Christmas Eve on a Victorian Carrier's Cart (1880) | A Cozy Christmas Sleep Story

It is Christmas Eve, 1880, in a small Herefordshire market town, and the carrier Tom Bevan sets out with his daughter Nell and their grey mare Bramble on the long round of the valley, brass lamps lit and parcels wrapped in brown paper and string. This is a long, slow, cozy Christmas sleep story: a gentle voice, a quiet pace and no sudden sounds, made for the late hours. Stop by stop come hampers from the London train, a post office full of Christmas cards, mince pies by a farm range, mistletoe in old orchards, holly in a candlelit church and a little tree hung with gilded walnuts, while one small parcel tied with red wool waits under the seat for the last gate. Draw up a blanket and ride the quiet valley road home. WHAT YOU WILL HEAR • A long, calm Christmas sleep story told slowly, with a quiet ending • Village carriers and their lamplit carts, the penny post, Christmas hampers by rail, tea grown cheap enough for every kitchen, mince pies, Christmas crackers, school paper chains, holly in the church, a candlelit tree, Christmas boxes and a stocking with an orange and nuts • No sudden sounds, no loud music ABOUT THIS STORY The story is set in Herefordshire, England, in 1880, with one memory reaching back to 1846; the town of Wenbury, the village of Long Fenton, the carrier, his daughter and everyone on the round are imagined, while the objects and many of the customs are real, and a few details are the story's own choices (a printed Christmas card reaching a Herefordshire village in 1846, a Christmas box given on Christmas Eve rather than Boxing Day, and the bell practice at Long Fenton). Some details are simplified for the story. #christmasstory #sleepstory #victorianchristmas