I wish you all a very merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a joyful time with your loved ones. See you soon. Much love, Barbara xxx
I love the pictures; especially the first. May all you dreams be fulfilled and have a great Christmas.
Oh, Barbara, this is one of my favorite posts of yours! I love that first scene and could live in some place that lovely. And that very last card - just precious.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Donna. I was thrilled when I found that last card at an antique's market; it's another that went straight into my collection. I used to be given cards just like that when I was small, how I wish I kept them!
Oh dear Barbara! What a lovely poem and the photos that accompany it are just perfect. Today I thought of you whilst my husband and I had an afternoon tea with some mince tarts! Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! ~ Diane
Hello Diane, thank you for thinking of me! You just know how much I enjoy those mince tarts! I’m so pleased you liked the poem and pictures. Happy Christmas to you and all your family, I will look forward to catching up with you again after Christmas. Barbara x
Thank you! I'm a little late to wish you a Merry Christmas but I hope your New Year is a very happy one. xx
Hi Barbara, what a wonderful poem for Christmas and I love the accompanying illustrations. I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and the very best New Year!
Thanks Alex, I hope your Christmas was a happy one and that the New Year brings lots of good things your way.
I so love these images. Thanks for transporting us back. Thanks also for all your kind comments on my blog. Enjoy your Christmas!
Dearest Barbara, what an adorable post. I LOVE the special fairy that looks after the ugly things. Please do send her on when you have finished having her visit! Thank you so much for your very kind comments recently. Sorry that I have not been in touch ...yet. Merry Christmas my friend. Have a wonderful day. Look forward to keeping in touch through next year. Much love catherine x0x0x
Dear Catherine, I could not think of a nicer person to look after her, and I’m sure she would be delighted to visit you. I hope you had a very happy Christmas and that the New Year brings nothing but wonderful things your way. Barbara xxx
Thank you all for the lovely Christmas messages, I appreciate each and every one of them. We are entertaining our grown-up grandsons & Terry's mum and dad for the Christmas holidays, but I will be over to visit you all as soon as I can. Have a wonderful Christmas. Barbara xxx
Beautiful, special images as always Barbara, thank you for sharing them. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :) Lindsay x
I have been out of state and am now waiting to board on a flight back home! Did you have a lovely time my friend? I DID! I was in sunny California with no snow, surrounded by palm trees and sunshine!
Hello Anita, it is always such a pleasure to hear from you. I did have a lovely time, thank you. Christmas in the sunshine you lucky thing, it was very wet and windy in the UK. Happy New Year My Dear, I hope it brings you everything your heart desires. xx
I loved the images that you shared with this adorable poem. It was such fun to imagine the fairies and magic happening on Christmas night! Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. :)
A very merry Christmas to you too dear! I just love the fairies on the Rene Cloke postcard, they are so childlike and delicate.
Hello Jamie, I’m glad you enjoyed the cards. Thank you for your good wishes, I hope you have a very Happy New Year. Barbara x
My God, the pictures and rhymes here ... Barbara, I hope the one-eyed dolly's fairy sees her when she passes by. Hope you had a splendid Christmas!
Hi Claudine, whenever I look at the picture with the two little girls putting the dolly on the fireplace, I worry about their nightdresses catching fire. It’s a beautiful illustration but the worry rather spoils it for me. I hope you also had a wonderful Christmas.
This is where I share my collection of vintage books, and other favourite things. I also showcase new children’s books written by authors I admire. I am an ex-bookseller, now full time blogger. My husband and I live in a small village in Somerset, UK. Thanks for visiting. Barbara xx
Written and illustrated by Angusine Macgregor. Snips was a very naughty mouse who was always in disgrace. He would never get up when ...
According to the Royal Horticultural Society the unusually early colour on trees such as maples, hazels, liquidambar and laburnum is a ...
Just calling in to wish you all a very, very Happy New Year and to let you know I will be away from my blog for a while. I’ve so enjoyed...
Back in the nineteen fifties no home was complete without a Mabel Lucie Attwell wall plaque or biscuit-tin money box. Sadly, my sister, br...
I’ve been busy cataloguing a collection of books illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. The cataloguing process is taking far lon...
“Do you ever wonder where the colour goes to when the flowers die? The fairies help ’emselves to it.” Mr. Digswell from Joan in Flowerl...
The Bodleian Library is launching new imprint Bodleian Children’s Books. One of the UK and Ireland’s six copyright libraries, Oxford ...
Snowdrops in our garden January, 2012 The Snowdrop fairy in flower fairies of the spring by Cicely Mary Barker Deep sleeps the win...
Never Tease a Weasel Jean Conder Soule illustrated by Denman Hampson Published by Parents' Magazine Press in 1964. ...
