This is my Christmas Card for you
My Followers
Of Happy Times when a man could love his turkey
freely and without prejudice
Its been a funny old year this year all told...... suffice to say that despite all of the shit in this world, this little part of North Wales plods along at its own particular pace and in its own inimitable way.
There is something constant about things here,
Going Gently isn't a notable blog, I have no insightful news references, no waspish political satire to share. it remains what it is ...a bit of whimsey where an ageing old spinster homo can complain about "cheap Christmas cards hastily written" in a world where Christmas Cards suddenly seem a creature of the past.
Happy Christmas to you, kind sir. :)
ReplyDeleteI have just been listening to 'Jones, Jones, Jones, Jones, and Jenkins' It was their Goose killing night.
ReplyDeleteIs that a radio show or what ?
DeleteBBC Radio 4
DeleteWishing you a very Happy Christmas too John. Only yesterday I was grumbling about the rise in postage stamps and decided this was the year I would stop making my own cards .......perhaps I should think again...... ps even though I managed to spot that Matty had won bake off by reading a comment on your post yesterday it didn't spoil my enjoyment of watching on catch up one little bit 😀
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
A lovely image for Christmas! And some constancy is very precious in a world which often feels unfamiliar and sometimes cruel.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy dropping in at your blog and whish you and yours a very happy Christmas too.
Christmas (or any other type of card) are only a thing of the past to those who have stopped caring.
ReplyDeleteTheir still mattering to you says that you refuse to let what hurts harden your heart . Wishing you reasons to smile,at a turkey or whatever warms
your heart, -Mary
Your card made it all the way to California, no postage required, and I didn't even have to go to the mailbox to get it. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you as well, John.
ReplyDeleteDarling John, every word you write is inspiring ... so honest and so true! Don't ever give up - you are amazing! From DeeJay in New Zealand
ReplyDeleteThis isn't your last post until Chrismas, is it?
ReplyDeleteThat is a great photograph.
ReplyDeleteIn a turbulent world constant and familiar is much appreciated. So are decent Christmas Cards, that are thoughtfully written.
Sending you my very best wishes for the festive season. Xx
Sometimes, we all need a peaceful pleasant place to retreat to. Your blog provides that nicely. Well...if you skip some of the comments.
ReplyDeleteI love this photo and I really enjoy reading your blog everyday, so thank you John and ( an early ) Happy Christmas xx
ReplyDeleteJust the picture of you with your turkey warmed up my whole night. And that's the purpose of a Christmas card. But some of us old relics still send out yearly cards, LOL.
ReplyDeleteA man and his turkey. A wonderful Christmas memory. I love this card. No postage reguired.
ReplyDeleteNor even reQuired.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, John. What a great photo. x
ReplyDeleteIt's still November!!!!
ReplyDeleteHere's wishing a merry and peaceful Christmas (or whatever we celebrate) for all. xx
ReplyDeleteAnd the same to you, Sir - with ALL the frills.......PLUS!
ReplyDeleteWhat a picture. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI must dust off my old biro and start writing some Christmas cards .. soon ..ish..
Stay as you are. love you like that I think I remember the rooster from the Ukrainian village that you had. (And this is not a hint of anything political...). Have a wonderful and happy Christmas.
ReplyDeleteSeasonal Greetings to you ...and no need to change x
ReplyDeleteLove the photo and love your blog. What a busy time you are having. I feel we are all there with you at every step you wonderful, huggable man. Noreen
ReplyDeleteMy little part of rural Devon is also plodding along in its own inimitable way. So grateful to be living in a peaceful place when so many in the world are coping with unimaginable horrors.
ReplyDeleteThere's a rather rude phrase lurking in that photo - but I won't bring down the tone! Wishing you a Happy Christmas John x
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas and thank you for all your blog posts. They are much appreciated. Jan xx
ReplyDeleteThat's a great Christmas card! I love it!
ReplyDeleteJohn, I've loved your blog since the moment I found it. You write from your tender heart and with a perspective that is a bright light in this world of damp wood. I look forward to each post - you're a part of how I start my day. Much love and happy holidays from across the pond.
ReplyDeleteJust opened your post and nearly fell off the chair laughing, what a wonderful photo, just the adoring looks of both of you. Keep enjoying your village life and the amazing people around amazing you John 🙏. Jan in Castle Gresley
ReplyDeleteWill I send Christmas cards this year? I have been editing a post about staying in touch with people, that laments the nearly lost art of letter writing.
ReplyDeleteBeing one of those bloggers that spill their guts to a few interested readers revealing the under belly of my life I do start each day with Going Gently. It is my calm port in this storm called life and I want you to know how important it is to me. Some day I would love to come just pitch a tent in your yard and spend some time really resting and getting back to what the world seems to call normal. And I promise to not make much noise or disturb you in any way. And all your dogs and any other beast will be welcome guest.
