Another (easier) competition.

[Bo Peep]

This is not really a competition as there is not a correct answer exactly, but there will be a prize.

I would like to know what is your most favourite memory or part of Christmas or, if you do not celebrate Christmas, a favourite special occasion.

The competition is open to all members, one entry per person and entries to be posted on this thread.

Frank and I will choose the winner and the prize will be the, 'Origins of Popular Superstitions, Customs & Ceremonies' CD.

So that we can mail the CD in time for Christmas, the competition will close at noon (UK time) on Monday, 17th. December.

There, I told you this one was easy, didn't I?

[Ladkyis]

Can I claim an extra prize for noticing that this competition ended before it began?
You put it up at 10.53pm today - that's Thursday 13th December 2007 and tell us it ends at noon on Thursday 13th Decmber.
I will put a story on it though

A

[Neil Wilson]

the competition will close at noon (UK time) on Thursday, 13th. December.

There, I told you this one was easy, didn't I?
Bo - you posted this on Thursday 13th at 1053pm, have you the date wrong?

Anyway, my memory is for some reason Brussels Sprouts always come out at Christmas boiled for ages and then thrown in the bin.

Honestly, the best bit is seeing the young lads eyes light up at all their presents, then turn round and play with their old toys :confused:

[Bo Peep]

Okay, okay! So my brain is in meltdown. I will go and alter the date now.

[Ladkyis]

My most favourite memory is, of course, my children. My daughter follows her mother as the theatrical one and at the age of seven she was going through the playwriting stage. She told us that she would entertain us after our dinner and she roped in her two younget brothers to help.

the play was about a good fairy and a bad fairy who were always trying to outdo each other. The bad fairy (played by Andrea) banished Michael, the eldest boy, to Toyland and he dutifully went to the corner of the dining room and sat down next to the Welsh dresser.
The good fairy arrived and explained that she could not undo the banishment spell without help and she had a special magic ring that she needed one of the audience to hold. She gazed at each of us and chose her grandfather to be the special helper. UNfortunately grandfather had drunk a little brandy after his dinner and this always put the divil into my dad.
He accepted the ring (from a cracker) turned it over in his hand and then in one of those swiftness-of-the-hand-deceives-the-eye moments he put his hand to his mouth, gulped loudly and with a quick flourish turned his hands palm upwards to show that
THE RING WAS GONE!
The good fairy was most dipleased "Sir," she said, ad-libbing desperately, "I trust that you have not swalloed the precious magic ring."
"Wasn't I supposed to eat it?" asks Dad
"Oh Granddad! you've spoilt my play now!" she wailed, all thought of performance forgotten.
"Oh Bernard," said my mum "don't spoil it for them"
Then it happened. into that few seconds of silence before the good/bad fairy writer porducer exploded in seven year old tears her five year old brother asked
"How will I EVER get out of Toyland now, Granddad?"

There were many more Christmas meals in that dining room but they have all faded into each other. I have told my grandchildren this tale and will tellit many more times I hope it has become a part of our Christmas mythology and it reinforces a really good memory of my Dad before age and infirmity turned him into a miserable curmudgeon.

[Nicos]

I used to love going in to my young children's bedrooms to give them a final kiss around midnight Xmas eve and see them sleeping soundly.
Peaceful and sweet smelling, gathering their energies for the exciting day ahead.
The feeling of calm,pride,joy and achievement for our all our lives, and realising just how lucky we are has never been quite as focused as those magical moments....now sadly gone.
Grasp the moment eh??;)

[Copper]

Some people do not celebrate Xmas so have no memories.

[Bo Peep]

I have to admit that I hadn't considered that. How about we include memories of any special occasion, too?

[Sheridanfine]

My favourite memories of Christmas span ten years although I really cant't remember the first few of those years...Christmas Eve was the day that we (my five siblings and I) spent our day making paper chains and lanterns. Mom would be preparing vegetables and Dad was working and when he finished his day he would go to the markets in Birmingham and wait for the traders to be finishing their day and get the tree and turkey for the cheapest price, even for nothing if he was very lucky.

Our Christmas Eve evening was spent trimming the tree and living room with our wonderful homemade decorations and what absolute excitement was building within us. One year although I cannot remember exactly which one...Dad didn't get a turkey and he and Mom were very sad with mom crying and dad jollying us on with our decorations. All was not lost though as dad's pals "Uncles" Ted and Stan arrived with a turkey. We were all in bed and wide awake listening to all the adults laughing excitedly and for the only time we were called downstairs to join in the fun for a short time.


