MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL.
Christmas past reminds me of Charles Dickens, Marley, Baa Humbug, Little Tim and conjures up memories of my own Christmas pasts. As a child I loved the hype surrounding the festivities; from my mother mass-producing clootie dumplings for friends and relatives, lining up the dumplings by the fire to dry off and form a skin; to the letter(s) posted up the chimney to Father Christmas and hoping they wouldn’t catch fire on the way; a real tree with tinsel and decorations and tut-tutting from my parents at the amount of needles that fell off and had to be cleared away; the smell of delicious cooking and longing for the big day to arrive.
How tightly I closed my eyes to force sleep and bring morning even closer! The excitement of waking up to find a stocking at the foot of the bed, mysteriously filled as I slept; a tangerine in the heel, an apple, colouring-in pencils and all sorts of treasures had me screaming in delight. Life was so much simpler then. And then the big present, a doll or pram , a board game, perhaps a compendium of games such as ludo, snakes and ladders draughts and a book. Yes, life was good growing up in the ’50’s. So, however you celebrate Christmas, I join with Little Tim in saying:
MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE AND ALL