What did Santa Claus bring you?

[Joseph K]

Did you ask for it? Music of real substance I thought.

Oh good! It was on my amazon wishlist, which is quite long.

[Beresford]

Mary Christmas everyone.
I wound up recommending Aristotle Ethics to patients of my mine that complained of insomnia and wanted medication for sleep-“Read 2 paragraphs of this and I guarantee you will nod off”—until I had one patient who took me up, brought in his copy of Ethics, complete with his own notes in the margins, and then I relented

For a few years I read Proust as an insomnia cure. Such long sentences. Wouldn't work for people who are determined to deconstruct the sentences and the plot.
Happy Christmas.

[JasonPalmer]

Socks, a bunch of magazines,a heated throw blanket for the sofa.

The throw is paying for itself as I heat myself instead of the house.

Enjoying Dante on words and music.....a simple turn of the tuning on the kitchen radio while tidying up after dinner has sent me back into radio 3 land. Well, I mean, nothing on tv.

[Serial_Apologist]

Socks, a bunch of magazines,a heated throw blanket for the sofa.

The throw is paying for itself as I heat myself instead of the house.

Enjoying Dante on words and music.....a simple turn of the tuning on the kitchen radio while tidying up after dinner has sent me back into radio 3 land. Well, I mean, nothing on tv.

And a Christmas welcome to the forum, Jason.

[JasonPalmer]

And a Christmas welcome to the forum, Jason.

Interesting posts....think I will read many of them.

[LeMartinPecheur]

A subscription to 'Heritage Railway' magazine, a history of British Rail (or so the cover indicates but actually covering 'British Railways' post-nationalisation. i.e. from 1948 to the great and glorious dawn of privatisation which is now working so well) and several other railway books.
Of more general interest to forumistas perhaps, Vols 3 and 4 of the Albion Records RVW folk song edition. Had Vol 2 already: shall I now ask for Vol 1 for birthday or just order it myself?? Tough decision for the new year...

[Sir Velo]

When did we lose thst stalwart old Englishman, Father Christmas, to that transatlantic upstart?

[Bryn]

When did we lose thst stalwart old Englishman, Father Christmas, to that transatlantic upstart?

Was it the Americans who contracted St Nicholas to Santa Claus? They did introduce Kris Kringle, though, if I recall correctly.

[LHC]

Father Christmas was kind enough to bring me:

Mahler 4 with Francois-Xavier Roth
Mahler 7 With K Petrenko
Rossini’s Messa di Gloria with Pappano
Kaufmann and Tezier duets album, also with Pappano
The Royal Opera House Fidelio on blu ray (Pappano again)
Also on blu ray Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death and Minions, the Rise of Gru (one for the unexpected thread perhaps)
Peter Ackroyd’s Colours of London
Sean Hogan’s England’s Screaming
Nothing But the Truth by the Secret Barrister
Give Unto Others by Donna Leon

[Jonathan]

I looked up to origins of Santa Claus the other day. It's derived from the Dutch for St Nicholas and really started around 1870 in New York. It seems to have really caught on in the last few years though.

[teamsaint]

Good Hall there.

I had the new more or less complete works box set from That Petrol Emotion.

[pastoralguy]

Bump!

[Pulcinella]

Bump!

Tell us, then.
I think you've dropped some hints, recently.

[Old Grumpy]

Seems to have passed us by...

...probably couldn't find away down the faux chimney which, for some reason, are affixed to all the houses in this 2010s development.

[pastoralguy]

Inevitably, boxed sets of CDs!

Couple of beauties…

An RCA set of the Cleveland Quartet covering their early work with many recordings not issued on CD before. Interestingly, many collaborations with contemporaries who were just starting out including Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax and Pinchas Zukerman.

Herman Krebbers on DECCA. A 15 cd set of this master violinist.

Some interesting books too.

Barbra Streisand’s autobiography. Jeremy Clarkson’s writings on his farming experiences. An anthology of Times obituaries. And, my favourite, a book entitled ‘The Story of Victorian Film’ which traces the earliest days of the new medium and its effects on society.

So, lots to be going on with…