My Dad was American and in his family, Christmas didn't start until Christmas Eve so we grew up with the same rituals. He died 19th December 1961 age 46 and I was eleven years old.

I would still love to wait until Christmas Eve before starting the Christmas festivities such as putting up the decoraions and doing the shopping but we live in different times and the financial restrictions for me personally aren't as urgent and although I love every single Christmas, my childhood ones were so very special.

[jeanettemarie]

My favourite memory is on Christmas Eve after we had crept quietly into the childrens bedrooms and put the toys at the bottom of their beds without a sound, then going to bed ourselves, only to be woken up an hour later by two excited children, and our bed covered in their presents, being covered in wrapping paper, and then they both snuggle down and went to sleep with big smiles on their faces.
Christmas Eve is now quiet, but I still smile about how it used to be.:)

[mary elms]

I have always loved Advent - the advent music with it's ancient yet timeless feel. The sense of anticipation - of waiting for something magical to happen as we count the days and weeks on advent calendars and rings. And then Christmas Eve - the day that as children we decorated the house. It was a very special day as we prepared the house to welcome Father Christmas and to receive the Christ Child.

As we grew older there was midnight communion - a service which, even as a child, I loved far more than the service on Christmas morning. And then somewhen during the night, as we were tucked up asleep (and only when we were) the presents arrived - a stocking by our bed and a pile of goodies under the tree. The stocking we could open the moment we woke up - the pile of goodies had to wait until after lunch and even then had to be opened in an orderly fashion with due appreciation for the people who had given them.

After we moved to Leeds, Boxing Day meant that Dad would go out to the pensioners' lunch and we would prepare a concert for when he got back with a proper programme that we had painted and written up beforehand. One year Grandpa and Dad arrived back with a girl, about 7 yrs old. They'd found her hitch-hiking. She'd gone out for the day with her older sister and at some point they had seperated and she'd been left to find her own way home. Home turned out to be the other side of Leeds - she was miles away. It was decided that the concert should wait whilst Grandpa and Dad took her home. When they got there, she stayed out in the car whilst Dad checked the situation out then she went in. None of us wanted to be in the older sister's shoes when she got home!

I still love Advent and Christmas. The decorations still go up on Christmas Eve and the presents are still opened after lunch. There's no longer a tree - I have a basket that I wove out of strips of old cardboard boxes and painted and decorated with a ribbon round the top and sequins all over it, to contain the presents. My parents now come to us for Christmas and I go to midnight communion then stay at home with Dad (who has dementia and finds noisy crowds difficult) whilst the others go to morning service. There's no longer a stocking at the foot of my bed and there's no longer a concert. But the magic is still there - it's never gone and I can't imagine it ever doing so!

Mary.

[Dave]

Only one sticks from recent memory

Christmas 1989 my Dad, who has not been well, announced "I want ALL the family for Christmas Lunch"

Well we did, , the Kitchen had 4 woman sorting cooking, Dad offering Chocolate and booze to all

I think 35 of us, 3 tables all around

Did Dad know this was to be his last big family gathering?

He passed away peacefully 3 Feb 1990, we have not all been together since

Dave

[busyglen]

I've always enjoyed Christmas, but not having children of our own, we've always made the most of our nieces and nephews. However....one Christmas neither my husband and I can ever forget was really special, and it was 30 years ago, and at a time when money was scarce.

A couple of close friends, who also don't have children, invited us into the Sussex countryside to spend Christmas with them in a small village. They lived in an idyllic cottage which sat in a hollow, surrounded by trees, on a small country estate, where they both worked. My friend had put up a Christmas tree, but no other decorations (it didn't really need it) and in the corner of the living room a roaring log fire blazed. On Christmas Eve, we decided to go to the local British Legion Club, a short walk away, and we left by the light of the moon, on a crisp frosty night. When we arrived the lights and the chatter were very welcoming, and it was a cosy place. The boys bought us a drink, and then moved into the Snooker room to watch a match being played, whilst my friend and I sat on stools at the end of the bar.

