My grandmother, Bessie loved Christmas and I am lucky that I not only have her diaries but paintings, drawings and photographs too. She lived at 8, Annington Road, Eastbourne with her disabled husband Alex, who had lost a leg during the Great War. 

Christmas was often spent with Alex’s brother Reg and his wife Alice, who lived in Seaside Road. Reggie loved to make special Christmas decorations and games. 

Bessie always made her Christmas cake and Christmas pudding early in December, often getting Alex to help her.  It is clear that many of her friends did the same as she often mentions visiting friends in early December and seeing (and smelling) them making cakes. At the beginning of the month, she also wrote her Christmas cards. She usually bought them from Stacey-Marks Art Gallery in Terminus Road where Alex had once worked as a framer. She also hand-knitted presents (mainly gloves).

Bessie was a frequent visitor to Jevington where she stayed with her daughter Sheila. They would often go ‘wooding’ (scavenging) for twigs, pinecones and flowers to use for decorations. 

CHRISTMAS PARTIES 

During December, my grandmother would attend a number of Christmas parties sometimes two in a day.  Over the years she regularly attended ones thrown many different political and religious organisations.  She had wide ranging views on politics and religion and seemed to support all parties and religions in the town!

Diary 1979: Went to the Liberal Party (Roselands Ward) Christmas Party at St Aidens. I sat between two men with sticks, a plump one from Leslie Street and another from Desmond Road who had six children.  We sang some old songs and then the baby great-great-granddaughters of one of the pensioners arrived wearing a dress which was over 100 years old. I kissed her as she passed.  Diary: 1985: Went to the Liberal Christmas party. At our table were Mrs Moore aged 86, me at 84, Mrs Steel at 92 and another lady who was 89! 

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Christmas shopping was done in Beales department store, South Street and later the Arndale Centre. Diary: 1983: I went to J&D Gardner of 3, South Street to buy presents. They are a newsagency, tobacconist and stationers and are the purveyors of fine confectionery including Lindt, Terry, Suchard and Bendicks.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE

The Christmas tree was put up about two weeks before Christmas. Diary 1971: I left the Christmas Tree lights in the front room on all night and Sheila got an electric shock when she tried to turn them off.

Diary 1984: In an alcove sits the Christmas tree. How pleased we are in England that Prince Albert brought us the first Christmas Tree from Coburg in German over 150 years ago. Its spreading branches with spiky leaves look quite regal and it is decorated with baubles and lights of every hue. It is also decorated with garlands and tinsel and underneath are presents to be opened by the family tomorrow. It is only when the light fades and the room gets darker that the tree really comes into its own, the fairy lights are really shining and the tree looks proud. Thank you for the enjoyment you give me. Jean rang at 10pm “Have I seen Roger? he hasn’t come home”. It later transpired that he had locked the keys in his car at Berwick Station. He contacted the police at Polegate who came and managed to unlock the car for him.

Diary 1979: A very cold day – the first snow of winter. A lady from Eastbourne travelled by train to Berwick Station. Roger was on duty and booked Ted Collins taxi which collected her. Ted later told Roger what had happened. The lady wanted to go to a farm at Upper Dicker near St Bedes School, as she had heard that the farm sold Christmas trees with roots!.  After several enquiries, Ted found the farm,  drove through the gate and found the owner. It was now dark and Ted and the farmer had to accompany the lady into a field where they went down a line of Christmas trees. By now it was pitch black and Ted had to hold the torch as the farmer dug up the tree with a shovel.  Ted then drove the lady and the Christmas tree back to Eastbourne. Apparently it is almost impossible to buy a tree with roots and the cost of the tree, train and taxi journey must have been most expensive indeed.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Diary 1959: Christmas Dinner with Jean, Roger and Kevin. So much food!

Diary 1983: Rather a disaster day. I forgot to put the stopper in the sink when I did my washing and lost all my hot water; Fred Budden asked for a corkscrew and, although I have one, I could not find it and lastly Mrs EJ came with presents for me but forgot to take them out of her bag and took them home again! This year I have many Christmas cards with robins on them. I listened to the opera Leonora, which was sung in Italian but very beautiful. I picked some winter jasmine and two iris from the garden today. 

