The Twelve Days of Christmas – Day 8 [Raffle]

/ December 20, 2016

Play nice. Be fearless. Give Money. Just re-capping here, in case you missed the sermon on the mount. Eh. Flight. Well, I am trying to be nice by fearlessly giving you the winner of yesterday’s Day 7 of the 12DX raffles. On offer was a framed photograph of RA. Thanks for your entries and your nice words. The winner is… Lady Grayse. Congrats!!!! Please send me your address and the securely wrapped frame + pic will go into the post today. I think my post mistresses are already waiting for my daily visit… Draw protocol: click seal on the right.

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12dx-1

We have come to the point where I have run out of funky places to leave my little stars on. Big wave to Hedghogess who spotted the senseless fun I was having with my header image… The little things in life, eh?

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Talking of little things – today’s is another small prize, which has just been bumped up a little bit thanks to someone winning a better prize elsewhere. I had promised to send reader Andrea the postage required for a photo request from RA. Turns out that Andrea was a lucky winner at UltraVeloce’s humongous give-away over on Twitter. Hence, the two Royal Mail stamps which had been earmarked for her, are now being thrown into today’s raffle, which is for…

3 handmade ornaments with a RA twist + 2 Royal Mail stamps

This is another one of my “discreet every-day fangirling” objects. Something that may remind you of RA – without drawing too much attention to the fact. You can always say that the R in the heart refers to R as in “reindeer” . I’ve used a bit of bling from my stash – crystal beads, jewellery pendants and wire that I am using for the RAPSes. Apologies for only showing two of the three heart ornaments; I had to shoot from the hip again (bad planning on my part) and the resulting images did not contain a useable one for heart #3. The prize shall be further enhanced by dear Hariclea whose never-ending stash of Thornton’s chocolate provides a sweet complement to this modest offering. If you would like to win this prize, all you need to do is leave a comment below. You have 23 hours, until 7am tomorrow, 21 December 2016.

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Still no sign of my LLL review. And at the time of composing this post, I haven’t seen the finale of BS, either. Although I have unfortunately already been spoiled. Shouldn’t have looked at Twitter yesterday morning, I guess, my own fault. Mind you, I was a bit miffed that screen caps and comments were posted in such a way that they were unmissable. There, strong and unusually open words from yours truly. Sorry, but I was a bit disappointed that the news race is more important than a bit of consideration for those who haven’t had the pleasure of watching, yet. Damn, that was preachy. Must be infectious, this sermon thing…

Richard’s Christmas message, however, I have already read. It is quite interesting how Richard is becoming more wordy every year. (Just compare Christmas Message 2014 in the right sidebar.) All good and worthy thoughts – I particularly like the thought of “being fearless”, of working for a world in which we defy fear. That was my reaction to the Munich bombing. #IRefuseToBeAfraid. And I am saying that at the time of writing, when the horrifying news from Berlin have just come in.  I can’t say that I am always without fear. I had my doubts about travelling to New York, just as the NY marathon was on and the presidential election was happening. I didn’t particularly like loitering in Grand Central Station where the presence of heavily armed soldiers reminded me of a vague and elusive threat. The swat team I observed on Bryant Park, didn’t really calm me, either. I really resent having my confidence in and reliance on “peace” undermined, as seems the norm on planet Earth, 2016. Daniel Miller to the rescue? It was probably no coincidence that RA riffed on *that* particular theme, on the night that was in it. And he was strangely prescient in writing it, just before another attack on humanity, this time in Berlin, no matter whether it is an act of terror or not. But I like his point that peace and stability depend as much on each of us, as on the nameless, faceless, scrupleless agency heads of assorted fishy intelligence services… Power to us. And I leave it at that…

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So, last recap and small print: Raffle for 1 set of 3 ornaments + 2 Royal Mail stamps, open to all until 7am GMT Dec 21, 2016. The raffle items will be sent anywhere in the world, no P&P costs either. The winner’s address will be passed on to Hariclea to facilitate despatch of the chocolate. To enter the raffle, just a leave a comment below. Winner to be announced in Day 9 post of 12DX, tomorrow.

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Love, PEACE and best of luck to you all!

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50 thoughts on “The Twelve Days of Christmas – Day 8 [Raffle]”

  1. Your first comment reminded me of church. Hmmm… I’m in a peevish mood tonight. Not feeling well and another busy day at work. Customers are getting bitchier and more impatient. Must be getting closer to Christmas.

    I try to remain fearless as much as I can. I visited the UK, while you came the other way to NYC. Maybe because I grew up with my dad in the military that I knew we were protected where we lived and I grew to be aware of my surroundings outside of our bubble. Since I grew up in the shadow of NYC and have lived near a big city all my life, I tend to not be afraid of visiting them. Since I am a big planner I tend to make sure I know my surroundings just in case. I remember before leaving my friends and co-workers would ask me if I was afraid? I wasn’t afraid of making the trip. The issue was the guys at home taking care of themselves and me being so far away. It didn’t help that during my first night there my son called to tell me there was a fire somewhere and smoke was all around the house. I told him what he should do and called my husband at work from London. My husband was like, “he could go to a neighbors house if it comes close”. So not comforting being so far away. Turned out the fire was less than a mile from our house. I’ve learned my fearlessness becomes eroded when I loose confidence in people. Rambling here and trying to make sense. Need to take more cold meds to gear up for work tomorrow.