We chatted for quite a while, and then a lady went to the piano, which was next to where we were sitting. She started playing Christmas Carols and my friend and I (who both love singing) started to sing along with her. After a couple of carols, she passed the microphone to us, and we continued to sing for quite a while. It was such a relaxed, warm, and happy environment, that when she eventually stopped playing, we felt wrapped in a warm cloak of peace and contentment. After a couple of seconds, the whole place errupted in applause, and we were startled to realise that people were listening to us....so lost in our own world were we! When the boys joined us shortly afterwards, they said that they had enjoyed our singing! We hadn't realised that the microphone relayed to other rooms!

Later we walked back to the cottage by the eerie light of the hazy moon through the trees, and entered the cozy cottage. Bliss!

We spent a lovely Christmas day sharing the cooking and chores together, and then relaxing by the log fire talking over old times.

It's a time that we have never been able to replicate with the hustle and bustle of today...but that was the most peaceful and memorable Christmas we have ever had.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Glenys

[Ed Bradford]

My brother and I slept in the same room when we were children. On Christmas eve after he'd go to sleep, I'd get my sleeping bag out and curl up on the floor next to his bed so he would step on me when he got out of bed just in case he woke first on Christmas morning.

................Ed

[v.wells]

What lovely stories you all have written!:D

None of my memories can compare. I do remember one year there was a blizzard overnight and the snow was up over the back door and we had to go out the front door. All the cars were snowed in and I remember that my dad had to get a tow truck to pull the vehicles out of the drive so we could all shovel the snow! Then we opened presents probably late in the afternoon! We never had another snow storm like that.

I can only add that I love white Christmases especially when it's fresh snow and the Christmas lights are on and glistening all around! :D

[joette]

My best Christmas was 1985 the year we the family grew by two babies-one expected one not.
It was a hard year in October that year Granny was killed by a dangerous driver.She was a legend in her own time & although she could drive you mad with her dramatics & all she was dearly loved & greatly missed.
I really could not cope with her death especially as I was Nursing at the time in Geriatrics.I was off sick with depression & we were as a family looking forward to the birth of my elder sister's third child which was due around Christmas.
I went on a pre-Christmas visit to my younger sister & to help her eldest celebrate his 4th Birthday on the 22nd December & to take presents etc.
Anyway my sister had been skiiing the week before & was full of the joys except for the fact that she had discovered a "lump" in her stomach.We headed of to see the Dr with me coming along to look after her two children.Anyway to cut a long story short she was pregnant-"around 16-20 weeks"Great shock as she they had not planned another baby with already having two under four.
Went to the hospital where it transpired not only was she full-term but maybe even past full-term.As she has to have a Caesearan section to deliver it was decided she would have Christmas Day at home with the children & come in on Boxing Day to have the baby.
That evening she had stomach pains & remarked "Margaret must be in labour"Sure enough a call came before midnight to say Margaret had given birth to a little boy.
I was awoken at 6 A.M by my BIL to ask if I would go to the hospital with my sister whilst he went to work to sort out the office before Christmas. What she had thought were sympathetic pains with my sister was in fact the onset of her own labour. A friend took the two little ones & we headed off to the hospital where after a traumatic section my wee precious niece was born with me present & Daddy AWOL.(he hates hospitals).
I then had to head home collect the two wee ones,their clothes Santa presents,plus the pressies I had already brought through & catch three buses to my Mum's.I arrived in Glasgow with one sleeping toddler & being unable to contact anybody to come & meet me struggled into a cab with bag & baggage.As soon as we arrived & I saw my Mum I fell into her arms & booed my eyes out.
We then had to prepare the children for bed,hang up stockings(fill them first) & set up dolly & dolly's pram & train set before falling into bed.
All six of us had a wonderful Christmas Day(my two little brothers were still at home too).With the highlight being awoken at about 8(those kids loved to sleep) excitedly asking about Santa.
It was laughter mainly with a few tears thinking about Granny & knowing she would have loved to have been there to see the wee ones excitement.
Then my baby nephew came home Boxing Day & for the first six years of his life his older cousin was convinced that my elder Sister was looking after him for her younger sister & that he was his wee brother.

All will be clebrating in different parts of the World this year-Germany,USA & North of Scotland but when the 25th comes around we always talk about the year Santa brought an extra baby.This extra baby is at present living with me & she brings me as much joy today as she did all those years ago when I first held her on Christmas Eve.

[Sue Mackay]

The Christmas which stands out in my memory was 1970, simply because it was so different. Like many people I experienced magical Christmases as a child, and tried to carry on the family traditions in our own family after the birth of my son. 1970, however, was the only Christmas in nearly six decades that was not spent with my family.

