ONE of the loveliest times in the year is the celebration of Christmas. In the church, the most popular Christmas services are those which are held on Christmas Eve. Many of those who go along are not

THERE’S a line in one of the seasonal hymns we sing in church which runs, “’Tis winter now, the fallen snow has left the heavens all coldly clear.” When this happens, areas and landscapes are almost s

LILY had just returned from visiting one of her parishioners in hospital. With so much to be done before Christmas and as the new vicar of St Peter’s, every day it felt like she was spinning plates. T

CHRISTMAS 1962. Bitterly cold. Elvis was crooning on my dad’s wind-up radio. I was nine. Mum was cleaning rich folks’ houses right up to Christmas Eve because Dad was out of work. But he had a plan. M

CAROLS are playing softly, their melodies floating into the kitchen where Miranda is standing at the hob, gently stirring mulled wine. From the bubbling pot, the smell of cinnamon and clove wafts thro

Whether it’s a rosy-cheeked girl wrapped up warm, sun-bathed sheep at twilight or a snow-blanketed apple orchard, myriad pictures sum up the festive season, as 16 friends of COUNTRY LIFE tell Carla Passino