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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Treetotal on Saturday 02 December 17 11:31 GMT (UK)
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I'm wondering where the Christmas smileys are ??? If I remembered correctly they usually appear on December 1st...they brighten our boards in December...maybe they have been made redundant :-\ ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Maybe they got delayed in the snow on the East coast yesterday ;D
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You could be right there Rosie ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Testing :-*
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I expect they are too busy at all the fairs, markets and the switching on of lights that seem to be happening today. Or were they in the Rootschat Panto in disguise, in which case they could still be somewhere sleeping off the After the Panto Party? ;D ;D
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I blame Greenseeves...I think she has got them hidden under her
cat hat to be brought out in time for the "Round The World New Years Eve Party" :P ;D ;D ;D
Unless Trystan is waiting for his Pay Loan to come through to pay his IT bod ::) ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Perhaps they have gone to see Santa in the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre ;D
https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/51447/events-in-rochdale/meet-santa
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You have found one Sandra...but where are the rest....it's time they made an appearance on here ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Did we have to give them back as part of Brexit ;D
Sandra
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Did we have to give them back as part of Brexit ;D
Sandra
Brussels demands £50bn plus the Rootschat Christmas Smileys. ;D ;D
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It's Saturday 2nd December. Too soon!
Judy
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It's Saturday 2nd December. Too soon!
Judy
A psychological study suggests that those who put up Christmas decorations early are happier than those who wait - their presence makes people happier.
Sandra
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Think someone might have been at the bottle
:-X ;D ;D ;D :-X
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Think someone might have been at the bottle
:-X ;D ;D ;D :-X
Ha ha - poor judgment on your part - you night need to do that in Newcastle Upon Tyne, especially after the Chelsea result ;D ;D Not here. ;D
Sandra
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My trees up and I looked for the smilies earlier today
Regards
Panda
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It's Sunday the 3rd December here. No Christmas Smileys here.
Carol ( New Zealand)
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Anticipation, not yet - that's the best way to wait for Christmas.
Rest assured, it will arrive eventually and then it's gone.
Slowly, slowly......
And enoy every moment.
Judy
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Ha ha - poor judgment on your part - you night need to do that in Newcastle Upon Tyne, especially after the Chelsea result ;D ;D Not here. ;D
Sandra
Night or day. Sandra - I've never supported the Toon ;D ;D ;D
Happy Advent ;D
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Brussels demands £50bn plus the Rootschat Christmas Smileys. ;D ;D
And they're going to take back their sprouts..... and chocolate....
No smileys under my cat or hat, TT, honest. Maybe we need another fall of snow to coax them out.
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Sandra...did my goat eat them?
Nah....
And if you don't get that countdown to Xmas clock out of my spare bedroom......
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Maybe we need another fall of snow to coax them out.
Another one? :o I haven't seen one single flake yet :'(
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Sandra...did my goat eat them?
Nah....
And if you don't get that countdown to Xmas clock out of my spare bedroom......
lol........forgot I'd sent you that as a house warming gift. ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M7sMIJRQgg
Sandra
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Maybe we need another fall of snow to coax them out.
Another one? :o I haven't seen one single flake yet :'(
We had a nice dusting on the mountains surrounding our village. Trouble is that whilst we didn't get any snow that lasted, it now feels as though we are living in an ice-box.
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I pray for some snow !( hot and humid Brisbane here) . I've got some in a spay can though.
Kind regards
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Brussels demands £50bn plus the Rootschat Christmas Smileys. ;D ;D
And they're going to take back their sprouts..... and chocolate....
I would not miss their sprouts as for the choccies what is wrong with British brands ;D
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Brussels demands £50bn plus the Rootschat Christmas Smileys. ;D ;D
And they're going to take back their sprouts..... and chocolate....
I would not miss their sprouts as for the choccies what is wrong with British brands ;D
Ah yes, British brands of chocolate. Which ones would they be?
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Brussels demands £50bn plus the Rootschat Christmas Smileys. ;D ;D
And they're going to take back their sprouts..... and chocolate....
I would not miss their sprouts as for the choccies what is wrong with British brands ;D
Ah yes, British brands of chocolate. Which ones would they be?
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01l4q/
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01l4r/
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Good morning,
Brussels demands £50bn plus the Rootschat Christmas Smileys. ;D ;D
And they're going to take back their sprouts..... and chocolate....
