The Fourteenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 11th December. Wednesday. Woeful Wednesday and I have a cold. My nose is dripping. I don't feel very Christmasy with a leaky nose.

Reminds me of the Spike Milligan Poem:

My Nose:

My nose, my nose lived dangerously,
It's courage was no stunt,
And in the war in Germany,
It was always out in front,

But when the battle was o'er,
And we had defeated the Hun,
Suddenly, for no reason at all
My nose started to run.

Well, I can't run away from Christmas, unless I sit in the bomb shelter or hike up a mountain.

Handkerchiefs were normally made of cotton or a cotton blend. A square piece of tissue that was hemmed around the four edges. Used for wiping the face, the nose and even blowing the nose. They are not always that hygienic!


The paper tissue was used in 1920s and over the years refined. Today it is a common household item and one that has helped stem the spread of disease.


Probably the worst plague of all was the Black Death, 1348–50 CE. The estimates are that between 75 and 200 million people died from the pandemic. A rather large proportion of the population at the time!

Now you don't need to carry a posy of roses around with you, just sneeze into a tissue instead.

BAH HUMBUG

I wonder if the eleven pipers piping are using tissues to blow their nose and wipe their mouths? Piping can be a bit of a spitty past-time.