But ah wos 40 at the tyme.

Who are you calling a poncy southerner Mrs? Me Mam came from Yorkshire and me Da' came from Wales!

I can't help it if I was born 'dahn sarf'

Shortest day of the year, as opposed to the tallest day of the year.

So you had a leeownge?

One wouldn't exactly pronounce it like that, but yes, one did - and also a dining room and a scullery.


What's the one present that you got for Christmas that you remember from your childhood?

For me, it would be the scooter I got - replacing the 15 year old hand-me-down. I can still picture it.. red with white chunky wheels and a little brake block at the back you could step on. I was convinced that Father Christmas must have bought it, as I didn't think my parents could afford it.

It was like this

My mum was a poncy southerner (that thing you could play music on was a Pee-ah-no) but she called it the front room or the living room. And sometimes the sitting roombecause we must have stood in the dining room.

I had one!!!!
I remember the wheels being chunkier but that might just be because I was a nipper at the time.

Did your footplate come off? Mine did and there were two little bits of metal across the bar that it was fixed to. I still scooted on it but occasionally my foot slid off the bar and got caught by the metal edge.

Those things were so sturdy I used to scoot down the street and jump off and watch it go on its own with no damage.
(except maybe the footplate breaking off )

Yep, the front room is the living room. I did know people who had drawing rooms, and some had lounges - and some the aforementioned leeownges.

Yup, I remember the wheels being chunkier too - like a wide wall white tire.. but I couldn't find a picture of the exact one - this was the closest to it.

My footplate didn't come off, but then I was a delicate little imp (so the school nurse told me) being tiny and not very weighty, lol.

I'll be spending Christmas at the airport so all those folks who want to travel can do so.

I think we get holiday pay though.

I had one of those scooters too .

The Christmas presents I remember most (and still have!): The Chronicles of Narnia (1973) and The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England (1975).


I’ll raise a glass to you and your colleagues. I worked Christmas for many years, glad I don’t anymore but it was usually quite jolly (good for tips and presents too )

Where I worked in the NHS we were out of site of patients, so got no tips. Some of the doctors would give us gifts, mainly either bottles of cheap sherry of cigarettes, this practice was stopped. One year I had cause to visit the maternity ward to take blood from a new born, and the sister in charge of the ward did give me a bottle of stout, they gave them routinely to help new mothers to produce milk, luckily it didn't work for me.

What killjoys .

I recall the days of glasses of stout for breastfeeding mothers in NHS hospitals. Also the smoking rooms for patients...

Er, do you mind! Drawing Room, if you please!

Stopped us dying from the shock of withdrawal!