I would not miss their sprouts as for the choccies what is wrong with British brands ;D
Ah yes, British brands of chocolate. Which ones would they be?
One very close to you GS, Gwynedd confectioners in Wales ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Also the following are made in UK; Thorntons, Audreys, Creightons, Farrahs, Aphrodite, Feathers, MooFree, The Grown up Chocolate Co, Meaningful Chocolate Co, my local one Montezumas.
I know, i've never heard of most of them either but they all manufacture in the UK. There were others but the list was getting a little long. Sadly all our big well known brands are now made on the continent and are mostly foreign owned as well like Cadburys and Terry's. Both owned by Kraft and made in Europe. Mars was always an American Co but based in Slough. Not sure how much is made there now.
John915
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Did someone mention Christmas :D :D :D :D
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Did someone mention Christmas :D :D :D :D
:D ;D
Thank you Sarah
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Did someone mention Christmas :D :D :D :D
Lovely. Thank You Sarah. :) ;) :D ;D >:( :( :o 8) ??? ::) :P :-[ :-\ :-X :-* :'(
Sandra ;D ;D
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Brilliant, the Christmas Smileys have escaped and returned to Rootschat. Thank you, Sarah.
This is my favourite :D :D :D
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Come on folks - it's Advent Sunday today!! Christmas starts on 25th December and lasts for 12 days.
Melbell
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Big Thanks Sarah....the fun starts here :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Carol
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I got excited when I saw the Christmas smileys were back :D :D
However I then opened my advent calendar - didn't have time on the first and second and it's got chocolate bloom :'( not happy .......
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Good afternoon,
Bah humbug >:( >:( :( :-X :-\ :-X ;D ;D ;D
John915
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I got excited when I saw the Christmas smileys were back :D :D
However I then opened my advent calendar - didn't have time on the first and second and it's got chocolate bloom :'( not happy .......
Any sell by date on it, is it one left over from last year?
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Back again,
I got excited when I saw the Christmas smileys were back :D :D
However I then opened my advent calendar - didn't have time on the first and second and it's got chocolate bloom :'( not happy .......
It still tastes the same, chocolatee. The bloom will often just wipe away as it is just on the surface.
When Ifirst joined up in 66 we used to have ration packs when out on exercises. Ten man packs with all meals for one day, that included two tins containing five bars of chocolate each plus boiled sweets to fill the spaces. The packs were dated in the early 50s because they had so many in stock and the oldest were used first.
The chocolate often had bloom on the bars sometimes they were white all through. We still ate them, they still tasted the same, more or less, i'm still here.
John915
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Despite the smileys - thanks Sarah - I am feeling a Little Sad because I find on checking that even Thorntons, the only major 'British' chocolate company on the lists posted, is no longer British but is 75% owned by Ferrero SpA, an Italian company. Mondelez International (American company) owns J S Fry & Sons, Cadburys, Jacobs and many more, and we have all known for years that Nestle is Swiss.
However, it will give the small British chocolate companies a boost if we all start hammering on their doors to buy their wares. It is far better, after all, to buy goods which are produced by small companies rather than multi-nationals. Buying locally makes a huge different to the local economy and you know your money is going direct to the producer rather than to an offshore account.
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Are Whittakers chocolates still made? Must have a look next time I'm in Skipton - almost given up going there because it's so hard to find a parking space.
Christmas??? Not yet. Tree will be bought and old glass decorations brought down in the week before Christmas, and put up then. Sometimes it's been as late as Christmas Eve. Takes almost an entire afternoon to decorate, with all those old fragile glass baubles to unwrap and put in place, but I don't mind that. The bit I hate is unwinding the lights, and trying to strew them in, on and around the tree in a more or less even distribution.
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Christmas tree - mine takes about 60 seconds to erect. When we moved to Tamworth back in 1997, I bought a 3 ft collapsible one from Asda, silver tinsel - it says £14.99 on the label. 8) I have since wound a string of lights round it. It fits perfectly on the shelf in my bay window, no mess, no fuss.
Just realised that it will come of age next year :D :D
I've now discovered some yummy chocolate, but again it's not English - from Aldi. My grouch is that when our well-known and loved English chocolate companies become part of larger groups, that individual English/British taste disappears very quickly.
Forgot about this - my family came from Halifax, and when I visited my grandmother I had the pleasure of taking in the aromas of Mackintosh's toffee, which was made not far from her house. :-* Another name which has disappeared.
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Yes, I recall Mackintosh Toffee being made at Halifax, saw it from the train, too.
