Features Sneak Peek: December 19, 2020 Issue
It’s time to get yourself comfy and make yourself a cuppa as we take a sneak peek have 144 pages packed with magical reading in our latest issue.
Join Neil McAllister as he visits charming Chatsworth, the stately home in Derbyshire. The house is full of festive spirit as they deck the halls ahead of Christmas.
We will also take in Cavendish Chapel and visit the magnificent Painted Hall. Simply stunning.
All Of The Reindeer
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From Rudolph to real reindeer, Laura Brown shares some facts about Santa’s favourite animal.
They’re used for transport, milk and meat and their pelts are made into warm winter clothes.
Reindeer can also see in ultraviolet lights, the cause of snow blindness in humans. Father Christmas simply couldn’t do his job without them.
Let The Bells Ring Out
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Our Marion explores the appeal of the noisy, age-old, tradition of bells at Christmas time.
From carols to literature, this little instrument has many links to this time of year, and the chimes of bells put smiles on the faces of little children who associate the sound with Santa and his reindeer.
Dogs With Jobs
Photograph by Copas Traditional Turkeys.
With Christmas fast approaching, Lorna Cowan meets a working cocker spaniel — and turkey guardian — called Patch.
She looks after around 30,000 birds at Kings Coppice Farm near Cookham, Berkshire. As the welfare of the birds is extremely important, their guardian needs to be instinctive, agile and not become over-excited.
Good-natured Patch fits the bill perfectly.
Christmas Customs
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Forget the Yule log or leaving a carrot for Rudolph — Gilly Pickup shares some rather-more exciting festive traditions.
One Welsh tradition, plygain, sees people staying awake until it is time to go to church — between three and six a.m. on Christmas Day. People make toffee to keep themselves from falling asleep and invite visitors to make an evening of it, with games and storytelling.
Elsewhere in the magazine, we have so many other features that it’s not possible to list them all here. From features to fiction and cookery to craft, there is plenty here to keep you entertained.
We’ll see you in two weeks’ time for another Sneak Peek.
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