There are fairies at the bottom of our garden! It's not so very far away; you pass the gardener’s shed and you just keep straight ahead, I do so hope they've really come to stay. Rose Fyleman
When little elves have cut themselves, or mouse has hurt her tail, or froggie's arm has come to harm, this herb will never fail. The fairy's skill can cure each ill and soothe the sorest pain; She'll bathe, and bind, and soon they'll find that they are well again. Flower Fairies of the wayside C. M. Barker.
About the only way I can describe Paris Nuit Blanche (White Night) is the biggest street party you ever saw. Or maybe I should say street parties. We onl...
It's bedtime and Gabby Wild's Granny has come to tuck her in, but tonight Gabby wants something else. She wants to stay up all night long. And so, they pa...
Hello, Riddlers! Can you guess our theme this week? There are so many ways to celebrate this fun event. 😉 ~ F *Once a year this shall come, starting coun...
Having revealed the movies that had had an impact on both myself and Mr T (see them here & here) I was delighted when fellow blogger and movie buff Kelly o...
I'm going to tentatively start blogging Tuesday-Friday instead of Monday-Friday and see how it goes on the Richter Scale of Productivity using Monday as my...
'El Mestizo' came about from a request by artist Carlos Ezquerra, who wanted to do something different to the Second World War strips he was working on for...
*I've lately discovered the music of Estas Tonne. He is a Ukrainian guitarist who combines gypsy music with Flamenco and his own brand of atmospheric so...
Today marked the end of the World War 1 on the 11th November 1918 at 11am. It also marked the end of many World War 1 projects that have been going on fo...
Solemn ceremonies took place around the world today to mark 100 years to the day since the Armistice that saw the end of World War I. Members of the pub...
Today is Veterans' Day in the United States and Remembrance Day for the rest of the world. And while it is important to honor and say thank you to those ...
Hello everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend On my walk back from having my hair done on Friday, I couldn't resist buying these pretty peonies....
My first venture into audiobooks was Storm Front (Book #1 of The Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher. My reason for venturing into the world of audiobooks was th...
There are some upsides to keeping absolutely everything, particularly when it comes to finding out what went on in the past. My stepfather was a great keep...
I've always been proud of being something of a mongrel as far as my DNA goes, but now I can officially call myself a hybrid, with dual nationality - Briti...
It’s time for another group posting of the* Insecure Writer’s Support Group!* Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who...
How can Penelope Kite afford to live in Provence? It’s been bothering some early readers of *Death in Provence*, and I think that’s great because it show...
Some promises in this life get broken. God's love is not one. He always comes through even when we doubt. Today I am spending time "looking up". Plea...
On October 31st, 1918, as the First World War neared its end, celebrated war poet and officer of the Second Manchesters Wilfred Owen wrote home to his mo...
THE Happy Moonraker enjoyed viewing all the items that are being auctioned today in the Dr Anne Shannon jewellery sale. Dr Shannon collected antique jewell...
As always my front garden has its own micro climate. It's cold enough to freeze - well you can guess the rest, and yet this is the front of my house. ...
I have a HUGE stack of RIP books here to mention to you before the end of the month and the perilous reading season. Grab a cup of tea or cocoa because ...
Hello! Shells from the beach... I love to relocate just some of them to our backyard: The two shells on the left I can remember collecting from Wonga Bea...
Literary Landscapes: Charting the Topography of Classic Literature edited by John Sutherland is not the first to chart this kind literary geography but it ...
Posting the First Wednesday of every month, the Insecure Writer's Support Group, is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh. YOU can sign up HERE to participate....
Hi dear cousins and friends! I am on a library computer, and again, I have disabled comments for this post, as my internet access has been sporadic. Not...
*Hi there! Yes, it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! You may have pawhaps noticed that my human dad, Gary, has done very l...
There's nothing better on these bright summer days than a happy ending, so I've chosen a very special book to review for my last blog post this summer:...
I thought it was time I got into gear this year and started to focus on the bookshop, so today I'm sharing a few of Winter Moon Books' latest additions. ~...
*The Land Where the Ice Cream Grows* *told by Anthony Burgess; illustrations and story by Fulvio Testa* *Doubleday, 1979* Anthony Burgess is most famous ...
Yes. It's official. I'm moving. Please come over and tell me how to do this Wordpress stuff!!!!! Beware the White Rabbit (Anthology: They Call Me Alice...
It's not quite a palace yet, but I'm super pleased with the progress in the house, albeit there has been a small lull due to a wee visit to bonnie Scotlan...
This time of the year I always get into Spring Overwhelm. The weather seems to be in a similar state. The view from my kitchen window shows the turbulence ...
My dearest all,You've heard this before: I'm taking a break from blogging.You haven't heard this before, though: This time, I don't know for how long. Not ...
The wide-ranging artwork of contemporary children’s book illustrators earns the spotlight at an impressive exhibit at Brandywine River Museum of Art in Cha...