My parents used to cherish a really old small artificial tree, pre-war, we think, made with dyed goose feathers wrapped round and round and held with really fine wire - sounds odd, but it was quite convincing ... from a distance! About 4 foot high, and I still use some of the baubles from that, and my grandmother's tree.
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Good evening,
For many years we always had a real tree but about 5 years ago we purchased an artificial one complete with tiny LEDs. OH is in charge of decorating, i'm not considered good enough for that job.
I can remember when we were living at Chiddingly in the 50s. We had a real tree, with glass baubles, loads of tinsel and real candles in little clip on holders (shock, horror). What would elf & savedy say :o :o :o :o :o :D :D :D
John915
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I will be away, as usual, for Christmas - visiting my daughters and the grandchildren.
So, I don't bother with a tree, as there's no one here to look at it! :D
I remember passing near to Fry's factory (later Cadbury's) at Keynsham on a regular basis.
The word "Somerdale" was picked out on the railway embankment!
We are lucky in still having a local chocolate manufacturer - Davison's - plus a couple of artisan chocolatiers.
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There is an artisan chocolate maker in Canterbury. She is French, but we don't hold it against her! ::)
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But .... but ..... I used to live about half a mile away from the chocolate factory in Bournville, B'ham. The smell was intoxicating !
Do you mean to say the good old Quaker chocolate making family firms (Frys, Cadbury, etc) .... are now FOREIGN ? Perhaps Brexit will mean they all come back to the UK.
(And in case anyone accuses me of being anti-foreign choc, I love Belgian chocolate !)
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:) ;) :D ;D >:( :( :o 8) ??? ::) :P :-[ :-X :-\ :-* :'(
(Just testing !)
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In the 1950s I lived a few miles away from the Nestles factory in Hayes, Middlesex.....if the wind was in the right direction we could smell chocolate....heavenly to a little girl. Then a few years later mum went to work there. I was reminiscing with my sister the other day about the bags of mis-shapes that she would buy every Friday. :)
Now son#3 makes chocolate in a corner of sunny Dorset...... ;)
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Good evening,
Now son#3 makes chocolate in a corner of sunny Dorset...... ;)
Dorset chocolate co, House of Dorchester or Chococo? ;) :-* ;) :-* ;) :-*
John915
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Sorry John915; no, no and no again. :)
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The bit I hate is unwinding the lights, and trying to strew them in, on and around the tree in a more or less even distribution.
TY...The secret is to put the lights on 1st then when satisfied with their positioning add the decorations...so much easier! :D
Annie
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Good morning,
The bit I hate is unwinding the lights, and trying to strew them in, on and around the tree in a more or less even distribution.
TY...The secret is to put the lights on 1st then when satisfied with their positioning add the decorations...so much easier! :D
Annie
The secret is...........buy a tree with them built in. Just put the tree up plug the sections together, plug in, switch on :D :D :D :D :D
John915
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You’ve all got it wrong! You do this, put it in a cupboard and the following year it’s ready in seconds. ;D
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Nice one, Jan! ;D
My plan is to go away for Christmas, visiting daughters & grandchildren.
So, I don't have a tree :D
However, I have put up a few decorations in the communal hall and stairs ;)
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I have an inflatable tree, bought as a joke very many years ago. :D :D
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You’ve all got it wrong! You do this, put it in a cupboard and the following year it’s ready in seconds. ;D
Haven't all the needles dropped off by the next year ?
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I have an inflatable tree, bought as a joke very many years ago. :D :D
:( I thought you had better taste than that, Jan !! :D
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I have an inflatable tree, bought as a joke very many years ago. :D :D
:( I thought you had better taste than that, Jan !! :D
As I said....it was bought as a joke... and it amuses small grandchildren.
I have had real trees in the past but, all being well, I will be north of the border for Christmas. ;)
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Great idea for storing a Christmas tree groom :) :)
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You’ve all got it wrong! You do this, put it in a cupboard and the following year it’s ready in seconds. ;D
Haven't all the needles dropped off by the next year ?
Not if you use enough Super-Glue ! ;D
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Obviously, I DO put the lights on before all the decorations! Got to test them, after all. It's just that it's quite hard to get them as I like them, nesting in among the branches, so the light comes from behind the decorations when I've carefully tied all the precious old glass baubles on securely ( despite generations of cats, only once, in early years had a disaster when cat pulled tree nearly over - perhaps the fact that I firmly wire the topmost lead branch to the beam that goes across the conservatory in just the right place, before I set the star on top might just have something to do with lack of more recent disasters, as cats when kittens have all had a go at climbing up!)
