Advent today, the start of Christmas proper. I hope your calendar will be filled with Christian thoughts rather than bling and Bounty bars!
I went to buy a piece of shin and ended up talking turkey. It’s the time for both, warming broth with tender meat and fresh vegetables is hard to beat on a chilly lunchtime and as for the noble beast for Christmas Day it’s time to order the bird.
Why turkey? Apparently they came to us from the Americas, imported into Europe from Turkey, hence the name, and so onto our plates. Before that back in the 1500s if you were fortunate enough to be invited to break bread with Henry Vlll and one of his many wives, it would have been hog’s head, swan and pigeon but that wasn’t fancy enough so he became the first English king to serve turkey at his festive board. I wonder will King Charles lll be following this royal protocol.
However, the man who gave the turkey the biggest boost was probably Ebenezer Scrooge who went through terrible trauma before coming to his senses and adopting the Christmas spirit by sending Tiny Tim a nourishing bird. Thanks to the Ghost of Christmas Present he sees a vision of the ill boy, son of his poorly paid clark Bob, as the family sit down to a pathetic Christmas dinner and with his new found spirit of goodwill he arranges for the biggest turkey in town to be delivered to the Cratchit household. Apparently it was even bigger than Tiny Tim with plenty for the family and some left over. Scrooge is delighted and keeps his identity a secret however the family find out and because of his new found generosity Scrooge becomes a friend of the family and mentor to Tiny Tim.
Oasis of Calm
How nice to take time out to read this story to children just before you sit down to Christmas dinner and think about generosity, supporting other families and remembering those who are living through dreadful times in the rest of the world.
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It’s not too early to visit the butcher and discuss your order if indeed you want to have turkey on 25th. Although supermarkets are more convenient for the shopper there’s no substitute for the real thing from the turkey farm straight to the local butcher where you can view your dinner before buying and get the best advice from the man who knows.
For me that is Stanley Skelton who tells me to get the best flavourful results keep the bones in place although some families like a crown, easier to carve but not so succulent. He should know, he’s been a butcher for 54 years and already this year he has orders in with the turkey farmer for 500 birds and counting. As a boy he was destined to be a motor mechanic in Holywood but as he was going to have to wait for an opening, in the meantime he helped out at a butcher’s shop in Dundonald Village and the rest is history. What cars lost out on his customers gained in the Fortwilliam area and beyond.
Stanley gets his turkeys from Galloway’s farm in Randalstown. So I phoned John Galloway and heard the history of how, in 1958 his parents had a suckler cow and beef enterprise plus a few turkeys. The turkeys were hand plucked and popular so much so that the two sons, John and Thomas got involved and the business took off especially as, with European funding, they were able to renovate their traditional farm building into a new dry plucking processing unit, the largest of its kind in Northern Ireland. With this facility 1000 turkeys can be made ready for the shops in one day and since the 27th of November, it has been all systems go with preparations for Christmas.
“Get a free range Bronze,” John advised so indeed I will and stuff it as recommended on the excellent Galloway website –
www.gallowayturkeys.com By the way, boil your shin with a few lamb ribs and a green cabbage leaf for best taste results. Thank you Stanley.
The Basic Message
Many A Slip
Think ahead and lay your plans. One thing to consider is snow and ice and the danger of slipping and falling. What is the answer? Salt which will eat the ice and leave paths and steps safe to walk on. Look no further than Kilroot and the Irish Salt Mines.
Where you can buy 25 kilo bags of salt for £3.00. Invaluable resource during the winter months. Ring 93351151 to arrange.
So the moral of the story is, put your thinking cap on, make a list and keep cool.
ATTENTION TO ALL PARENTS WHO NEED TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT SANTA 
Son: “Dad, I think I’m old enough now. Is there a Santa Claus?.” Dad: “Ok, I agree that your old enough. But before I tell you, I have a question for you. You see, the “truth” is a dangerous gift. Once you know something, you can’t unknow it. Once you know the truth about Santa Claus, you will never again understand and relate to him as you do now. So my question is: Are you sure you want to know?” Brief pause…Son: “Yes, I want to know”Dad: “Ok, I’ll tell you: Yes there is a Santa Claus” Son: “Really?” Dad: Yes, really, but he’s not an old man with a beard in a red suit. That’s just what we tell kids. You see, kids are too young to understand the true nature of Santa Claus, so we explain it to them in a way that they can understand. The truth about Santa Claus is that he’s not a person at all; he’s an idea. Think of all those presents Santa gave you over the years. I actually bought those myself. I watched you open them. And did it bother me that you didn’t thank me? Of course not! In fact it gave me great pleasure. You see, Santa Claus is THE IDEA OF GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING, without thought of thanks or acknowledgement.When I saw that woman collapse on the subway last week and called for help, I knew that she’d never know that it was me that summoned the ambulance. I was being Santa Claus when I did that.” Son: “Oh.”Dad: “So now that you know, you’re part of it. You have to be Santa Claus too now. That means you can never tell a young kid the secret, and you have to help us select Santa presents for them, and most important, you have to look for opportunities to help people. Got it?”Help each other this Christmas
and…be kind 
ON THE EVE OF CHRISTMAS 1965 ….You’ve got to hand it to Michael Cameron he has an eye and an ear for comedy and the way he draws his characters is brilliant. Take his latest play O Holly Knight! at the Theatre at the Mill until 30th December 2023. Holly (Ruby Campbell) is an ‘it’ girl, fashion icon, class cook and radio Agony Aunt. Every morning she is giving advice to listeners all over Northern Ireland, people tune in just to listen to other people’s problems. She has two buddies, Johnny (Rea Campbell-Hill) a fay young man who wants to please his mother so has two wardrobes – her kind of clothing and his special style. Frankie (Jo Donnelly) is a foodie and a good friend, the three are buddies and they support Holly in her career.
Then we meet the editor of the Chronicle Belfast’s leading newspaper. Bob Baxter (Richard Croxford) is the epitome of good taste, well dressed, a cigar smoking smoothy. However, it’s not what it seems. Behind every successful man is a woman and in this case it’s his secretary Miss Boyd (Rosie Barry) the brains behind the front page. She reckons the paper needs a female voice and suggests Holly. And so Holly becomes a columnist and life is brilliant. Especially brilliant when a star from Hollywood Brett Beaumont (Darren Franklin) comes to town and the paper plays host and Holly is his companion with benefits. This is the outline for a very racy story, a lot of fun and games and great acting and singing. I have to mention Jo Donnelly, not only is she Frankie but she’s Johnny’s mother, she’s Doris Laker the Movie star’s agent and dear old Hawkeye who works in the newspaper and is only hilarious. The writer has gathered a strong team around him, not only on stage but the crew, the composer Chris Warner and set designer Ciaran Bagnall and the others who make up this tight bunch of Christmas magic. Colm G Doran director has done a great job and combined the script with the songs and the dances and sweeps us all along to a surprising ending. Who is Brett really, what is Holly really, and where does Miss Boyd fit into the picture? See for yourself at the Theatre at the Mill. And well done to the theatre for producing a programme to go with this production. Not always the case these days.
More at www.theatreatthemill.com.
Well, is there a Sanda Claus? In 1897 an eight year old girl, Virginia O’Halon, asked her father this question and the answer went round the world even to this day. He suggested she write to the New York Sun for an answer. It came in a published reply:
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
