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Wonderful post as always. I can imagine the satsuma candle smell must have complemented your photos nicely!

Your post puts me in mind of the various references to candles in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, from Scrooge’s refusal to light one as he climbs the stairs because: “Darkness is Cheap and Scrooge likes it”, to the clerk trying to “warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of a strong imagination, he failed”, to Cratchit’s wife blaming the candlelight for her weak eyes trying in vain to disguise her tears for Tiny Tim.

Light is such a basic need at this time of darkness it is no wonder that almost all cultures and religions have some festival of light at this time to brighten our seasons and amazing to think that as recently as 100 years ago arranging to acquire the fuel to bring that light was still a major task in most parts of the world. Maybe it still is.

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