ReplyDeleteI've just read your profile and you sound like such a nice man.
DeleteAnd all those things are exactly why I look forward to your blog every day. Connecting with real people is my antidote to life.
ReplyDeleteTurkey Love Equality NOW!
ReplyDeleteGreat photo. The world feels sad at the moment but this made me smile. Jackie
ReplyDeleteLove that photo. A very Happy Christmas and New Year to you and all your readers and the dogs too of course.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely Christmas card. Better than any I shall received this season. Greeting to you and yours as well.
ReplyDeleteNothing says love like a man and his turkey! Thanks for making me laugh. Bun
ReplyDeleteThat is a GREAT picture of you
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you!!!! Keep blogging! Jen
ReplyDeleteMaybe my world is small but like you, I feel like the little corner of the world that I inhabit is plodding along its inimitable way as well. Life is good, then it's bad then it's good again. Time goes by one day at a time marked by the exclamation marks of family, community & holiday celebrations. Merry Christmas to you, John.
ReplyDeleteGreat card. Thank you. Merry Christmas John and let's hope for a better 2024.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas, John! I like visiting your blog, a trip to Wales each time.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan from the USA . I read you every day . some days I laugh out loud , some days I cry . I love learning about life in a village somewhere in Wales and love learning about a guy who happens to be a Nurse and loves animals ! Keep writing please . You are a welcome part of my day ! Merry Christmas John !
ReplyDeleteYou are a delight John x 🌄
ReplyDeleteAnd may you have a Merry Christmas as well John.
ReplyDeleteYou are my first read of the day John. Thank you so much for sharing your life.
ReplyDeleteI still mail Christmas cards ... sometimes make them myself.. granted i get very few in return but i do cherish the ones i get and display them for the Holidays...
ReplyDeleteI think it is a perfect Christmas card!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you, John. Best wishes for a New Year filled with fabulous adventures and much love!
ReplyDeleteWarmest wishes for a wonderful Christmas! Looking forward to hearing about the Christmas Fayre and seeing photos.
ReplyDeleteThank you John. It is a very lovely Christmas card. Is the turkey Boris?
ReplyDeleteA man can still love a turkey freely and without prejudice, we adopted 3 rescue turkeys last year and love them dearly, they'll remain with us until they die a natural death.
ReplyDeleteThey have 5 acres to roam on but spend most of the time in the kitchen.
What was the problem with you having a turkey? Or did you eat it?
They are delightful mournful creatures that make lovely pets
DeletePosts like this one are the reason your blog is the first one I read each day! Merry Christmas to you. ps: that Turkey looks absolutely smitten by you.:)
ReplyDeleteLovely card John, thank you. Merry Christmas to you.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a joyful Christmas season, celebrating with friends, family, and, of course, Mary, Rogery, and Dorothy.
ReplyDeleteDo not underestimate your way with words and our appreciation of you and your words.
Hugs!
Xx babs
DeleteI love your blog John. Never change. Merry Christmas to you and yours and a bright and Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteThank u deArheart
DeleteI think we are all forgetting your Rome trip
ReplyDeletemay Christmas bring you health my dear boy
Amen🏛
DeleteJohn
ReplyDeleteYou write well, but lazily
you share your pain and joys and remain an enigma to me
I think you have your demons and your secret woes
and it worries me that you cry so easily.
Having said all of this, Going Gently has me laughing.
Laughing when my life has been down the pan.
laughing and smiling when I need a hug and recognise that you are just a simple man trying to make sense out of a life he didn't expect to have when he is in his sixties.
I never comment (If I did I would never stop). but I am here , loving your cast of characters and a family that love you.
Lee
Lee you are right, I write quickly and never proof read
DeleteOops, John, after reading your lovely Christmas card to all of us, I sat down and hastily wrote a cheap card to you. I have not mailed it yet but it is sealed and stamped so it will go in the mail tomorrow along with a card going to Scotland.. I didn’t write it as a joke, but wrote it before reading to the end of your blog! Hugs. Gigi
ReplyDeleteMemories of my mother berating cheap cards x
DeleteLove the card as it is not at all Christmassy and that will very much suit myself and those of us who do not particularly enjoy the festive period and live by the mantra ' after Winter the next season is Spring '. Sorry if that sounds a bit pious ( not religious type of pious) but it is heartfelt. Tess
ReplyDeleteP.S. not pissin' on your chips JG
Piss away lol piss away
DeleteWishing you too a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's to a better year next year. x
ReplyDeleteThank u x
DeleteThank you for sweet card all the best wishes to you.
ReplyDeleteLinda from Alabama
You are very welcome Linda x
DeleteWhen folk announce that they are "having" a turkey for Christmas they are not normally thinking about intimate relations.
ReplyDeleteAnd why not ???
