Trendsetting

I went back a year in my blog to see what I wrote about my glögg party and was disappointed to discover that I didn't. I have a clear memory of having a party in this house, with the fire burning, candles, saffron buns and gingerbread that Julia and I had baked during her visit the previous weekend, but apparently it wasn't reflected in my blog. There is, however, a post from two years ago, when we were still living in Chesterton, and the guests were crammed in the tiny living room, but presumably enjoyed it anyway.

Lucia party was my first encounter with Sweden and its traditions - goodness, twenty nine years ago in a few days. Our friend Dalia had her traditional Lucia year after year, and we never missed it except when we lived in California.There, however, Lucia had been claimed by Anne-Charlotte Harvey, Professor of Drama at SDSU, who maintained her Swedishness that way. It feels therefore highly satisfactory to have set a tradition here in Cambridge with a Swedish glögg party that, I think, has now been imprinted in people's minds. This year we have moved it a week because I am away next weekend, and after that everybody will be away. Nothing wrong with it: it is actually Second Advent Sunday tomorrow. For the first time in my life I am making a non-alcoholic glögg for the non-drinking friends. Hope it tastes ok. Otherwise I discovered that I was out of genuine glögg spices and sent Staffan to get cinnamon sticks and dried ginger while I rummaged cupboards in search of cloves, and of course found a bag of Swedish glögg mix that had been hiding. Staffan also bought mulled wine mix to be on the safe side, but that's beyond my dignity.