My Mum Grave and dad Fred from an earlier visit in this room at Christmas
My Mum Grave and dad Fred from an earlier visit in this room at Christmas

Christmas Day – The traditional Christmas Day morning, the children opening presents before and after my parents awoke and then we all went to St James Church for a Christmas communion and for the children to be blessed by the Rev Peter Lewis. Home for our Christmas lunch and the TV broadcast of the Queen’s Speech before even more present opening, tea and a game of Trivial Pursuit. The US dollar falls to a new low against the Japanese yen, a 36-inch water main burst floods houses and shops in the Old Swan area of Liverpool

A little trouble getting the girls to sleep, but then we soundly slept for the rest of the night. Awoken early to my morning tea and the children all along at the same time, anxious to open their presents as soon as possible. I awoke groggily to this bidding and soon put on my pyjamas and made my way down to the lounge for the first present opening session. The children opened them frantically, getting quite excited, until we stopped them so that they could play effectively with what they had. Broke off for some breakfast and Di cooked our family some fried eggs, bacon, mushrooms and tomato. Mum & Dad slept on a while, but got up at about 9.30am and joined us. We served them tea in the lounge and got Dad the materials to cook himself a couple of boiled eggs for breakfast. Then we opened more presents, until it was time for us to go to a Christmas Family Communion. Mum & Dad unexpectedly decided to go with us and we all got there in good time, selecting a warmer pew at the back. It turned out to be an actual communion, which was a mild embarrassment, although Rev Peter Lewis announced that on this very special day, all-comers would be welcome to celebrate communion (implying that the normal qualification of confirmation would be exceptionally waived).

I led Mum up by the arm and she was pleased to take the wine soaked bread. Dad sat too restricted by his lifetime belief in not being able to do it, but many families and children went up anyway, with the children being blessed. Home, when I laid up the dining room table with the best china and silver. Debbie and Della watched one video in the playroom and Daniel a martial arts video in the lounge. Eventually we sat down for a nice Christmas lunch of turkey and all the trimmings and then Christmas pudding to follow (though the children had ice cream and chocolate sauce). Then Daniel, Di and I cleared up and washed up and I put my china and silver away. By this time, it was approaching 3.00pm and the Queens broadcast on TV, which I got everybody to watch. Then, even more presents for opening – the last of those from ‘Father Christmas’ and presents from all our friends and relatives. Diana had to write down the types of present and their donors, so that the ‘thank you’ letters could be properly done. Even so, the children had to be slowed down, as they were going through a veritable mountain of gifts far too fast. Later we had drinks, then an informal sit-round tea of mince pies and sausage rolls etc. This evening Di put the girls to bed in accordance with their normal routine and Mum got quite fretful, as me and Dad read books and she gets bored. However, we all then play a long game of ‘Trivial Pursuit’ that Mum found entertaining. That took us right up to bedtime. It is a general knowledge question game, involving chance as well. The Queen, in her Christmas speech, spoke of the violence of dogmatic belief and the supreme tolerance and forgiveness of the Christian victims. A spate of fatal fires today, as far apart as Wales, Scotland and Suffolk. These were house fires, but arson is suspected at two other fires in Wales, where a plastics factory was destroyed and school damaged. Trouble brewing over the US dollar on the Tokyo markets today, the only ones open, as the American currency falls to a new low. A terrible flood in the Old Swan area of Liverpool, as a 36-inch trunk water main burst and dozens of shops and a few houses were flooded. Today was a surprisingly mild, still and sunny day, but tomorrow is due to get progressively wetter and stay that way for the rest of the weekend.