Christmas comfort

Isn't it funny how you hang on to the same old Christmassy traditions and comforts because they remind you of past times. Martha has an Andrews sisters Christmas tape she's very fond of, and I have to confess to trying to buy "Tijuana Christmas" from Ebay this year in order to recapture the magic of those Christmases when I didn't want to believe that Father Christmas wasn't real.

My Mum was playing for a community centre Christmas evening recently, and got out her file of Christmas music. It occurred to me what a tale some of those sheets could tell . There were some from her war dance band days when they toured the Dales in a big taxi frequently getting snowed in after playing for a dance. She also tells the story of accompanying an officer singing "White Christmas", then returning home in the snow to find her baby niece had just been born.

I have many Christmas song memories from playing in John and Cleo Christmas shows at the stables and at Avril's village hall where the raffle prize was always a dozen eggs and it was fun looking at all the different styles of mince pies made by the villagers. And another verse of silent night brings another tear to the eye.

Sigh!