It hardly seems like a couple of weeks since we were dookin’ for apples in preparation for Halloween, but it’s already mid-December, and it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Our evening students started off our Christmas celebration by having fun at The William Wallace pub.
This year’s Christmas party at the Stirling School of English was another celebration of seasonal cheer and festive fun, with students and staff once again providing the entertainment. It was a joyful occasion in which everyone had the chance to put their talents to good use!
Jeremy and Carolyn 
the quiz 
the quiz 
the quiz
After racking our brains with Duncan’s Scottish and Christmas-themed quiz, we enjoyed a delightful musical interlude from Jeremy and Carolyn on flute and violin. Cheryl’s intermediate group then provided some laughter with their limericks, and this was followed by Alfredo and his band of hispanohablantes performing some traditional Christmas songs in Spanish. ¡Qué gran actuación!
Reindeer game 
Lore with 12 days of Christmas 
The Spanish Speakers 
Limericks
As if to get us in the mood for the traditional sprouts-and-all Christmas dinner, Duncan and his evening intermediate class presented their turkey poem, before Lore led us through The Twelve Days of Christmas. Rather than five gold rings, the next part of the proceedings involved four inflatable hoops. The pre-intermediate group introduced the legendary “Inflatable Reindeer Antler Ring Toss Party Game”: a true test of skill, sporting prowess and hand-eye coordination. To be honest, it wasn’t a high-scoring competition, but we’ve all got plenty of time to get some practice in before next December. Good effort all round, though!
Following Richard and Bill’s Christmas medley on piano and saxophone, Margaret and the upper-intermediate and advanced students presented their Christmas tableau. With students and tutors in full costume (and Richard’s dog, Lottie, playing a sheep) they entertained us with an imaginative retelling of the Nativity story. (Watch out for those grumpy camels!)
Every Christmas celebration needs a carol or two, and so we had a fabulous multi-lingual performance of Silent Night, sung beautifully in English, Spanish, Polish, German and Italian. Jeremy’s conversation class recited Longfellow’s thought-provoking American Civil War poem Christmas Bells,and from Christmas Bells we moved onto the Christmas Alphabet, sung by the tutors. After hearing about “candy trimmed around the Christmas tree” and“icing on the cake as sweet as sugar cane”, it was fortune that it was then time for some party food! We enjoyed a wonderful selection of tasty treats,including festive favourites such as mince pies, stollen and Brussels sprout-flavoured crisps. Well, perhaps the sprout crisps aren’t (and never willbe) a festive favourite, but everything else was fantastic. With our paper plates piled high with biscuits, cake and other goodies, we then had the chance to relax, mingle, and chat about our plans for the holidays.
It’s fair to say everyone had a great time, and it was a wonderful way to finish the semester. Thank you very much to all the students and staff for making this event such a success, and of course, special thanks to our master of ceremonies, Ilona, for all the planning, preparation and organisation. Great work!
So, as the year draws to a close, it’s time for us to chuckanother log on fire, enjoy some time with family and friends, and recharge ourbatteries in readiness for the new term starting on 8 January (not forgetting theBurns Supper and Ceilidh on the 24th!). Until then, as Judy Garland sang inMeet Me in St. Louis (ask Richard), have yourself a merry little Christmas!
Kevin
Stirling School of English SCIO 