[Margaret Pilkington]

I don't know where mine went either Sue...maybe they are together somewhere...playing happily.

We were poor and had some very frugal Christmas times.
One year Ma bought us all selection boxes......not with chocolate in, but with liquorice novelties.....a pinwheel with one of those sweets in the middle with hundreds and thousands on......a pipe with red hundreds and thousands on...a sort of pan pipe thing with comfit in...shoe laces...that kind of thing.
She put them in the attic out of our way......it was damp up there(I think it rained in) and on Christams morning we all got a box of black goo - we still tried to eat it.


Then one year my dad was making presents for us. He woud diappear into the attic and we would hear him hammering and banging.
During the half term holdays we managed to get the key and get into the attic to see what he was making.
I was supposed to be keeping 'cavey' but failed in this duty because I was just as curious as the lads.......Ma(who had been out for a few minutes) came back and copped us all looking at the wooden fort, the garage and the shop.......she went wild and told us that we would not be getting any presents, but instead would get a bag of cinders.
Well, we forgot all about this until christmas morning......we all got up and found four brown paper bags in the hearth......all containing cinders! We all skriked our eyes out
That year we did not get our presents until New Years Day.

That was called 'tough love'.