It's Christmas Eve and while, since childhood's end, things have got, well, a little grown-up at this time of the year – gone are the train sets and toy soldiers – there was a time when the festive season was full of magic, as outlined in this blogpost written prior to my father passing away in May 2011. Click here.
Earlier in the week I'd been round at mum's house and my brother Jon had pointed out a nail on the top of the door frame outside our old bedroom. It had been there for many years but had gone unnoticed by yours truly. In fact, Jon told me that it had been brought to his attention recently when some builders working on mum's bathroom asked about it and whether it should be removed. What, he wondered, was the purpose of the nail? Mum provided much needed enlightenment: the nail was put there by dad and for good reason. It played a pivotal role in making our childhood Christmas Eves magical. You can read all about it by clicking the link above but in essence, dad twirled some string around the nail to make it easier to pull the string and ring a bell at the end of it. For more on why, click the link above.
