Hello booklovers,
The season to be jolly and joyous is nearly upon us. I don’t know about you, but I am certainly thinking “Where on earth did November go?!”. When I reflect on what reminds me of Christmas I am always drawn to two things: books and music. Every year on the first of December my parents and I delve deep in the loft to draw down an enormous and rather heavy box stuffed to the brim with Christmas books of all shapes and sizes. In this hallowed box you can find all manner of literary treats, my personal favourites including Slinky Malinky’s Christmas Cracker (for old times sake!!) and The Wren Boys, one of Carol Ann Duffy’s beautiful little poem books. I love nothing more than delving into my much beloved copy of Christmas Days by Jeannette Winterson, a delightful collection of winter stories and recipes to boot, not to mention the annual treat of A Literary Christmas, a literary anthology courtesy of the British Library.
Once the box of books has been brought down, we turn to music. Our much loved festive carols create much needed pockets of peace and tranquility amongst all the excitement of the festive season. I adore the cheer of ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ and ‘The Sussex Carol’ just as much as the melancholy of ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ and ‘The Shepherd’s Farewell’. I find the history and traditions surrounding Christmas carols endlessly fascinating. Each year I feel the same familiar comfort of this timeless music as well as gleaning something new from it as I grow older. Matching these with the glamour and pizazz of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole or the comforting tones of Chris Rea and Jona Lewie, my Christmas is set.
Combining literature and music, here at the Felixstowe Book Festival we are treating you to an extra special way to celebrate the Christmas season. Welcome, booklovers, to Felixstowe Book Festival Advent 2018. We present you with… a carol-a-day! From the 1st of December until Christmas eve we will have 24 days of blog fun with each day bringing you a new Christmas carol or song, with contributions from our lovely volunteers and festival guests. So keep your eyes on our blog and on our Twitter feed and let the festivities commence!
A tune humming, toe-tapping, holly-laden bookish best,
Imogen and the Festival Team x