Page 101 of A Christmas Celebration
After lunch I excitedly headed to Albert’s, taking Bran with me, for a repeat performance and there was a sense of relief coursing through me too. In spite of his many lists and tight schedule Angus had been so bitten by the decorating bug that he wanted to go off track for a while and get the cherry picker and lights ready for decking the outside of the hall earlier than planned. I felt very happy about not being there to be roped into helping with that.
‘Aha,’ I laughed as I crossed the threshold of Albert’s cottage. ‘I see you’ve started without me!’
‘I couldn’t resist.’ He smiled. ‘I woke feeling as excited asI used to on Christmas day when I was a child and thought I’d start unpacking a few things and arranging what I could.’
‘You really shouldn’t have moved some of these boxes on your own though, Albert,’ I scolded mildly.
I knew how cumbersome they were because I had carried them downstairs.
‘Well,’ he said, looking a little flushed, ‘it’s done now. Tell me what you make of what I’ve done so far?’
The fireplace was adorned with silk foliage swags and there was a similar arrangement on the table and more lining the windowsills.
‘No wonder you didn’t want any greenery,’ I said, fingering a trailing strand of ivy, just to make sure it wasn’t actually real. ‘These are stunning.’
‘All Stella’s handiwork,’ Albert said proudly. ‘I told you she was a dab hand with a needle and thread.’
‘You did,’ I remembered, ‘but I had no idea she was as skilled as this. Did she hide her light under a bushel too?’
Albert rolled his eyes.
‘She didn’t have to,’ he said. ‘My father reckoned sewing was a far more acceptable pastime than painting.’
I was about to apologize for bringing it up, but Albert laughed.
‘Stella used to dare me to take it up,’ he said, his eyes further lighting up at the memory, ‘just to see Dad’s face, but I never did. Probably just as well.’ He shrugged. ‘Now, how about you make us some tea and then we’ll be all set to carry on.’
With tea to hand, along with the tub of mince pies and sausage rolls Dorothy had insisted I bring with me, we set about exploring more of the boxes. There were a few which Albert looked in and said he didn’t want to unpack, which saved us some time, but there was still more than enough to decorate the tree and festoon the walls and ceilings.
‘I daresay this is nothing like the bespoke and antique collection you’ve been setting up at the hall,’ he said as he handed me another faded carrier bag from Woolworths. ‘This is all high street stuff. Apart from the angel.’
The beautiful seraphim was yet another of Stella’s incredible creations and wore an elaborate gold dress and had sheer but sparkling wings. They looked dazzling when they caught the light.
‘You’re right, Albert,’ I said, hanging a couple more baubles around the back of the tree. ‘This is all very different to the Wynthorpe decs, but it’s a treasure trove nonetheless. This collection of yours is pure vintage and the fact you have most of the original packaging makes it quite valuable.’
‘Get away with you,’ he tutted, assuming I was teasing.
‘I’m being serious,’ I told him as I opened up a pair of honeycomb bell and holly wall decorations. ‘These must have been with you since the fifties and there’s another whole box full just like it. They’re precious, Albert, and in this condition, pretty rare.’
He stood and looked at them with his head cocked to one side.
‘Well, yes,’ he conceded. ‘I suppose they have been in thefamily a good long while. Most of them would have been picked up from Woolies in town.’
‘There you are then,’ I said. ‘You want to keep looking after them. I daresay if you ever sold them you could retire on the proceeds.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ he laughed. ‘But now I think it’s time for another cuppa, don’t you?’
The light was fading when we eventually finished and I was beginning to feel all decked out by the time Albert bestowed upon me the honour of turning on the tree lights. I held my breath as I pressed the switch, even though I’d tested them before carefully draping them around the tree.
‘There now.’ Albert beamed as the little orange, green, blue, pink and red bell-shape lights sprang into life. ‘Doesn’t that look a treat?’
The lights were very different to those at the hall too and they didn’t twinkle or chase each other up and down the tree in time to music, but they were beautiful and perfectly fitting for Albert’s retro vibe.
‘No one would doubt the cottage is occupied now,’ I sighed wistfully, thinking how lovely the tree would look to anyone driving by.
Albert shook his head.
‘Let’s not think about unhappy times,’ he said, wiping away an unexpected tear. ‘But focus on the fun we’ve got ahead of us and the fresh future on our horizons.’