    Lovely oRnAments..

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    • If you are working in retail, I can only bow before you. This time of year must be very difficult! By Christmas Eve, you will have earned your holidays.
      Yes, I try to ignore my (irrational) fear, too. I try not to let it keep me from going to Berlin, London, New York. If I did, the elusive “they” would win. I am behind that part of RA’s message – I refuse to be afraid. Which does not mean that I am not vigilant.
      And boy, that message from a child over the phone would’ve had me worried, too. It’s funny how we always think that our presence will keep our loved ones from harm. Yet that is no guarantee. I was reminded by the deeply upsetting pictures I saw of Aleppo last night. I literally cried myself to sleep. The worst thing is, to feel so helpless about it all…

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  2. Blimey, that R blinded me for a moment 😀 And if I get my hands on this gift, my friends and part of my family would know what this letter stands for *giggles* Those ornaments are lovely and this gave me a lot of ideas. I can now already start writing them down and prepare for next year or use them as an idea for birthday presents… Endless possibilities. This year i had everything prepared but then bronchitis happened and I lost a month of preparations. Still I have managed to make themed snowballs (for the first time in my life) and my friends were delighted. All thanks to you ❤

    p.s. Congratulation to Lady Grayse!

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    • Hehe, not so discreet then? And I thought I was being cunning. Mind you, my hubster would immediately pick up on the “R”, too.
      The ornaments work pretty well all year round, I would say. Hearts are cute, all the time. They are very simply made – just bend a bit of wire three times around a glass or a can, fasten the wire, then bend the circle into a heart shape. Make a little loop from wire if you want to attach bling, and attach bling in it. Works with other shapes too – stars, angels, flowers. Peaches? hehe.
      Oh, and themed snowballs? Lovely – would love to see them, Andrea.

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      • Oh, thanks for the tip. I will just have to find thin wire to wrap it around something, because thicker one my arms won’t handle due to lack of strength. And about themed snowballs, you will see them *grin* I will probably put them on twitter or IG and FB.

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  3. Poor Berlin. People everywhere have to carry but I hate the thought we are all easy targets for these madmen.
    I wondered yesterday if I could slip a capital R onto charm bracelet lol

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    • A blow to humanity, not just Germany, not just Berlin. Merkel says they are assuming it was an act of terror. It certainly hits very hard.
      .
      Maybe we need to come up with a synonym for the rather obvious “RA”. O for object of affection? Or maybe just a little symbol. 🍑

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  4. Cute ornaments! Don’t think I’d get away with the “R” remaining a mystery though, certainly not with my immediate family – I’ve been found out. 😉

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  5. Hi there, sweeties are at the ready, just need posting by including Thursday or then wait until new year which i hope would be ok too? Something to look forward to?
    I have to say my mellow mood yesterday after an Xmas dinner with friends received a massive blow with the news. Between Aleppo, Berlin and other stuff going on here with extremists it just feels like the world has gone mad… How people can hurt others so mindlessly is beyond me 😦 Nothing but more pain can come of it, it’s so senseless!
    I guess what make me sad and frustrated is the pointlessness of it all and the fact that these people just can’t see it… And all the innocents who get hurt in such things.
    Anyway, i think i have to try and focus on the small things, on the fact that even the smallest gesture can count and it’s good to make them, to make even the smallest difference.
    The ornaments are really lovely and we do need the reminders of the good things too.
    I have only skimmed over the ‘message from above’ so far 🙂 i am trying to pace the little bits to enjoy in my own time in a way so that it’s not over too soon.

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    • Message from above… *lol* Refers both to “above the clouds” and to “the one we look up to”? 😉
      The news last night were devastating. A huge shock, however much this otherwise elusive awareness of danger is present in the back of our minds. And then I watched a truly, TRULY heartbreaking video from Aleppo that made me cry uncontrollably because it just hurt so much to see that kind of human suffering. What hurts me most in all this, is that I feel so helpless. Yes, I can donate, and I can spread the word, but all that seems so futile. As if it doesn’t count because all my donations and calls have not resulted in an end to this senseless violence, terror and suffering. At the same time, I feel humbled and ashamed, for being concerned with my own comforts, for thinking of presents rather than change. I know that me cancelling Christmas is not going to make a difference to Aleppo or Berlin or Afghanistan. But I can’t help but wonder whether I have the wrong priorities. I have seldom felt as helpless and as hopeless as now…

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      • It is senseless but i think although we can’t do the big things we can do little ones, we may not be able to make a change for whole people but we can make a difference to a person and even that has to count. I’ve seen the channel 4 videos too and seen a series of documentaries on the beeb as well, the story is the same sadly, city and people in ruin 😦 They need shelter, protection from the cold, food, hopefully even with a little bit we can do a tiny bit about that.

