A Dickensian Christmas.

Hi! :) This piece of writing was inspired when I was watching A Christmas Carol on t.v the other day. I thought it'd be a great idea to create my own scene which could easily fit into the story. 
“Come and get your potatoes! Freshly baked!” a puny man shouted. The dimly-lit streetlamps glowed spookily, looming down upon the bustling crowds. Grotty chimneys churned out smoky air. This mixed with the stench horses’ dung, and the snow covered pavements, made for a very unpleasant walk down Bell Street. It was no wonder that women waved their laced handkerchiefs around as they rifled through chestnuts from the back of a cart. 

Across the road, a huge hog was turning on a spitfire. Pink flesh slowly turning into a crispy golden brown. A growling fire sending sparks here and there. Pale geese, rabbits and ducks hung from the butcher’s ceiling, all four limbs splayed out, still in death. Skinless and bare. 

The waft of mulled wine clashed with the winter air. Cinnamon and star aniseed, and clementine and lemons, sugar and cloves. The warmth of the sugar and spice freshening up the pollution. Raucous laughter rang throughout the nearby pub, as bright red wine gushed out of wooden barrels. The metallic clanking of tankards clashed with the trotting of horses hooves on the cobbled street, and this added to the constant ringing of shop bells, which met with the sound carol-singers, not to mention the constant calling of market holders! Altogether, it was very lively and somewhat overwhelming.  

Smooth parcel paper covered rich Christmas puddings, and tied up with string. A little fruity plump secret, held excitedly in a father’s hands. He could feel the squidgy soft fruit, alcohol and cake in his fingers as he looked on satisfyingly at his two babes giggling away at a Punch and Judy show. “Stop! Stop!” Sigh. His thoughts wandered to the woody nuts and apples his little ones would find once they unwrapped the little boxes nestled under their Christmas tree. Christmas was going to be spectacular. Children clapping and cheering brought him back to the street. “Papa! Look at those toys!” 

A shop front boasted a glorious feast for any child’s eyes! As the carol singers looked longingly through one of the little frosted pane windows, they saw beautiful carousels with hand-painted gold swirls and blue horses bobbing up and down to twinkling music. Wooden spinning tops that sat innocently and rainbow coloured kites, just wanting to soar into the sky! A row of dolls with pink lips and brown button eyes waited sensibly till little girls would cradle them. An army of wooden soldiers stood in a row, next to the pile of bows and arrows.  

The dingy alleyways gave many opportunities for crooks to deal away stolen goods. Away from the young darlings huddled near a shop front chirruping ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’. The occasional “Chink!” of shiny shillings thrown onto the cobbled floor. 

Did you enjoy my creative writing? If so, then feel free to leave a comment below!

Credit: https://www.bbc.co.uk