DeleteMerry Christmas from snowy Ontario John ..just posted my UK cards ..what a year its being both here ..with a flood at home then 6 months of restoration ..then a bad fall and my broken arm .Hoping for a better year in 2024 ..fingers crossed .I too would happily say you are my favourite blogger ..keep on sharing with us readers .God bless you and your lovely dogs x
ReplyDeleteLinda…better luck for sure xxxx🧑🏼🦯
DeleteRight backatcha! Very mixed year here too, Two broken marriages and a dementia diagnosis(not me) were the pits. But giggles from your blog keep me sane, Also may I recommend a very good film? Saltburn. Some of the snottier critics didn't approve, But I adore a gratuitous arse shot. Dirty old bag that I am x
ReplyDeleteOn my list…nothing like a nice arse
DeleteI can't say as I've seen such a happy buzzard in awhile. Content and handsome. Gemma's Person/ Beth
ReplyDeleteHe was a t u R k e y !!!! Lol
DeleteYes HE was.
DeleteHappy Christmas, John. Perfect picture and sentiments. Just what was needed.
ReplyDeleteSusan xx 🌲🎄
DeleteLove that card. Merry Christmas to you too. You are the first blog I look at in the morning and the last I look at before I go to bed at night. Mixed year here... many downs a lot of tears a few ups. Can't say I will be sorry to see it go. Give the doggos a pat from me.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
Chin up jo xx
DeleteThank you John for sharing your slice of life with us all. Most days are a delight to read, and we ride along with you in the ups and downs of the year.
ReplyDeleteMost days??? Lol
DeleteLove the card John. Your blog entries are a little pleasure every day. Please keep going with them a d have a very Happy Christmas xx
ReplyDeleteAnd you too carol x
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and your pups. I enjoy your adventures!
ReplyDelete🎅🏼🎄
DeleteI love your blog exactly as it is. You are such an involved, kind man and I enjoy all your adventures and admire the way you are tackling university. Christmas and New Year’s blessings to you and yours. Lynn Ewing USA
ReplyDeleteThank you lynn
DeleteHappy Christmas to you John, and good health to you and your pack. A lot of our friends are academics from all over the world, so we've all got into the habit of writing a Christmas letter, unfading each other on the health (increasingly creaky), our current interests and obsessions, and the doings of our families as they grow and change. We only send physical cards to those very few who aren't Internet people.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to keep in touch with those we see rarely because of distance, but whose lives touch ours.
I should send you a copy, as a dear but removed friend. Your blog, and Weavers, are the first things I read - they're way more inspirational than the Guardian or our local paper's website!! Everyone should start the day on a positive note, and you two do that for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’d love to receive/one dearheart x
DeleteWishing you a lovely Christmas, John, and thank you for the card. What a beautiful photo of you both and the look you are sharing made me laugh! Looking forward to reading about all your experiences in 2024. Louise X
ReplyDeleteLouise xx
DeleteIt's been a funny old blogging year hasn't it. I LOVE the photo of you and your turkey, if every man had one as a friend perhaps the world would be a better place.
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas my friend, may it be a peaceful time for you, your animals, your cottage and the village. xx
Thank u Sue x
DeleteMerry Christmas, John! I will still do a few cards. This morning I woke up to a smattering of snow. Now I might be in the mood, haha. I have a bunch of Christmas baking to do , although some is done and in the deep freeze. One or two gifts to do and all will be ready. Take care. xx Barb
ReplyDeleteBabs xxx🌈🎄🦌🍗🎊🔔
DeleteSponsoring that tree was a lovely gesture. Thank you for the greeting. Here is a song by a local D.C. singer-song writer, more of a new year song, very wise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M18aATkvRY
ReplyDeleteI’d love to sing that at choir
DeleteAn "ageing old homo" but NOT a spinster.
ReplyDeleteLook on your birth certificate and at your anatomy, definitely NOT a spinster.
Definitely a SPINSTER !!!!!!!!!SPINSTER SPINSTER SPINSTER!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteNo dear, despite all your protestations you're not a spinster. Wishful thinking perhaps but that's all.
DeleteSpinster
DeleteSo many of your readers say "you're a lovely man" and things like that so perhaps that should prompt your memory, yes you're a man. Perhaps settle for being a bachelor?
DeleteYou bring a lot of love to your village and then share it with us - joy all around. I'm here for all of it, even the down days. Wishing you a merry and a happy with lots of love and laughter. x0x0 N2
ReplyDeleteThank u xx
DeleteHappy Christmas John. I don't think you realise how important your blog is to many of us who are scattered about the globe. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas from Downunder, John, where summer has started now ;-)!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab photo. Merry Christmas John. I hope it's a happy one. I love your blog and often read it out loud to my boys, they always enjoy the photos of your brood
ReplyDeleteSarah in a very wet bit of Yorkshire xxx