Ephemera

Dear Deer

Wonderful examples of deers on christmas cards; including the most famous of them all

Happy Halloween

Der Flügelflagel gaustertdurchs Wiruwaruwolz,die rote Fingur plaustertund grausig gutzt der Golz. Christian Morgenstern: “Gruselett” – from Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs), 1905 The …

(H)Owls

As the nights draw in and Halloween is nigh’; my thoughts turned to owls – they can be seen as …

Feel the love 1

A confession: I never received a Valentine card before I moved to England. Valentine’s Day has only become popular (read: …

What were they thinking?

A few curios from my collection – I wonder who came up with these ideas and who said : ‘yes, …

drawing of rabbit in snow in front of large barn with Christmas wreath

Advent

Oh, the joy of happy anticipation of Christmas! Something of a luxury these days… The time before Christmas seems to …

Variations on a tale

“She was my first love. I felt that if I could have married Little Red Riding-Hood, I should have known …

Are you feline lucky?

Excuse the pun – I couldn’t resist! There’s not only the international ‘Black Cat Appreciation Day’ (always in August) but …

It’s in the (paper) bag

Once upon a time people carried their shopping home in paper rather than plastic bags. Often these were simply brown …

Games without Frontiers

Spiel ohne Grenzen, Jeux Sans Frontieres, It’s a Knockout… Apparently the French title was the inspiration for the song “Games without …

Meadow Flowers

I have written about birds and bees, so it seems apt to say something about flowers. Wild or meadow flowers …

London Ephemera

I love getting holiday postcards from friends & family! And I used to love sending them, but more and more …

медведи – bears

Russia is in the quarter-finals! The ‘Northern Bear’ was, according to The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, an old nickname …

Summ, Summ, Summ

Nothing to do with Maths! ‘Summen’ is German for ‘buzz’. I grew up with bees – my father was a …