There are ghosts at Christmas. Everyone has them; they’re not just in cartoons and stories. For most they are the shadows of childhood; from the way that Santa trampled a piece of fruit cake with his fingers, to the way he made sure the snifter of whiskey was drained of every last drop. Then there’s the steeped traditions that can’t be shaken; a glazed chequered ham as the centrepiece of lunch and the incessant playing of Robert Downy Junior’s ‘River‘ while you string tinsel on a tree.
For me the linking thread of my adult festivities are the two Christmas decorations that I have given The Hungry One every year. I …



