the "O" Antiphons which made you stop breathing when they were chanted. There were some contemporary pieces and some familiar hymns like those above. It was certianly a wonderful way to begin Advent here.

This last picture was taken just as I wandered out from the College gates and headed back to the rail station: Cambridge at night and dressed for Christmas! As I write this, the village church bell-ringers are having a rehearsal. I've opened my window despite the cold because it sounds so wonderful coming up the hill to the manor. A perfect way to get one in the spirit of Advent!