An Irony

I spoke the other day of the books I had ordered to celebrate the seasons and festivals of the year. So far I have received three of them, with a couple more on the way.
The three I have so far are:

All Year Round by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, and Marije Rowling.
Festivals, Family and Food by Diana Carey and Judy Large
and
The Children's Year by Stephanie Cooper, Christine Fynes-Clinton and Marije Rowling

You can imagine my surprise and amusement (and indeed a little homesickness to boot) when I discovered that all three were written in England, and although not all the authors are English, they all live there.

The festivals commemorated are the familiar ones from my childhood, many of the songs ones I sang as a little girl. The games and foods, activities and rhymes are familiar faces I have not seen in a good many years, and I wondered if indeed I had forgotten my own heritage when it came to the seasonal celebrations.

Indeed not, a few have managed to stay within my heart and home. Christmas crackers adorn my Christmas table, and I never forget the feasts upon Guy Fawkes, Mayday and Boxing Day... I just never get to celebrate them because there are little to no resources for me to do the familiar thing.

What a blessing these books are... they have reconnected me with ideas and traditions from my own youth and heritage, WITH formulas and recipes to aid in the making and carrying out of those same traditions.

These books are ideal for the Anglophile as well as the British persons overseas. Full of crafty ideas and recipes that I am sure you will recognise some of them as being the ones you admired on other peoples blogs, or the recipe or rhyme you liked the look of... I know I did!

In the end though, I think I found some of what I was missing... a little taste of home (and I do not mean the very excellent cookery magazine!).