THE Janus Inn’s sign swung ominously in the gathering wind as Mairi and her bundle stood outside. Waiting for the coachman to appear, she looked towards the stout, ancient building, glad of the carous

I’VE just seen my perfect Christmas,” I said, returning to the office after my lunchbreak. “Really?” Tina said brightly. “So have I. Where was yours?” “In a snow globe in Tamsin’s Gift shop. “It was a

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

WHEN Jade’s phone rang and the name “Mum” appeared on screen, her first reaction was to reject the call. Her mum communicated with her frequently, normally by text message, and often for the most mund

It was easier to get across the road than normal after work. The snow was falling so thickly that the cars were crawling along while their wipers fought a losing battle to keep their windscreens clear

WOULD you look at the man!” Maggie said. She wasn’t much to look at herself, being as black as sin from the coal dust. She’d just finished a shift at the colliery screens, picking lumps of coal out of