Part 3... Midday meal.. As always, the Christmases we had on the farm was always hot... one year we had read 110f. on the front verandah. In our kitchen,( this part of the old farm house was built around 1890's), we had a wood burning stove, mum would always slave over it to produce our wonderful meals.. Each year we would have something special done for the hot midday meal.... Pork one year, beef the next, and if we had a good season, we would start off with hot duck soup, (the only part about eating wild ducks was biting onto the shot that was still in the body..) The table would be laid out to us kids it was a great spread as mum made the extra special effort for the special day with only meager income from the farm, but we did fine.. The fine tablecloth was laid, bon bons at each setting, the best silver laid out, bowls of nuts/lollies/fruits graced the table and in the meal would be served... the hot meat with gravy, boiled potatoes, greens(peas/beans), cob of corn, squash, spinnach, ( these would be picked from the house garden.. except for the potatoes which was shop brought..) As we be seated at the table, sometimes just the 4 of us, or other times with relatives, grace be said and we would all pull our bon bons, put on the party hats, and feast on the Christmas feast. Dessert would follow, plum pudding, with custard and cream , jelly . while the grown ups drank beer at the table, we had home made cordial, ( boiled water with sugar, add the red favour and served cold, just add 3 parts water,, to us kids it was a great drink, a lot better than drinking water from the house tank, or drinking warm milk straight from the cow, or cool milk from the kerosene fridge. We would be playing with the toys ( mainly cap guns, cowboy outfits, nurse uniform, dolls) that we had received and sometimes, they would be repainted/mended ones and later on we hear that they were hand me downs and for us not to break them, (bikes and prams) so when we were finished with them, they would be handed on to the cousins at a later date... By the turn of the early 1960s, this practiced had ceased, and there were a lot of nice extra toys coming onto the market from Japan, but to us kids we soon learned that cheap did not last the hour or day out , by then we would be heartbroken, but the parents blamed us for been too rought on the toys, but those toys just did not stand up to us kids... and we were disappointed in them. The evening meal was something simple, as we had stuffed ourselves all day and just wanted a top up before bed.. One thing that always stuck in my head, every morning after Christmas day, when the tree was up, i would go and check it out, just in case Santa made a second visit and forgot to give me the present that i did not receive... The Christmas tree, by the end of the old year, it starts to sag a bit, the house is full of the pine smell, which is nice and is associated with Christmas.. Our Christmas tree would be taken down either on New Years day or the 2nd, depending upon what day we put the tree up ( as my stepfather introduced the 12 days of Xmas to us ( the Christmas tree is only to up for 12 days) and the playing of the Record of O Christmas Tree.. While today, we fill our house with decorations inside and outside, send/receive christmas cards to everyone we know, send/receive emails, and visit the shops with Christmas decorations and sales. The Christmas sales would start about October each year, and to my way of thinking it is giving the young kids of today, 3 months of Christmas, whereas in my days of growing up it would only have been less than a fortnight..... This has been my Christmases of past, and hopeing for more to come and plenty of friends, relatives and family to share them with. For a long while Christmas was not my favourite time of the year, In 1968, my sister, who had recently married , was killed in an car accident 8 days before Christmas and the saddest thing was that my mother was overseas visiting friends for Christmas, it took several days before she was told due to the problems in trying to contact her... Well anyhow, these are my Christmas memories ... I wish everyone Seasonal Greetings and Best Wishes, plenly of food , friends and family to share it with and the extra very best for the forthcoming New Year Warren Job Australia Son of Bruce JOB, Grandson of William John JOB, Gt Grandson of William Thomas JOB, GGG John JOBE ( Gwennap Cornwall)