Anne here, and after the last quiz (about first lines) I thought I’d offer you a proper Christmas quiz.
Some of these questions have been asked before, but since I posted the first Regency Christmas quiz back in 2014, it wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve forgotten the answers, or maybe you started following the wenches after that. At any rate, as always, I’ll be doing my best to lead you astray with plausible alternatives.
As usual, make a note of your answers and then click on the link at the end, where you will find the correct ones.
1) The first member of the English royal family to display a Christmas tree was
a) Queen Adelaide in 1820.
b) Queen Charlotte in 1800.
c) Queen Victoria in 1848.
d) Queen Caroline in 1825.
2) A roasted capon was a dish commonly served at Christmas. A capon is:
a) a stuffed, rolled slice of belly pork.
b) a kind of duck.
c) a castrated cockerel.
d) a pudding made of fruit and nuts.
Nicola here. I don’t visit Twitter/X much these days unless it’s to see videos of cute animals but one other thing that I do enjoy on there is finding out about the meaning and origin of unusual words. There are a number of accounts on Twitter that explore this and often come up with some fascinating stuff. Today, I’m going to take a look at where a few special Georgian and Regency words come from and ask you to nominate some of your own favourites.
Christina here, continuing our “Twelve Days of Christmas” mini-blogs. I can’t believe Christmas is over already – it always goes by in a flash! But for me the fun part is doing all the preparations beforehand and my absolute favourite thing is wrapping gifts.
When I was little I was fascinated by the deft way shop assistants were able to create beautifully wrapped gifts in the blink of an eye and I wanted to be able to do that too. So I practised a lot, copying my mother and grandmother who were both ace at it. At first it was just a question of trying to make the parcels look neat and tidy, but later came the urge to do something a little bit different occasionally.
Nicola here, wishing you a happy 26th December, known here in the UK as Boxing Day, as it was traditionally the time when employers would give boxes of gifts to their employees. You would parcel up the gifts and go around knocking on the doors, singing a carol and delivering a present. Thinking about this tradition led me to notice that one of the loveliest sights in our village at the moment, apart from the Christmas lights, is the variety of wreaths with which people have decorated their front doors.
some “door furniture” as well. In the 18th century, a classic London townhouse would probably have a solid panelled door with a Georgian fanlight – a semi-circular window above – to allow more light into the hall. Then along came the Victorians with their love of stained glass in gothic patterns and bright colours. This was the age of the ornate door handle or knob, the bell pull, letter boxes, door knockers and numbers. Or how about a boot scraper, mat, lantern, garland or tree? We are overwhelmed with possibilities these days.
Christina here. Have you ever read the poem