I wrote this blog for Christmas starts with Christ… 

Despite the biting winter wind she wasn’t allowed a cup of tea mid-shift. Besides, she explained, if she did drink a brew she would only need a wee and that was a big no-no and wasn’t allowed by her boss. She had to stand for four hours without moving, holding a sign with her gloveless, cold shaking hands, an arrow pointing to the nearest Cash for Gold shop. It wasn’t exactly her idea of an ideal job but she had to do it. How else was she to pay for the kids’ Christmas presents?

We chatted for a while and she spoke of how she managed to keep the children’s expectations of Christmas lower by explaining to them the real meaning of Christmas, not all the commercial bling and tat and plastic crud. I smiled; thankful that I had met someone…