People travel considerable distances
To be with those they
hold dear
Because these are the
special people
They only see once or
twice a year
But the realization
that once or twice
Was way too much soon
became clear
Wednesday, 10 November 2021
PEOPLE TRAVEL CONSIDERABLE DISTANCES
MUM WAS DETERMINED
This year, Mum was determined, for the first time,
To have the happy time
the family had lacked
So, when she was
preparing the bird for the oven
She stuffed the Turkey
with sage, onion and Prozac!
WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME
Christmas isn't about having the biggest tree
Or having the most
Christmas lights on view
Nor is it all the
treats or gifts beneath the tree
It's about who you
share it with and that’s you
BREAKFAST TIME COMES, AGAIN
Breakfast time comes
Just after day breaks
When Santa’s little
helpers
Eat their Frosted Flakes!
The First Works Christmas Party
I left school
when I was fifteen which was in the early seventies.
I was living
in Stevenage, with my parents in a warden run block of sheltered accommodation
for the elderly, my mother was the warden.
I attended
the School nearby which I left in the May and I started my first three days
later.
However In
the November of that same year the family moved from one side of town to the
other, the significance of this will become clear later in the story.
The house
move didn’t affect my getting to and from work as the town had a good bus
service, operating a flat fare service on circular routes.
So I still
got the same bus as I did from the old address but from a different stop but
the price was the same.
This also
will prove significant later on.
As I said
this was my first year at work and I had my first Christmas party to look
forward to.
It was on
the last day before we broke for the Christmas holiday and we had a little
works party in the yard where a little Christmas cheer was imbibed and a drink
or two were consumed.
Now I was
only sixteen and I had only had very limited experience of alcohol and I got
well and truly bladdered on whisky Mac, cider and something unpronounceable
from Yugoslavia.
At the end of
the afternoon one of my workmates gave me a lift into the town centre and from
there I caught my usual bus.
In my
drunken state I managed to climb the stairs to the top deck and the bus set off
filled with Christmas shoppers and a drunken trainee grounds man.
I must have
drifted off on the journey and I suddenly came to and looking out the window
recognized a familiar site and I promptly got off the bus.
I headed off
up the road in the direction of home wishing all and sundries a merry Christmas
as I went.
I entered
through the main doors to the flats and passed the Christmas tree in the foyer
and headed straight for flat number one.
At the door
I fumbled for my key and presented it to the lock, it wouldn’t fit.
I peered
closely at it and it was definitely my door key so I tried to put it in the
lock again, still it wouldn’t fit.
Suddenly the
door opened and a stranger looked out at me
“Can I
help?” she asked.
“Ah my name
is Paul and I don’t live here anymore do I?”
The lady,
who was the new warden, laughed and agreed with me that I no longer lived there.
So I wished
her a happy Christmas and made my way back to the foyer were there was a public
telephone with a large Perspex dome over it.
My intention
was to phone for a taxi but rummaging in my pockets I discovered I had no money
for the taxi or indeed a coin to make a phone call.
Then as I
tried to duck under the Perspex hood I tripped over my own feet and fell into
the Christmas tree which ended up on top of me.
The lady who
now lived at no 1 heard the commotion and came to investigate and to my
surprise thought it very amusing to find a drunken teenager wearing the
Christmas tree.
“Oh dear”
she said laughing.
Deeply
apologetic I explained the circumstances of my predicament and the new warden
phoned a taxi for me and even gave me the money for the fare.
That was real
Christmas spirit and I have never forgotten her kindness and tolerance and try
to keep that same spirit in my own heart at Christmas.
CHRISTMAS BOX
A common native of Asia
And the Himalayas
The Greeks called
It Sarcococca
“The fleshy berry”
We call it Christmas
Box
With its large
fragrant flowers
Blooming in winter
Making the stark
Christmas garden,
merry
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