CHRISTMAS DAY 

Diary 1964: Went to a Christmas Party organised by Reg and Alice. He had arranged a ‘School Days Prize Giving’ quiz. 

Diary 1966: A beautifully sunny day. Alex and I walked around the Redoubt and came back for dinner alone. We then took Christmas dinner to Mrs Starr whose husband is in hospital. Had tea with Alice and Reggie and played Newmarket. 

Diary 1970: A WHITE CHRISTMAS with heavy snow. Alex and I opened our presents in front of the fire. We walked up to see Alice and Reggie and Ron Berry brought us home in his Land Rover.

Diary 1976: I painted the Christmas hamper Kevin gave me.

Diary 1979: Had a very happy time with Roger’s family. Kevin is one of the few people who has similar tastes to me and no one can talk like him. For Christmas he gave me a hamper full of goodies. It contained a tin of sardines, Crawford’s finger nice biscuits, a pound of Sainsbury’s lentils, a Christmas pudding, a box of Kellog’s cornflakes, Sainsbury’s cheese spread, Baxter’s three-fruit marmalade, a box of All Bran, a tin of Smedley’s strawberries, a tin of minced beef, a tin of garden peas, a packet of Babylon dates, Balmoral butter shortbreads, pineapple jelly, chicken and ham paste, Nestles Ideal milk, Delmonte fruit cocktail and a packet of International demerara sugar.

Diary 1981: A lovely sunny day. We went along the seafront but were held up by an open top carouche containing Father Christmas who we waved to as we passed.  The sea was very smooth and it was lovely to see the golden  pathway across the water to the sun. Home at 8pm. 

Diary 1983: Fred Budden and I had sherry together this morning. He took my chicken out of his fridge for me. One of my Christmas presents this year is a window box for the front. Went to 45, Greys Road for a turkey dinner with Jean and Roger. Had Cinzano to drink. Roger bought me home along the seafront and the fairy lights looked lovely in the clear winter air. 

Diary 1984: Had a little weep this morning as there was no Alex to open presents with me but what a happy thing then happened; my crystal cross on the window-sill suddenly lit up with a ray of sunshine. I had a lovely day with Jean and Roger and enjoyed seeing their tree and lanterns. 

BOXING DAY 

Diary 1982: We are privileged by God to live on this planet and, even though some days can be dark and grey, there is always something wondrous to see. Today was a day of such beauty when Philip took Sheila and I for a drive in his red car. The sea was  silver-grey and the Downs – Oh how I love their soft contours and their charm especially on a windless day like today, covered with sheep grazing. We drove to Seaford and on the way saw Mr Gorringe’s ploughman hard at work with so many seagulls following. At Seaford we saw the glittering Christmas Tree and stopped for some food.  As dusk fell we returned and the ploughman was now working in the darkness hoping to finish the field before the morrow. We returned to Jevington for tea and Philip took me back home. As we went over the hill, oh the sight of all the fairy lights of Eastbourne, lit so clear and brilliantly in the frosty air.  I did not go to bed until midnight!

THE CHRISTMAS LINE

One family tradition was the Christmas Line. Every year after Christmas (often on New Years Day) we went to my grandmothers, where various little parcels and bags of sweets were dangling from a long line across the room. 

Bessie explained the history of this in her diary for 19^th December 1983: When I was young, as I had no brothers and sisters, I spent many happy hours playing with my cousins Cecil, Dolly, Mary and Lily at Gladstone Villa in Beamsley Road, Eastbourne. At Christmas, what fascinated and excited me was the ‘line’ that was strung across their front room. Uncle Arthur put it up and Auntie Grace hung sweets, lanterns, mistletoe, toys and other goodies on it. The things on the line were little prizes for a variety of games. What fun we had comparing toys and prizes.  That line has never been forgotten and every year Roger fixes up the line and Sheila helps to hang goodies from it. 

Diary 1964: Had all the family around all day. Chicken from Austins (16/-) Played ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ and dominoes. Presents from the line and tea.

We will have a Christmas Line this year and I hope my children and grandchildren will make sure this super Christmas tradition lasts as a reminder of how the family spent their Christmas’s in simpler times. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR