Reasons to be happy

THIS year, Vanessa was going to have a different kind of festive season. She usually hosted Christmas for her family at her house, even after her husband passed away a few years ago. Every second year

GINNY glanced nervously at the tree and the gifts beneath it. She hoped she’d done the right thing. “It’ll be fine, love,” John said, putting an arm round her shoulder. “They’re our grandkids. They’ll

It looked like a bleak Christmas for all – until Becky had a bright idea

LITERALLY no jobs come in over the Christmas period,” Jenna said. Lola Everett looked into her sister’s face, which was like her own but six years younger. “But is that true?” she asked. Jenna had a h

HELLO, little one!” Penny Dauntless greeted a robin-redbreast, who cocked his head as she pushed along her trolley of post on the daily round. “How often is there such a perfect mid-December morning?”

IF there was one thing Glenda Williams had always been proud of, it was her organisational skills. At school, the other girls had always come to her for help when sorting out their revision timetables