Having said that, they'll probably shin up with wire cutters this year, and cause chaos.
TY
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Cats do love a Christmas tree, don't they! ;D
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I got excited when I saw the Christmas smileys were back :D :D
However I then opened my advent calendar - didn't have time on the first and second and it's got chocolate bloom :'( not happy .......
Any sell by date on it, is it one left over from last year?
Not an old calendar - still in date! Husband is eating it as I can't fancy it despite web saying and others here saying it's edible .
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But .... but ..... I used to live about half a mile away from the chocolate factory in Bournville, B'ham. The smell was intoxicating !
Do you mean to say the good old Quaker chocolate making family firms (Frys, Cadbury, etc) .... are now FOREIGN ? Perhaps Brexit will mean they all come back to the UK.
(And in case anyone accuses me of being anti-foreign choc, I love Belgian chocolate !)
I used to work in Aston, B'ham, just down-wind from the brewery and the HP Sauce factory. The smell was both spicy AND intoxicating!
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"Come on folks - it's Advent Sunday today!! Christmas starts on 25th December and lasts for 12 days".
I stand to be corrected here but in the Christian calendar doesn't Christmas start on 1st Sunday in Advent where you can say "Happy Christmas" and continues till 12th night?
Louisa Maud
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Advent (the fourth Sunday before Christmas) started on the 3 rd December 2017 and ends on the 24 th December 2017.
Christmas day is the first day of traditional Christmas celebrations and continues until the 12 th day after Christmas. (Epiphany)
Sandra
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I stand to be corrected here but in the Christian calendar doesn't Christmas start on 1st Sunday in Advent where you can say "Happy Christmas" and continues till 12th night?
Advent and Christmas are different and separate seasons of the Christian Year. Advent precedes Christmas, which starts on Christmas Day :)
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The problem is that over the years, the commercial Christmas has started earlier and earlier and people have forgotten that the actual festival doesn't start until Christmas Day.
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Good morning,
I've always believed that christmas starts on 24th, that being the first night. Also when people in several european countries have their celebration evening meal, not on christmas day as we do.
12th night is the 4th and decorations and the tree are taken down on the 5th to herald the end of festivities.
The 12 days and all the feasting and decorations are pagan ceremonies, not to be confused with the religous side of things such as advent and epiphany. These are not fixed dates but are sundays before and after christmas day.
John915
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I've always thought that 12th Night was the 6th January. However, I think there is a lot of confusion and it varies from the 4th, 5th or 6th, depending when you start counting!
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Back again,
I suppose it depends on many things but basically the 12 days as we know them are relatively modern. They were brought into the church calendar in the 16th century. Prior to that for most people the period following the alleged birth of christ (nowhere does the bible give that date) it was followed by a series of saints days. These would all have been strict religous days with none of the feasting and such that we know as christmas.
We consider it unlucky to leave decorations up after 12th night but in Germany it is traditional to leave them up until candlemas, 2nd feb.
John915
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As JenB said, in the church Advent is quite different, and rather sombre, with no flowers in church and purple altar frontals, the same as for Lent. (And Advent hymns, not Christmas ones!)
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Christmas day is 1st day of Christmas and 12th night is 5th January - the day before Epiphany (6th). Twas ever thus in our Anglican household :)
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Cats do love a Christmas tree, don't they! ;D
I just felt compelled to say that we blamed our elderly cat for several years on the trot for peeing under the Christmas tree. After he died we figured out the tree stand was leaking ::)
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Back again,
I suppose it depends on many things but basically the 12 days as we know them are relatively modern. They were brought into the church calendar in the 16th century. Prior to that for most people the period following the alleged birth of christ (nowhere does the bible give that date) it was followed by a series of saints days. These would all have been strict religous days with none of the feasting and such that we know as christmas.
We consider it unlucky to leave decorations up after 12th night but in Germany it is traditional to leave them up until candlemas, 2nd feb.
John915
And (some say) based on the 12 days of feasting that was the Roman Saturnalia?!
http://www.historytoday.com/matt-salusbury/did-romans-invent-christmas
I would also point out that in Europe (particularly Spain and the Netherlands), 12th Night is called Three Kings Night - Driekoningen Dag (I lived in NL for 16 years).