Page 27 - James Pirie News

The Most Famous Poem About Christmas, Ever!

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had...

Postman Pat Postman Pat
Postman Pat and his cost of living strike
Early in the morning Just as day is yawning
He isn’t putting postbags in his van

Postman Pat Postman Pat
Postman Pat and his cost of living strike

All the birds are whingeing And the strike day is just beginning
Pat knows he's not happy man

Everybody knows the bright red van locked in the yard again
So you can never be sure if there'll...

New Scottish Drama Hits Our TV Screens

Granite City is a new TV drama set in… yes, you guessed it Aberdeen. It features a fairly odd couple pairing, though nothing as strange as Turner and Hooch, the star of which was, sort of Tom Hanks, but really it was Beasley a burly, brown-nosed Dogues de Bordeaux that carried the world’s reserves of saliva in his mouth. In the same way in this series the actors...

Christmas all Wrapped Up

You may have noticed amongst youngsters there is new epidemic, no not Strep A,  sweeping the country and that is the “Elf on a Shelf” which comes from a recent children’s book and it requires the house holder to move an elf, which was handily sold with the book around the house every day before Christmas. It’s now become a tradition: Even though the tradition only dates back...

Black FriYAY

It’s almost upon us. The turkey has been bought and brave souls are trying to figure out how to cook the enormous bird without it drying up. My best suggestion is to take off the legs and cook them separately in the same oven for a much shorter time. Though a friend from Texas tell me that she cooks the turkey in a brown paper bag and covers the skin in loads of butter then cooks it in...

Happy Thanksgiving, Great Black Friday

Well this Thursday is Thanksgiving in the USA and Canada and it’s a Federal Holiday. The holiday has its origins in the story of the Mayflower, the ship of the Pilgrim Fathers, not so much about mothers in those days! We might have called it a Harvest Festival, but the original pilgrims had a pretty rough go of it and had plenty to celebrate. The Mayflower passengers...

Bronzes are Forever!

The art of bronze making has been known now for over two thousand years and the great artists have worked in this medium and a small town in Tuscany has hit the jackpot with a discovery of a hoard of more than 20 bronze statues and 6,000 gold, silver and bronze dating from the second century BC. They were found buried deep in an ancient thermal pool in San Casciano dei Bagni near...

Otterly Lovely from Herend

One of the most charming moments I can remember is when our family went to a wildlife park and we witnessed the captive otters and their babies singing for their supper. They gathered on a little bridge over their pool and sang so beautifully we almost cried with laughter and with our heart strings tugged we felt like better people afterwards. It is true that otters make...

Man’s Best Friend

For all you dog lovers there is nothing finer than being greeted by Fido when you walk in the door. The family might have had a bad day, the work or school might have gone sadly wrong, but the affection you get from your pooch never fails to warm the cockles of the heart and often puts mud and dog hairs on your clothes too. Dogs are the most loyal of creatures and that’s why we give...

Black Friday Queues: Are You Hungry for a Bargain?

Are you good at queuing? Do you think Black Friday is more important than ever as we go into a tough winter in a cost of living crisis? Then expect bargains to be the target of competitive shoppers and perhaps even some unruly behaviour. We all remember times when Black Friday events got out of hand. In one incident a few years ago Greater Manchester...