I did my degree in Russian and in 1970-71 was awarded a British Council exchange scholarship to Moscow University for the academic year. This was at the height of the Brezhnev era and Soviet visa restrictions meant that I could not simply go home for Christmas. Of course December 25 was a normal working day in Moscow, as Christmas was not celebrated by the Communists and the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated on January 6th. We were a group of eight British exchange students, and we were 'farmed out' to various families from the British Embassy to have Christmas dinner, but it is actually Christmas Eve that I remember best.

The temperature outside was minus fifteen, but we spent the morning swimming in an open air pool!! The pool was heated, and you swam through a channel from the changing rooms, but if like me you swim with your head above the water you had to keep ducking it under to remove the icicles from your hair! Of course you could hardly see where you were going for steam, but it was most invigorating. When we came out we bought ourselves ice creams to warm ourselves up - it really did work, and my sheepskin gloves had grease stains on the fingers to prove how often I ate ice cream in the street in sub zero temperatures.

We then went in to the centre of town to book telephone calls back to our families from the central post office. It was quite difficult in those days but we managed to get through. My mother thought I had gone completely mad when I told her I had been swimming in the open air! Trudging back through the snow to the university we were all feeling a bit emotional, so we started singing carols. The Russians looked at us strangely at first, then smiled, and quite a few realised who we were and wished us a Merry Christmas.

Back at the university we made ourselves hot toddies and continued our impromptu carol concert, with a lot of our Russian friends joining in. It was hard being away from our families, but they were in our thoughts and the spirit of Christmas was very strong that night, with friendship and laughter in abundance.

[Barbara Wilkinson]

Lots of lovely stories - mine does not really compete, but I want to share it anyway ...!!!
My husband and I have always spent Christmas Eve with my cousin and her husband, and after they had children, it was always a meal at their house. They have two children and when they were about 5 and 6 years old, they were still up when we arrived - waiting for Father Christmas. Quick as a flash, my husband - who was a fireman at that time and happened to have his wellies in the boot of the car - left one of the wellies on the drive, surrounded by a dusting of icing sugar (I cannot remember why that was still in the car ...!!) and called to the children to come outside. They thought Father Christmas had lost one of his wellies as he passed overhead, realised that he must be about and that he would not stop unless they were asleep and shot off to bed!
Those children are now 35 and 36, one of them with children of his own, and this story is still talked about! The next generation believe it, just as their father and aunt did all those years ago. It was magical to see their faces, and hear their excited chatter - and still magical to hear their children talking about the night Father Christmas lost his boot!

[Cher]

My memory is of the 1st christmas of my triplets. They were born at 26wks in the October 1996(totally unexpected) so there 1 st christmas was in special care baby unit. Anyhow they each had a stocking and a pile of presents from well wishers on xmas morning and we had a little pressie from each(curtisy of the nurses). We got them dressed in there 1st little outfits and the last of my triplets on oxygen came off it that day. I will never forget the feeling of how lucky we were having all 3 alive. They came home just after New Year.

Cher

[Davran]

What lovely stories!

My early childhood was spent in S Africa, so Christmas was in the middle of summer. Being English we still did all the traditional things - tree, decorations, etc - but we had our full Christmas dinner in the evening with a tiny illuminated Christmas tree in the middle of the table.

I'm cheating now and adding another story of many, many years later. When the children were young I used to act as host/tutor to French students, who would come to England for English courses. We got very friendly with two families, who, although not related, are very close. One year, when the daughters were about 15 and 13, they all decided they would come to England for Christmas.

As they don't really celebrate Christmas much, we decided to make as traditional a Christmas as we could. All the usual food of turkey and trimmings, Christmas pudding, mince pies etc, etc and lots of presents. We are lucky enough to have an open fire, so we had that going as usual. One of the couples had to stay in a neighbour's house and I asked them to make sure they were at our house by 8.30 Christmas morning as I had arranged a surprise for them.

In our village we have a lovely tradition of a Father Christmas and Snowman who bring gifts to the house on Christmas morning on a hand-pulled sleigh (you leave them at a collection point a few days before), so I arranged for a delivery to our house. The French girls were absolutely delighted when they arrived and we have a photo of the younger one in Father Christmas's arms!

