Counting down to Christmas
Forget your supermarket advent calendars this Christmas — The University of Nottingham is launching a free calendar with an interactive twist. From the first day of December through to Christmas Day, the University's Digital Advent Calendar will revive some unusual stories and seasonal memories from Nottinghamshire and beyond; ranging from Christmas spent as a prisoner of war and digging for victory; to forgotten festive recipes and rare pieces of music performed by our own students. Also included are rarely seen images of Victorian Nottingham residents ice skating on the River Trent — from the record-breaking winter of 1895. The calendar will include videos, audio material, pictures, blog posts and digital manuscripts. A new item from the calendar will be released every day and will be hosted on our blog http://tiny.cc/uonadvent - Digital Officer Debs Storey is in charge of putting the calendar together: "It really does unearth some brilliant Christmas stories," she says. "As well as celebrating Christmas, we're also promoting Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University, who hold a vast number of historical collections in their extensive archives." - The campaign launches with a recording of a little-known piece of 18th Century music; Glee for Three Voices, composed by John Percy. "The piece is from our collection of early music," says Dorothy Johnston, Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections.
