A Christmas Carol

The St Augustine's Christmas Community Carols is something I used to do with my boys when they were little enough to go bathed and in their pj's, ready for bed straight after we'd headed for home via a quick viewing of the city lights from Bartley's Hill. Grandma came too, and we feasted on sausage sizzle, were directed in song by the legendary Hugh Cornish, and all waved around real live candles, stubby ones with little cardboard collars to protect small hands from hot wax, without burning down the church or the congregation.

Which suggests the singing went on inside that magnificent old building, but in fact we were gathered on rugs in the equally magnificent grounds of the church.


Not sure how much the boys enjoyed the carolling, but they had a lot of fun being boisterous around the trees and bushes and flower beds in the late spring twilight, and Mum and I did the singing, which we love!

Last year I went back with my market goods to support a brisStyle twilight market extension of the carols. I had such an enjoyable time of it - everyone who I spoke to was cheery, if rather hot and sweaty, and many good parents and grand-parents, having watched children performing in school choirs, and fed children sizzled sausages, wandered into the hall for a browse and some comparative calm, leaving their young to be boisterous amongst the trees and bushes outside. No stubby candles these days, but most things don't change all that much.

Wimcee will be at St A.'s this coming Friday night again (25/11) for the Racecourse Road community carol service/sausage sizzle/twilight market - can't wait! If you are local, and especially if  you have children, come along and share the festive cheer.

The flowers that bloom at the Spring BiDM, tra-la...

...bring promise of market delights ahead as well as we hit the market season proper in Brisbane - not too cold, not yet too hot to be pleasant at midday. wimcee will be in the grounds at St Augustine's Anglican Church, Racecourse Road gate, from 9 am on Saturday, with lots of new stock that I've literally made with great affection...you have to love the fabrics, and they seem to get more and more exciting all the time.  This is a particular current favourite, a little dress for a 6-8 year old, with a matching happy bag - the main fabric is an exquisite print from Japan in a combination of mauve, aqua, orange, and a little mustard on a mid-tone neutral back-ground.

Some paper folding too - out of sewing commission for a week or two the family accused me of playing paper dolls at the kitchen table, and there certainly was a lot of inner child involved in choosing the 'outfits'...

There are also lots of father's day offerings from many of the stall-holders so drop by and say hi!