We had so much fun and laughter that year and everything went well, including a little snow on Boxing Day. We went on a guided walk the following day over the downs at Crundale. The air was crisp and cold, and the dusting of snow perfectly set off the beautiful countryside. We finished off with a traditional lunch in a 17th century pub - perfect.

[Mike_E]

My Christmas to remember is 1982. Falkland Islands, 8,000 miles from home and Christmas day fast approaching, no tree and no decorations. Ever resourceful, we chose to make our own tree.

Starting with a 3"x3" length of timber, some Mams tape (white material tape used to tie down cargo in aircraft) and some thick wire and a tin of Olive drab paint, we made our own tree. Painted some light bulbs, made a set of lights out of little bulbs from radio equipment, and got some tinsel and glitter sent down in red cross parcels from the folks back home, and hey presto, a tree. But this isn't my lasting memory, that is reserved for the Children of the Falkland Islands. The RAF and the Army held a Christmas party for the Children from Stanley (capital of the Falklands) which was held in a large tent, completed with party food, Christmas crackers, presents and Santa.

I often think of Christmas 82, and give thanks that I'm not spending Christmas overseas serving Queen & Country like so many of our service men & Women. Please spare a thought for them this year, and perhaps raise a glass and wish them all well when you sit down to dinner on the 25th.


Our Tree,

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x119/K1200Rider/falklandstree.jpg

Christmas Party

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x119/K1200Rider/falklands2.jpg

[Geoffers]

I often think of Christmas 82, and give thanks that I'm not spending Christmas overseas serving Queen & Country like so many of our service men & Women. Please spare a thought for them this year, and perhaps raise a glass and wish them all well when you sit down to dinner on the 25th.

God bless them, every one

[Ladkyis]

Christmas 1991 my son went to Saudi on December 22nd and we held our breath until the telephone call in February 1992 to say he was safe in Cyprus and on his way home. We ALWAYS take a moment before our meal to pause and think of all those boys - and they are boys when they first go out there - and I send special thoughts to the mothers who are putting on a brave face until their boy comes home.

Fast forward to this year and with only 200 + a cough and a spit days to complete his 22 years they sent my boy out to freaking Iraq! no matter that there were three others who were desperate to go and were also qualified for the job. No it had to be my boy. He went, he did what had to be done and last week I had a text message from him that said "In Cyprus, Home soon Luv Michael"
So he has finally come home from toyland after 35 years LOL

[Mutley]

Chocolate baubles covered in foil hanging on the tree,
An angel, a father Christmas, a snowman,
Three daughters asking, "can we have one please?"
Mum says "after dinner on Boxing Day - you have to wait."

Boxing Day arrives, Nanny and Grandad, Mum and Dad and the three girls preparing for dinner before Nanny and Grandad go home. The end of another lovely Christmas.

Mum says to Dad and Grandad, "I have a surprise for the girls, three silver identity bracelets engraved with their names. Please can you carefully unwrap the coloured foil on the chocolate, slice them open, insert the bracelets, seal them together and re wrap - carefully!

Mumble, mumble and off goes the men to do the deed in secret.

Nanny and Mum shout," Dinner is ready, on the table everyone"
Whisper to Dad and Grandad, "Have you done it?" "Yes, Yes" they say, "OK which one is which?"
A horrified silence, Dad turns to Grandad, "Do you know?" Grandad says "I'm blowed if I do, thought you did"
Nan says "How can we give a child a bracelet with someone else's name on?"

It was too late to do anything, the chocolate decorations sat, one by each of their plates and the grownups ate their meal with a sinking feeling of despair staring at tinfoil wrapped chocolates.
When dinner was finished the girls said "Can we, can we have our chocolate now?" - With a sigh, Mum says "Of course you can"

Then they started, "I really wanted the Angel, No, I wanted the Snowman, I prefer the Santa" The decorations went around and around the table. They made it into a game, the last bit of Christmas, they swapped and they swapped and they swapped. The grownups could not keep up, faster and faster until finally they settled, unwrapped the foil and bit into the chocolate.

We held our breaths, they smiled, we smiled, they each had their own name......

The eldest said "How did you do that" Mum said, "Ask Father Christmas, he is the only one in the world who could have managed that feat"

Nearly thirty years on, they still have those bracelets, and when their own children say, "Is there a Father Christmas?" they smile and say , "Of course there is" - THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS

[BeeE586]

My most memorable Christmas was almost thirty years ago, and although not my favourite, was the first one I spent alone after my husband had died and my son had left home. Quite frankly I was dreading it. I had been invited to stay with my sister, but she had two small boys and her husband who was a serving police officer would be at home on Christmas Day for the first time since they had been born - I did not want to intrude on such a special family gathering.

