St. Stephen's Day aka (also known as) Boxing Day

Good afternoon bloggers!

Today marks St. Stephen's Day aka (also known as) Boxing Day aka (also known as) the day after Christmas. St. Stephen was a Christian saint. However, his day of celebration varies depending on the location and doctrine of your Church. Here in Great Britain and Ireland, we celebrate this day on December 26th. When I was a boy growing up in the Outskirts of London, England, UK, my late father Melvyn P. O'Shea Senior (Snr for short) RIP (rest in peace) would often sing the following popular rhyme which decended from Ireland (Date: unknown. Writer: anonymous)
 

"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,

St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,

Although he was little his honour was great,

Jump up me lads and give us a treat.

As I was going to Killenaule,

I met a wren upon the wall.

Up with me wattle and knocked him down,

And brought him in to Carrick Town.

Drooolin, Droolin, where's your nest?

Tis in the bush that I love best

In the tree, the holly tree,

Where all the boys do follow me.

Up with the kettle and down with the pan,

And give us a penny to bury the wren.

I followed the wren three miles or more,

Three miles or more three miles or more.

I followed the wren three miles or more,

At six o'clock in the morning.

I have a little box under me arm,

Under me arm under me arm.

I have a little box under me arm,

A penny or tuppence would do it no harm.

Mrs. Clancy's a very good woman,

a very good woman, a very good woman,

Mrs. Clancy's a very good woman,

She give us a penny to bury the wren"

I have had the most glorious of St. Stephen's Days. I have had the opportunity to play with some of my wonderful gifts. As you may remember from my introductory blog issue, I have a passion for technology, gadgets and gizmos. My mother kindly purchased me a range of such items. One of my favourites is a Henry Desktop Vacuum, which I have found very useful in cleaning the dashboard of my custom battery operated vehicle, Stalin the black stallion. This remarkable device is powered by 3 x AA batteries. I personally use the brand Duracel, as I find they last significantly longer. However, that is another blog in itself.  Henry is ideal for sucking up biccy crumbs and unidentified specks from your work space, and he'll whoosh up the dust on electronic bits and bobs faster than you can say 'Yikes, keep your food to yourself Emmanuelle!. Henry measures approximately 10cm (H) x 9.5cm (W) x 10cm (D) and his Nozzle is much longer at 35cm long. It came in particular good use this afternoon, when I vacuumed up some absent without leave aka (also known as) AWOL stuffing balls as today's lunch comprised of some cold meats, leftover stuffing balls, a Yorkshire pudding and a fried egg. This food combination is a family St Stephen's Day tradition.



Kindest regards,
Melvyn P. O'Shea