I have just ordered my all-time favourite film IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE for Christmas, so that the entire family can enjoy one of the most brilliant tear jerking movies ever made, which has certainly survived the test of time.
Do you believe in angels? If you don’t now, you certainly will after meeting George Bailey, who has given up on life after losing all his money and is about to end it all when he bumps into Clarence, his guardian angel, who has been sent down to earth to save him.
George has created a lot of good will in his community, and done good for a lot of people, so it is payback time literally, and the entire town rally round and restore his faith in humankind.
Christmas is a magical time of year, and it is when miracles happen, but it did not seem so wonderful last week when a 90 year old lady, well known to her community as a kind and outgoing lady, was sitting in her communal gardens outside her home of 20 years. She was approached by a lady who pretended to befriend her and was robbed of her entire Christmas savings of £1000 from her handbag, which she did not notice until the lady had gone and was looking for her house keys at her front door.
Betty called the police straight away, but it was too late and she was left distressed and devastated that she couldn’t buy gifts for her children, grandchildren and great grandkids.
Fortunately a living Angel, who is a close neighbour of Betty’s and a young mum herself, Hannah Hammond, stepped in and restored Betty’s faith by running a fundraiser in her name, and has managed to raise the entire £1000 from close friends and neighbours.
A few years ago friends of mine got together and decided to spend Christmas at our local shelter to help cook Christmas Dinner for the homeless. We may not all be in a position to extend to this sort of help in our community, but we can certainly all make a difference perhaps by listening to a friend or neighbour who may benefit from just a few minute of your time.
So let’s all believe in angels this Christmas, and of course keep a very close ear for ‘Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel gets its Wings’ and that very angel could be you.
We hear sighs from the middle aged to the elderly bemoaning their woes with Social Media, the youth of today, how values have changed.
Every generation has been condemned by their elders, from the revelry of the Rolling Stones to the depravity of the punk era.
As I was about to jump on the band wagon of groaners and seriously turn into my Grandmother, I decided to find a positive in today’s attitudes and if you look hard enough you can find it.
I remember seeing an episode of Mad Men where an elderly secretary died at her desk, and as the Advertising moguls were trying to impress a potential client, they hid the fact and practically carried her out in a bag to disguise the mortality on their premises, as if somehow it tarnished their glittering reputation.
Nowadays of course, everyone would get involved, in trying to revive her, in contacting her relatives, and it would be on social media within seconds, with the Agency would being commended upon their lack of ageism in employment.
Similarly with scars, both inside and out, and particularly the latter. Years ago a top model ‘It’ girl told me that if you had a slight blemish or mole on your face you would be banned from the catwalk, and never be employed as a model or appear in a fashion magazine. Scars were taboo.
In recent years however, scars have been celebrated more and more, with acid attack victims on the catwalk, as well as survivors from Breast Cancer revealing their scars instead of hiding them away.
In the recent Royal Wedding, Princess Eugenie celebrated her own special day choosing to wear a wedding dress that showed her scar, saying she hoped it would honour those who had helped her and inspire others with the condition of scoliosis.
Similarly, catwalk icon and Victoria’s Secret Angel, Martha Hunt required her spine realigned as a teenager, and she is proud to reveal the scoliosis scars of her operation as she says it confirms her strength.
As the years progress, the World as we know it changes beyond recognition, and sometimes not to our liking. It is too easy to criticise and see doom and gloom – but if we look hard enough we can always find something beautiful in the darkness, and the celebration of scars really makes it all worthwhile and in fact binds us all together.
It was a real wakeup call when I was told several years ago that some kids don’t know where potatoes come from, because in my day it was babies – as I was convinced they were left behind a bush by the Stork!!
Seriously though, Jamie Oliver has improved children’s awareness of fresh food by his campaigns in schools, but there are still families who rely so heavily on frozen fries and convenience food through necessity, that they have missed a major trick which is less expensive, far more nutritious and psychologically sound – cooking together as a family.
We all know that time is not always on our side when both parents are working, or if you are a grandparent only seeing the family at weekends, but any time put aside to get everyone involved from the ages of five to ninety-five, will be incredibly beneficial.
I did it recently with my young grandkids – yes still can’t believe I am a grandmother – far too young, but here I am and making the most of it!
I hatched a plan with my daughter, who struggles to cook an array of meals with her three young children all under 8 with different tastes and demands, and her husband who is also quite particular about his food.
We decided to consult each member of the family and find out what they would like for a special lunch at Nanna’s. The youngest said chocolate and the older twins wanted pizza and my son-in-law a vegetarian dish.
So we set out to incorporate all of the ‘tastes’ and opted for a vegetarian pizza full of health giving fresh vegetables followed by a fabulous dessert of fresh fruit and meringue with a chocolate topping.
I set up the kitchen with music themed to please everybody, from Thunderbirds to Peppa Pig & Taylor Swift to Michael Buble and then set out the vegetables and home grown tomatoes and herbs, the latter still in pots for the kids to see.
There was a good selection of salad and fruit to be chopped up, and the little one was given the task of setting out the table and folding up the napkins, as well as stirring the chocolate topping, under the watchful eye of Dad in case of too much ‘secret tasting’.
Once the vegetables had been chopped and whilst waiting for the meal to cook, the twins entertained us with their wooden spoon air guitars as we bopped around the kitchen.
The event went off without a hitch and I threw in some subliminal information about where and how long the ingredients had taken to grow, some of them in my own garden, and everyone was happy. Plus it had given my daughter ‘food for thought’ of how to tackle meals times in future – with a bit of planning and lots of imagination.
FOR THE PIZZA
Ingredients
6 small mushrooms, halved
1 small courgette, sliced
1 small yellow pepper, sliced
1 small red pepper, sliced
1 small onion, sliced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 ready made 12″ pizza crust
1 can pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, courgette, peppers, onion, vinegar, water, 3 teaspoons oil and salt & pepper. Transfer to an oiled backing tin and grill on a medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until tender, turning once halfway through.
Brush crust with remaining oil, spread with pizza sauce. add the grilled vegetables and cheese. place in oven for 8-12 minutes at 180c or until edges are browned and cheese is melted.
FOR THE FRUIT & CHOCOLATE TOPPED MERINGUE
INGREDIENTS
MERINGUES
4 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup granulated sugar
12 oz choc chips
CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
1 can Evaporated Milk
6 oz choc chips
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Fresh fruit or berries (blackberries, raspberries, peaches or strawberries etc)
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR MERINGUES:
Pre-heat oven to 150º c. Lightly grease a baking sheet.Beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar in large mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar; beat until sugar is dissolved. Gently fold in morsels. Spread meringue into ten 3-inch nests with deep wells about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until meringues are dry and crisp. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
FOR CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
Heat evaporated milk and bring to boiling in a thick bottomed saucepan.
Stir in choc chips,
Stir constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened and smooth.
Remove from heat; stir in sugar, vanilla extract and salt.
Drizzle meringues with Chocolate Sauce and fill with the fruit & serve.
October 15, 2026 1881 Sir PG Wodehouse 1920 Mario Puzo 1938 Marv Johnson 1937 Barry McGuire 1944 David Trimble 1946 Richard Carpenter 1947 Chris De Burgh 1958 Sarah, Duchess of York 1965 Stephen Tompkinson
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