Christmas came round once again,there were no presents, no turkey,no trimmings or tinsel,we were all sitting round the fire as we often did,eating jacket potatoes, freshly baked on the open range,when dad walked in,he was carrying a large sack on his back,he put it down on the table which was in the centre of the room, and proceeded to empty it,s contents, the first thing that came into veiw was a large ham,the sort of ham you always admired in the butchers window,but could never afford,then came fruit apples, oranges, bananas,tinned goods,we could only stare in wonder,no questions were asked, and no questions answered ,who cared ?i only know is we did,nt go hungry that xmas.   The school we went to St Mary's Methodist,always had a xmas party for their pupils, it was held in the main hall,the tables were placed neatly around the hall end to end,forming one continuous table,and they had all the traditional goodies,jellies cakes, sweets, and a variety of butties to satisfy most palates,ending with party games,  It was tradition for the school to give the less privalidged kids a ticket for the Shepard St Mission,the mission was an institution,that helped the poorer residents of Preston,  the residents of preston had throughout the year donated,any unwanted toys to the mission and in turn the mission distributed the toys to the less fortunate kids.  When we entered the mission,we walked down an aisle,and to the left and right of us were long tables, one side were girls toys, the other boys toys, we walked down the aisle until we saw a toy, ( you were only allowed one toy ) that we liked,we were then given a goody-bag which consisted o a meat pie, a cake,some sweets and a bar of chocolate,,i recall one time,i chose a handknitted lamb it only had one glass eye,i thought the world of that lamb,which i named Lambert,   The school also had frequent visits with the dreaded Nitty-Nora,or nit nurse,she looked a formidable figure in her blue and white uniform,and her table laid out in order in the main hall,our names were called out one by one, she would inspect your hair,and sometimes run a fine tooth-comb through it, if you were not contaminated you went to the left, if nits or lice were found you,d go to the right ,and she would give you a bottle of lotion to take home to mum, instructing her to massage your scalp regulary until the lotion was used up, the smell of the lotion lingered on and on,and a few pupils gave you a wide birth,as if you had the plague. to be cont...........