By the time you read this, Santa will (hopefully) have
arrived for us. His helpers have
certainly been busy. We got the tree up,
and finished decorating it just as my mother and our friend arrived to spend
Christmas with us. As we decorated the
tree, my wife pointed out one ornament in particular, a bell that her parents
gave us a few years ago. They purchased
it in Harrods Department store in London.
At the time, I knew little about the famous department store, other than
what I had picked up in watching British TV shows. I had caught a few glimpses of Harrods, such
as in “Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean,” when Mr. Bean causes chaos among the staff while
doing his holiday shopping, and accidentally extinguishes all the store’s
exterior lights while testing a package of lights before he buys them. When I first watched the episode, I didn’t
realize that the store was Harrods, I just thought it was an ordinary
department store. Nor did I have any
reason to believe that Harrods was different from any other department
store. In an episode of “Take a Letter,
Mr. Jones,” the title character, a secretary played by John Inman, picks up a
few items at Harrod’s before he leaves for vacation. He’d hardly shop there, to pick up a few
ordinary items, if it were the most extravagant store in London!
As Harrods had been referenced so often in British TV shows,
we decided to visit it last
year, on our final evening in London. The store is decorated in an Egyptian motif,
and while the individual shopping areas are lit well, the common areas, such as
the escalators, are cast in darkness. We
also found it difficult to navigate the store; we felt as if we were exploring
an ancient labyrinth. Suddenly, I knew
how Indiana Jones might feel, creeping through an Egyptian pyramid, without a
map to guide him. At least we didn’t
have to worry about the floor giving way beneath our feet, or spikes hurtling
out of the wall to impale us!
Nevertheless, our search for treasure had been rewarded, as the prices
of everything seemed higher than we could afford, in many cases, extravagantly
so. I guess the old saying is true, that
you can find about anything you might want to buy in Harrods. Unfortunately, it’s seems equally true that
most people may not be able to afford most of the items in the famous
store. At any rate, after awhile, we tired
of exploring the busy store, and sought escape. But how?
We felt so turned around and closed in, and like England’s roads, no
signs gave us the directions we craved.
Just like Indiana Jones running down dusty corridors, followed closely
by flying knives or giant boulders, our pulses raced as we traveled up and down
the escalators, ducking into various departments, in a frantic search to get
our bearings, and thus find an exit to the street.
Now I know the bell ornament's true worth. My in-laws braved the vast, dark labyrinth of
Harrods for us, and paid dearly for such a small, seemingly ordinary item. We shall treasure it all the more.
On this year's trip to Florida, my wife picked up several little
shells. These, she said, were called
Jingle Shells. Apparently, they derive
their name from the sound the shells make when strung together as a chime. More intriguingly, the shells supposedly make
this sound when the waves wash over them on the beach. We never heard the jingle sound during our
relaxed wanderings, but the shells were pretty.
So, even though we have several containers of shells from previous
trips, we selected a few and brought them back with us. Perhaps we’ll make a wind chime with them
next year. It may not be as dear as our
Harrods Bell, but still, it’d be nice.
Wherever you are as you read this, I wish you a pleasant day,
filled with family, friends, and much happiness. May your holiday ring with love, laughter, and
all the good things in life. May Santa
bring you something as meaningful as a Harrods’ Bell, or something as simple, and yet as pretty, as our musical Jingle Shells.
Dragon Dave
Related Internet Links
Watch Merry, Christmas, Mr. Bean on Youtube
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