The Christmas party

This is the story of a wonderful party my parents threw one Christmas 20 years ago. I would have just turned 10 years old at the time. Mum and Dad had invited loads of family and friends, with a clear instruction – it was Christmas clothing or dress up smart, preferably both! Everyone arrived dressed […]

Four generations

My father James was raised in a Christian orphanage in the 1930s and 1940s. He was evacuated during the Second World War alongside all the other children, and so lived both in Southampton (before and after the war) and near to Llandudno (during the conflict). The orphanage was, as one would expect from that era, […]

Reports day

Nowadays, the arrival of school report cards is much less of an occasion than in the past. I know from experience with my own family that parents today have so many ways to get regular information from schools, such as emails, texts and school intranets. That means there generally aren’t too many surprises by the […]