Xmas is almost upon us and apart from buying more Brussels Sprouts the spending should be over. I'll admit that seeing as how my children are all nearing retirement age and I am a singleton, I don't do Xmas these days but I love seeing others enjoying it, particularly the youngsters. I have a good memory and can still remember lying in bed on Xmas Eve desperately wanting to go to sleep so that the magic day would arrive! Sleep seemed impossible but of course it did and we generally woke early. In those days during the war we were very lucky, Mother and Father always came up with one good present each. I remember that a wooden scooter made at my dad's works arrived one year and I was over the moon. Another year it was an enormous second-hand Meccano set and that was the best ever..... My sister got a wonderful antique doll's house and I was envious. I hope there are still children around who can get the same level of magic that we had but on the whole, I doubt it. More and bigger presents don't always guarantee happiness.
But there is a darker side. I have just read a letter in the BET from a lad in Earby called Connor who is clearly up to speed on some of the ills we see in society today like poverty, homelessness and food banks. Well done young man! There are evidently some active brain cells still in the heads of the youngsters. I don't bang on too much about these things but I can never remember being more pessimistic about the way society is going. It is under attack from 'austerity' to an extent I can't remember, even in the darkest days of the war. The world as a whole is richer and more technologically advanced than ever but there are millions suffering from displacement and poverty. It is a puzzle! You know about these things so I shan't go on but please keep the less well off in mind. We naturally look after the kids but sometimes it's hard to remember others who need our sympathy and help.
Thank you to all of my readers who put up with me rabbiting on about obscure matters every week and thanks to our Editor for never rejecting anything I write. I enjoy doing these articles and the bad news is I shall carry on for as long as God and the Editor spare me. I was asked the other day if I really thought that people were interested in history in this modern world. I replied that as far as I can tell there is more interest than ever in our past. I also have this touching faith that the more people take note of it, the less the telephone boxes will be vandalised! Come to think this doesn't work any longer, the ubiquitous 'mobile' has almost made them redundant.
Have a good holiday. Look after each other and gather your strength for 2017. I have a feeling you may need it!
A happy Christmas a long time ago but still a good memory!
