It's been a bit of a struggle this time, getting Kalender together. I think this is partly because I know in the back of my mind that the next festival – Candlemas – isn't until 15 February so there's been more time than usual to prepare the 'Christmas' issue. But if I'm honest, I've been scared that this time I won't be able to pull it off, to make a batch of images and a few thoughts into something that reflects my thoughts/memories/feelings about the festival.
I'd got all the pictures prepared and found a load of text, both from books and from extremely miscellaneous websites, but still fought shy of sitting down and seeing what happened when I tried combining them.
Then Trevor had the idea that I should try writing a 'stream-of-consciousness' piece about that Christmas Eve vigil we shared and let bits of that run through the issue of Kalender as a linking thread. Well, we finished putting it together this morning and – heaves sigh of relief – it's fine, I think. I'm pleased with it, even! Last night I hadn't created the cartoon, nor decided what the free gift should be. The cartoon sprang into my head as I went to bed last night and the free gift idea came to me as I woke up this morning … phew!
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