Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

My Grandmother always used to buy hamper coupons from the Unigate milkman, I don’t know if she received any special discount as my Grandfather had worked for them up until he retired, but she always had the coupons and then exchanged them a week or so before Christmas for a hamper.

There was always lovely boxes of chocolates, biscuits, tins of ham and deserts and a shop made Christmas pudding. I am sure that there may have been a bottle of Sherry in the hamper, even though my Grandmother was not able to drink alcohol. There was also some lemonade and dilutable juices – like Robinsons, and some fruit.

Even though we had the hamper there was also other bits bought or made. The Christmas cake, and Christmas Puddings were both home made, a delicious joint of gammon that was cooked on the stove on Christmas Eve to be consumed for Christmas Day teatime, a tin of Victoria biscuits made by McVitie’s

We always had Turkey for Christmas Day along with the trimmings. On Boxing Day the usual lunch meal was bubble and Squeak with either the Turkey cold or made into Rissoles. I still have the mincer that my Grandmother used and I still do some of things that we did when I was a child, and those special moments live on for another generation.

Mum makes the most lovely rum truffles, with the proper stuff, not the cheap essence.

Every year, this rather tatty extract from a Woman’s Realm Mag appears. I had chance to have a proper glance at it. The receipe is from The Archer’s Country Cookbook by Martha Woodford published in 1977.

I can certainly vouch for the truffles!

4oz dark cooking chocolate
4oz icing sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ground almonds
2 tablespoons double cream
2 tablespoons rum
chocolate vermicelli

Melt the chocolate over a basin of hot water. Beat in the icing sugar,egg yolk,almonds,cream and rum and pound altogether until mixture is smooth, and form into little balls. Roll each truffle in a little vermicelli and coat it.

My Grandmother spotted this Christmas Cake recipe in a copy of Woman Magazine, and since then both my Mum and I  have used it.

The photograph is of the actual page from the magazine, which does look in rather a sorry state! The actual date is gleaned from a book review on the reverse of the recipe – 1983!

I remember both my Mum and Grandmother sending cards, but not how many or what happened to them. I have a few old cards, perhaps the last one received from a particular relative, or those with a photograph or letter. Any that my Grandmother received I now have. I always keep the card given to me by family members and special friends and mark on the back the year received. I have every card my husband has given me.

Currently they are in a box packed away in a box awaiting scanning and archiving. I can’t really remember where they were displayed, I suspect the mantle piece as that is where I have mine and on the dresser and other furniture in our lounge.

I probably started sending cards when I as about 12 or 13. Mainly to school friends, but when I left home and then subsequently married to family members. In many cases a Christmas card is the only contact we have, which is a shame.

When we first set up home together and started sending cards as a couple I asked for Stuart’s card list. He looked at me blankly and said he only sent about 6 cards, I was amazed, that meant the other 60 odd were mine! Since then I have written all the cards and letters and Stuart’s list has not really got any bigger. My list has reduced a little bit, but not by much. Even people that I communicate with on line, up until now still received a card in the post and they get an additional email. I keep the email letters and file these with letters I receive, along with any letters and cards that arrive in the mail. From this though I am going to reduce the amount of cards I send.

I usually aim to send my cards out early December, but each year I seem to get later and later. The overseas ones always go first and the final posting date looms this week.

At the end of the 1980’s I bought a card booklet, with the details of card and present and address. The book was set up for about 10 years. At the end of the 10 years I looked around for another book similar but no one seems to sell them any more, so I have a bit of paper in my Christmas card box and each year tick or highlight in a pen to say that I sent the card. I really should find a better way of recording it, but somehow the scrappy bit of paper is likeable. I usually buy Charity cards apart from ones that I send to close relatives. I tend to go for the Charities whose good cause has touched our family life, mainly Cancer Research as many of my family have suffered in this way.

This photograph is of my Great Grandmother, Annie Prudence Butcher nee Harris,which was sent as her Christmas Card in 1955.The picture was taken in Guildford Surrey England in the prefab house the family lived in after the War.

The photo was certainly sent to her children, I have my Grandfather’s copy George Butcher (1908-1974) and I know of at least one cousin who has his father’s copy.

Do you have a copy in your photo collection? If so please get in touch.

Taking part in the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories.

As a child we always had an artificial Christmas tree I think, usually a traditional styled green one with pretty coloured fairy lights and the fairy that my Grandparents used to put on their tree.

When I married we purchased a lovely and different artificial white tree which we got from the department store here in the UK called Alders, they have since gone under, but the tree lives on with another family.

Tree Christmas 2011 – copyright J Goucher

Our current tree, which is shown here is also artificial but with a look of realness about it. It is a beautiful green one, with a hit of snow and built in lights, nice and tall, well taller than me! – It is about six foot. My hubby is the usual tree decorator in this house, I find it a bit of a performance; I am not known for lots of patience!
I would really love a real tree, but we don’t mainly because of mess and because they are not terribly pet friendly and we have to remember Alfie’s paws!

Outside, on the edge of our path leading to the house we have a medium size planter situated on the end pillar. There did use to be a leaping salmon until it disappeared, despite us not living in a dubious area, anyway after spending over a year looking for a replacement fish, and failing we decided on the planter. That spent a few months empty then about three years ago we saw in the local garden centre a miniature Blue Spruce and thought why not? It sat in the planter, undecorated the first as we were not able to find suitable lights for it, but since we have located some lovely solar powered lights.