A Child in the Forest by Winifred Foley published by the BBC in 1974 has a chapter devoted to Christmas in her family. Winifred was born in 1914. She writes: "Christmas was the pinnacle of our winter delight, though most of the joy was in the anticipation". She longed for a doll, but: 'I be a-feared 'tis no good thee exing Feyther Christmas for that sart o' doll, my wench. 'Im do only take that sart to the rich people's young uns,' Dad warned me kindly..... "It was my excited little brother who poked me awake in the morning. 'Look - Feyther Christmas a' brought I a tin whistle, a orange, a bag o' marbles an' some sweets.' To Winifred he had brought "the ugliest apology for a doll one could ever hope not to see....an old,darned, black woollen stocking, lumpily stuffed, with a bit of old ribbon tied tightly round the foot to form its head. The eyes were two odd-sized buttons, and it grimaced from ear to ear with a red woollen gash of a mouth." "We didn't have such things as bacon and eggs even on Christmas Day, but as a great treat old Auntie had given us half a tin of Nestle's milk to share out on our toast....and a shiny new penny as well." A neighbour's insult to the doll cemented Winifred's affection for it and when in the summer it was unavoidably left outside during a heavy storm and disintegrated a funeral had to be held and the grave marked with a jam-jar full of Sweet Williams. Happy Christmas to all! Best wishes, Margaret