        As to the one above, ah well, just a human like us after all 🙂 As he says himself. With same fears and worries.

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  6. I still remember where I was when terrorists attacked the US on US soil on 9/11. For a too short, brief time, ALL Americans stood together and dared anyone to try that shit again. We weren’t left, right, conservative, liberal, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, Atheist, Buddhist, black, white, red, yellow.. we were Americans. Sad that it took that for us to stand together. And sadder that we fell back into disarray in too short a time.

    Congrats to Lady Grayse. This isn’t a post to be considered part of the raffle.

    PS – Check your email darling. There is something LARGE and special in it for you!

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  9. Reblogged this on Opera is Magic and commented:
    Today’s raffle and message 🙂 & plea from me too.
    Please consider giving what you can to help the children in Syria who are facing harsh winter conditions (see details in message below from UNICEF ambassador Ewan McGregor):

    The children of #Aleppo and #Syria are trapped in a living nightmare. Visit https://t.co/6TOc9FGty3 and help @unicef_uk reach more children.— Ewan McGregor (@mcgregor_ewan) December 16, 2016

    //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

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  10. Lovely ornaments – we have an R in the family, but I wouldn’t want him to think they had anything to do with him 😉

    Sorry you got spoilered for BS. Having not been watching and only following by the tweetalongs I ended up furiously trying to find out a certain fact, which took me all morning (on and off – I was supposed to be working).

    Having been living in London when the IRA were very active I quite agree, vigilance but not fear. And not assuming everyone ‘different’ is bad.

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    • Damn, if R is not really someone you want to be associated with… Theoretically, the thing could always be hidden in the closet or something like that, though. For secret peeps, when getting dressed 😉
      Have seen the show in the meantime, so I have cooled down a bit. It’s all difficult – and ultimately one’s own responsibility. I was as angry about myself as about the spoilers.
      Vigilance, not fear – that’s a good way of saying it. That’s as far as I want to go, because I refuse to give up the sense of innocence and the belief in good (rather than evil)! Peace!

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      • R is my son – so happy to associate with him, but I can imagine the arguments between him and his sister …

        Very much believe in good – and in the need for each of us to contribute to positive peace.

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  11. [not an entry] Voll d’accord, was es das Predigen angeht. And Twitter has been rendered increasingly impossible to use for the Armitage fandom because its filtering functions are so primitive. No matter how I use it, I see stuff I would rather not and miss stuff I would rather see.

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      • The biggest problem w/r/t to BSt spoilers IMO was someone who has Armitage’s full name in her handle. (This is a problem in other contexts, too, because she tweets about all kinds of things that have nothing to do with Armitage from that same account.) Theoretically one could just filter that person out. But if one actually wanted the news as well … well, she provides a lot of that. And you can’t filter by word combination (something that annoys me about FB as well). And of course Twitter can’t distinguish *between* different Armitages — it’s really a puzzle because actually library computers do this routine filtering all the time, so I don’t see why social media (private companies — in theory, they should have better engineers at work) can’t do the same. Instead they reduce us all to a common denominator of information that is increasingly useless.

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        • I see what you mean. The trouble with that is, that Twitter’s algorithm reacts into the engagement that individual tweets receive. So when it orders the TL after you have been away from the internet for a few hourse, it shows you the “most relevant” tweets first, based on your interactions, as much as interests. However, when you refresh again, it should actually revert to the reverse chronological order it used to have prior to the change. So that is the advice – keep refreshing the page, so that the original, reverse chronological order is reinstated.

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  13. Those ornaments are great! But, I’m afraid my family would know who the R is! Might have to have my own hidden tree (shrine)! As to spoilers, I haven’t been able to watch the BS series yet… but yes I saw a major spoiler yesterday! Arggh!

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  14. So sweet of you to be doing this(not an entry)….We all suffered when Berlin did, but we must remain fearless and strong and offer support no matter how far away we are….Merry Christmas to everyone……

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  15. Pingback: The Twelve Days of Christmas – Day 9 [Raffle] | Guylty Pleasure

  16. Wie nett! Dieses Jahr kann ich zum ersten Mal meine wunderbare und absolut einzigartige Thorin-Weihnachtsbaumkugel der kreativen Künstlerin Sxxx aufhängen – hah! Ganz egal was meine kids sagen werden….. :-)))

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    • Grins – endlich. Und hey, die sollen sich mal nicht aufregen. Es handelt sich dabei ja schließlich um Thorin, wenn ich mich recht erinnere? Als Hobbit-Fan dürfte *das* ja wohl erlaubt sein… (Man muss ja nicht erzählen, dass man für den Mann unter der Maske auch gewisse Empfindungen hegt *grins*)

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  17. Pingback: Post-Christmas Bling Has Arrived! | preoccupiedwitharmitage

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