Christmas Every Day

Summer is a promissory note signed in June, its long days spent and gone before you know it, and due to be repaid next January. — Hal Borland

“Always know exactly what you are going to say. Never know how you are going to say it.”

— Nigel Nicolson

I was born on January 8, 1942, exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo. I estimate, however, that about two hundred thousand other babies were also born that day. I don’t know whether any of them was later interested in astronomy.

— Stephen Hawking

“One’s only ambition in life should be to be happy. Nothing else matters”

— Amanda Holden

My mother taught me how to remain sane when faced with the implacable logic of small children: always give them choice, but controlled choice with inbuilt distraction. Not “would you like to eat your vegetables?” but “would you like to eat your vegetables from a green or a yellow plate?” Worked like a charm.

— Lisa Armstrong

“The best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and advise them to do it.”

— Harry S Truman

An admonishment from Mr Hoyle, my English teacher: “Moore, there are two sorts of people in life, those that do and those that sit on the sidelines and snigger. Do I have to tell you which one is more worthy?”

— Brian Moore

“The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.”

— G.K. Chesterton

“I never could see anything wrong in sensationalism; and I am sure our society is suffering more from secrecy than from flamboyant revelations.”

— G.K. Chesterton

Ring out wild bells to the wild sky, 
The flying cloud, the frosty light: 
The Year is dying in the night; 
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new, 
Ring, happy bells, across the snow: 
The Year is going, let him go; 
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly-dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life, 
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, 
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right, 
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old, 
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land, 
Ring in the Christ that is to be.