Here’s wishing you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. I may also say “Here’s wishing you all that you would wish for yourself” – but be very careful of what you wish for. When I was five or six, I remember that Christmas was a time for visiting my grandmother. She always had a stock of stories suitable for young people.

The one I remember most vividly was about the old lady who lived in a vinegar bottle. It is a well-known story told around the world. It seems the old lady was very unhappy with her living arrangements, but help came in the form of a fairy, who offered her three wishes.

She was offered only three wishes and she must not wish for any more. She first wished herself out of the vinegar bottle and, with the second and third, she gave herself a better and better lifestyle. Of course, at the end of this, she wasn’t quite fully satisfied with everything and she made the mistake of testing a fourth wish and instantly found herself back in the vinegar bottle.

At the time and, being of a practical mind, my immediate concern was – ‘How did she get into the vinegar bottle in the first place?’ and ‘Why choose a vinegar bottle when you could have chosen a tomato sauce bottle?’ What was the moral of the tale? Was it – ‘You can take the girl out of the slum, but you cannot take the slum out of the girl – she will still taste of vinegar’. Should people limit their ambitions?

I think the story was carefully positioned just before Christmas and it was partly designed so that I would not ask for anything too expensive for Christmas. This would protect the family budget and it must have worked very well because I was well-known as a child who did not ask for much. Wishing and dreaming is part of our normal aspiration and ambition but it doesn’t necessarily change anything. As the old nursery rhyme has it –

‘If wishes were horses,

Beggars would be riders’

We continue to dream and hope, even when the cold light of experience could extinguish our spirit. I wish Liverpool would beat Arsenal – and when they lose – I wish even harder that Liverpool would beat Chelsea and Manchester United. I am only hoping for something that is not unreasonable and has happened before. Hopefully it will happen again and again and again! To carry realistic dreams is to have vision, goals and focus.

<B>Expectations rise once a year</B>

I wish you a happy Christmas but what would a very happy Christmas be like for you. Once a year, our expectations rise for the season of ‘goodwill to all men’ and ‘family festivities’. We then find, at just this time, there is a serious rise in domestic violence, crime, fatal car accidents, drunkenness and all other measures of social stress. Perhaps our wishes have been too much or our expectations have been too high.

Last year in the Jerret household, we all made our Christmas wishes for the big day. Mrs. Jerret was looking forward to a twinkling, tinsel covered day. The centrepiece would be the Christmas dinner, which would include all the traditional Dickensian trimmings. This would be prepared and organized in Nigella Lawson, domestic goddess style. The family would be full of appreciation for all the extra effort and attention that was made. She wished that she would be able to remember, who gave us what, from the ‘unwanted presents’ cupboard so she could wrap them and give them back to different people. Jules was going to be a tower of strength throughout the day and he would have remembered her subtle hints about the new ‘Chanel 34’ perfume.

All the buying and planning of presents, food and decorations would be a shared pleasure in the weeks before the event. She was going to make a very special effort with the older Mrs. Jerret who would be staying for eight days. Mothers-in-law sometimes criticise the way their grandchildren are brought up but this has to be accepted. The two boys are now old enough to help out in the kitchen, they will love their presents and have a day to remember.

Jasper was looking forward to Christmas chocolate selections and the bonanza versions of his favourite television programmes. Juliette’s only wish was for an Apple ipod, and she had already told her friends that she was getting one.

My own wish was for a relaxing time with all the family around me. The pressure of work always intensifies just before Christmas but then with four days off work and then the weekend I will be able to unwind. I realized that I was not as much help with the preparations as Jenny would have liked. We have always set an extra place at the Christmas dinner table for the ‘unexpected guest’. This has usually remained empty but last year I arranged for Jenny’s favourite Aunt Belle, who lives alone, to be with us for the day. The company I work for was having a difficult time in the financial period running up to Christmas and the usual salary bonus was cut in half. I had to make some savings but I didn’t want anybody to be disappointed with their presents.

Our angel was upside down</B>