So what did I do ? Much as I would have done had I not been alone - dressed a tree, put up the holly and mistletoe and a few bits of tinsel etc. I was still teaching so had dozens of cards to hang and some presents from the children as well as from family. I had won a hamper in a church raffle with items specifically geared to one person - a tiny Christmas pudding, an iced cake about four inches square, miniature bottles of wine and scotch and various other goodies. Christmas Eve I went to the midnight service.

Christmas Day I got up as usual, breakfasted and opened my presents. I had six or seven 'phone calls from friends and family in distant parts, cooked and ate a chicken lunch with a glass or two of wine, followed by coffee and a liqueur and a small cigar. (I smoked in those days.) I read, watched TV, knitted, and transcribed part of a register I was working on at the time, had tea, watched a bit more TV and enjoyed a scotch and ginger ale. Eventually, I went to bed and decided I had not had such a bad day after all, in fact I had quite enjoyed it.

Life is what you make it, isn't it ?

Eileen

[Bo Peep]

Closing date is tomorrow, so to have a chance of winning, get posting now.

[Pam Downes]

This isn't about one Christmas, but about lots of Christmases at one place. Christmas dinner was always at home but then we'd go to Auntie Ivy and Uncle George's.
One year there were a couple of mum's other sisters and their children and grandchildren too, and there was great excitement when Father Christmas also paid us a visit. Having a squint didn't stop old eagle-eyes noticing that Father Christmas bore a striking resemblance to Uncle George but a fierce 'Shush, Brian and Linda don't realise' from my mum soon made me keep quiet.
There were always games suitable for children to play (though for the life of me I can't remember exactly what!) before we had tea. Auntie Ivy was like her mum - a wonderful pastry cook who made d-i-v-i-n-e puff pastry jam tarts and lemon curd tarts with home-made lemon curd. (My mum, bless her, couldn't make pastry to save her life. Always put too much water in.)
After tea, there were games geared towards older children and adults. My dad used to do one every year where about 3 weeks before Christmas he'd buy several copies of the Daily Telegraph (so it wasn't recent news), and then ask us questions such as 'To whom did Miss Cecilia Ponsonby-Smythe recently become engaged?' Trying to search the pages for the answer was a bit like trying to read a paper on rush-hour train. The reply always had to be preceded by the page number, and many were the disgruntled comments when someone forgot to give the page number and dad refused to give them a point. :)
We'd also have a game of housey-housey (bingo to the younger forum members!), threepence a go. There was a set of cards - white numbers on a green background - and dad always had the one numbered A5. Woe-betide anyone who inadvertently chose it. I always tried to pick one with 13 and 21 on it. There were all the old calls - '5 & 9, the Brighton line', 'shiny 10', etc, plus a few home-made ones. 'Church Road - 20' (where Ivy & George lived), and one year George got into trouble with 'All the fours - a pair of drawers', while my dad baffled everyone with 'One fat lady with a crutch' which turned out to be 87.:D
Later, out would come the cards and there'd be a game of Newmarket, before the serious stuff started - ha'penny brag. Although I wasn't playing at the time (either waaaay too young for gambling or else I'd already lost the shilling dad had given me!) I remember one particular game getting very serious. Everyone had dropped out and there was just my dad and Uncle George playing. The kitty had probably got up to two or three bob when eventually one of them decided to 'see you'. We all waited with bated breath to see what superb hands they both had. Such a laugh when one had nine-high and the other jack-high.:D I have a feeling that neither wife was impressed with such reckless gambling.
Magical days.

The Christmas present I really remember is the one I got when I was six and a half. I wanted a bike and a pram, but was told I could only have one. Now, a bike is no good in winter when the roads are a bit dicey, nor can you play with it indoors, so I opted for a pram. Came downstairs Christmas morning - pram over near the window. Very classy pram, beige, with a 'quilt' and pillowcase in blue with pink roses. The handle of the pram could be changed so you could push it with the doll facing you, or facing the big wide world, just like prams for real babies. It was a beautiful sunny day, and mum wanted to be left alone while she got dinner ready, so dad decided to take me to granny and granddad's on the other side of town. Everything was going fine till we got to the top of Tawney Street (how sad am I that I can remember such precise detail??? :eek: ) and the pram developed a squeak. That was bad enough, but to have dad then refuse to walk beside me rather rubbed salt into the wound. Fortunately granddad had an oil-can handy because I don't think I could have stood that squeak for the mile and a half walk back home!

