Christmas countdown day 9: consider the crown

Re-enchanting's Justin Brierley shares his cultural moment of the year, and we dig deeper into the theme of royal crowns.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A medieval illustration of King David being anointed by Samuel

Samuel anoints David king. An early 14th century illumination from the Vaux Psalter.

Lambeth Palace Library.

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The Christmas Countdown

It’s the season to be jolly, stressed, and all round Christmassy. On the Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast, we’re here for you with our Aloud Christmas Countdown!

Every day in December, we’ll drop some of the best seasonal content from Seen & Unseen Aloud. From how to survive Christmas, reviews of the best Christmas movies and the origin story of Santa Claus.

For when you’ve got your hands full of mince pies and baubles, but you still want to hear some thoughtful content, subscribe to Seen & Unseen Aloud for the Christmas Countdown.

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Throughout the year, the Seen & Unseen Aloud brings you the week’s best articles, in a short 20 minute podcast episode. Browse the index for episodes from Seen & Unseen Aloud, Re-enchanting and GodPod.

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Podcast

Hospitality

Podcasts

Re-enchanting

26 February 2025

1 min read

Jo Swinney: re-enchanting... hospitality

Jo talks about how sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A woman sits at a table and talks with a microphone on a stand in front if her,

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Jo Swinney is director of communications for the Christian environmental conservation charity A Rocha International.

Jo's parents Miranda and Peter Harris were the founders of A Rocha. Miranda's tragic death in 2019 was a shock to all those who knew her. Jo’s book ‘A Place At The Table: Faith, hope and hospitality’ pairs her own words with writings she discovered of her mother’s to celebrate her life and to explore how sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

Justin and Belle hear about the events the led up to Jo writing the book and how we can re-enchant the gift of hospitality in an increasingly lonely world.