A heartwarming tale of a childhood Christmas on a self-sufficient farm in Cornwall, filled with animals, family traditions, and a touch of unexpected chaos.
My brother and I grew up on a self-sufficient farm in Cornwall in the 1970s. Behind our cottage, the yard was busy with pigs, which came in from the fields in the evening to sleep in the pigsty. Ducks sailed the duckpond, geese ruled the homefield and we hand-milked our cows. We loved our animals. Sick hens or piglets were brought in to convalesce next to the Aga in our kitchen, scattered corn sometimes germinating between the flagstones.
Each Christmas, our tree stood in a bucket wrapped in red crepe paper, a pool of straw lying around its base, with our presents on top. with the glass baubles and 1930s celluloid toys that our grandmother bought during her boho life in pre‑war Berlin. So pretty. As darkness fell on Christmas Day, we would light real candles on the tree and bask in the magic. When I was 11, our Bermudian cousin came to stay. Craig adored coming to his cousins’ mad little farm in Cornwall. He and our dad could get pretty rowdy; everyone in our family likes a drink and a lot of homebrew was drunk. Our beloved sow, Porcina, had given birth to piglets just three months earlier. One of them was brought in by my dad and handed to Craig, a gift tag attached with a ribbon around its neck. My parents figured that a piglet would be just the thing to honour his visit. Craig named him Chauvy, which was short for Male Chauvinist Piglet. No one noticed that my hockey stick, with its crepe paper red suit and nylon beard, had fallen against a candle. and having a lovely time. Eventually, he fell asleep on some presents on the straw. Darkness fell and we forgot about him. It was time to light the candles. Yay! I was excited about one particular present propped up by the tree, dressed up in crepe paper as Father Christmas, which I hoped was a longed-for hockey stick. It’s risky lighting candles on a dried-out Christmas tree surrounded by straw in a small draughty cottage. But this didn’t deter my famil
Christmas Rural Life Family Animals Memories
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pavlova, Christmas ham and trifle: Our 12 best Christmas recipesFrom a stunning pavlova topped with red berries to a simple and delicious glazed ham, we’ve collected all our best Christmas recipes in one place.
Read more »
‘Happy Christmas, Ange’ – the best Christmas EastEnders episodes everAs every festive special from Albert Square lands on iPlayer, here are the 10 ultimate jaw-droppers – from ‘he’s your bruvva’ to the moment that made 30 million people spit out their snowballs
Read more »
Queensland's first TV star Hugh Cornish dies, aged 90A television elder statesman, Cornish was the first to greet Channel 9 audiences in Queensland when TV first went live.
Read more »
Hugh Cornish, Brisbane’s ‘Mr Television’, dies aged 90Cornish made history in 1959 as the first person to appear on TV in Queensland.
Read more »
Brothers cleared of Cornwall double murder after spending 20 years in prisonRobert and Lee Firkins have convictions quashed after being jailed in 2006 for murders of Carol and Graham Fisher
Read more »
Prince William to end feudal restrictions on his Duchy of Cornwall estateThe royal has bowed to pressure over residents’ right to buy freeholds on parts of his hereditary land
Read more »