Pam

[Geoffers]

It's not something that I have mentioned much, but since I'm among friends........My favourite Christmas Day was a good few years ago, when I was in my early 20s and still single. It was one of the few Christmas Days I didn't work. I finished a shift at 10pm on Christmas Eve and drove up overnight to the Lake District - the only time I've seen the M6 that empty. I parked up by the shore of Ullswater for a few hours kip and then went for a walk from Glenridding, over the fells - beautiful clear sunny day. I trotted over Gray Crag (considered by many to be a lesser fell, but it's my favourite) onto High Street and then Nan Bield Pass and down to Haweswater. Excellent Christmas lunch, of steak and eggs cooked on a Trangia, half bottle of red wine and a couple of mince pies; then back up Long Stile to High Street and along the ride to Angle Tarn, Chapel-in-the-Hause and down to Ullswater again - absolutely fantastic walk and met lot of great people including one dressed up as Father Christmas, who claimed to be lost and looking for his reindeer.

On the Gray Crag in the morning; I met an old chap with his large extended family. On chatting to them, I was told that the old man was in his 80s and climbed up a fell every Christmas morning with his family. He used to do a 'big one' like Helvellyn when he was younger (in his 70s) but had slowed down a little since then and now kept to the lower fells (Gray Crag is still over 2200 feet) - it was a privilege to meet the old boy and reminded me of a meeting on a fell 10 years earlier when I met a couple on Bow Fell who were on an anniversary holiday, walking the same routes they had followed on their honeymoon 50 years earlier. Happy Days on the fell.

[Bo Peep]

Crumbs! Frank and I did not expect this to be such a very difficult task. Wonderful stories and we are delighted you have shared them with us. Alas, there can only be one winner, and after much discussion (more like arguments!) and re-reading of posts, we have jointly chosen Mary Elms to receive the prize.

Mary, can you PM me your address, please and I will post the CD to you. Hopefully, you will receive it before Christmas.

[Sue Mackay]

Well done Mary - and on your birthday too! You will have to get up from that deckchair long enought to do a little jig :D

[Davran]

Congratulations, Mary!

Wasn't it a lovely competition - sharing all those different memories? But I'm glad I didn't have to judge it!

[Pam Downes]

and after much discussion (more like arguments!) and re-reading of posts, we have jointly chosen May Elms to receive the prize.
Oops, so much for 'tis the season to be jolly, and peace on earth goodwill to all men. :D
Have to agree with Davran that I wouldn't have liked to have been a judge - lovely memories from everyone.
And congratulations, Mary. You now have another item to put in the story of your life - "the year I won a prize". :)
Pam

[mary elms]

Well done Mary - and on your birthday too! You will have to get up from that deckchair long enought to do a little jig Am jigging! |jumphappy Thanks Pam and Frank! There were so many wonderful stories that it never occured to me that mine stood a chance. I certainly join with Davran's sentiment that I wouldn't have liked to judge it!

Mary.

[Mutley]

Congratulations Mary,
Will make your birthday an even more special event to remember.

Hope you enjoyed the day.

Best wishes

[Nicos]

Well done Mary...lovely memories!:)
And a Merry Xmas to you :D ( and everyone who reads this)

http://bestsmileys.com/christmas1/8.gif

[Ladkyis]

Well done Mary! and congratulations to Pam and Frank for such a good choice.

[jeanettemarie]

well done Mary a worthy winner and Merry Christmas
Jeanette::)

[busyglen]

Congratulations Mary! that was a lovely story and very fitting. Well done on a good choice, Pam & Frank.

Glenys

[AnnB]

Well done Mary, a lovely story and a perfect winner for the competition. :)

Best wishes
Ann

[BeeE586]

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z216/Poka04_2007/welldone0-1.gif

Eileen

[mary elms]

Thanks for all your congratulations! |grouphug| The prize has just arrived and I look forward to perusing it in the new year!

Mary.

[Geoffers]

Well done Mary, really well deserved.

Don't forget that there is another easy-peasy (http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24382)competition running which will stay open over Christmas for anyone new to the forums.