IN the second of a two-part series, we reprint Cecil Otway's memories of ‘How Christmas Used to Be’, originally printed in The Westmorland Gazette on September 4, 1987.

Each church, except St Mary’s had a Christmas party but you had to attend for three weeks to go to it.

On Christmas Eve we were bundled into bed as early as mother could manage, clutching our stone hot-water bottle or sock full of hot salt, to warm the old bed.

Then our parents hung up the decorations - a few paper chains or sprigs of holly.

We hung an old stocking of our own a the foot of the bed. When we woke early next morning it held sweets, nuts and, if you were lucky, a banana and a small game like Snap or Snakes and Ladders to play on Sunday afternoons.

The foot of the stocking always looked very bulky and exciting but when you put your hand in, you found it was stuffed with cinders.

We wore our best clothes to go to church as a family on Christmas Day and when we returned they were changed, brushed and put away for Sundays.

We usually had roast chicken or a little pork for Christmas dinner. There was not turkey then.

Our plates were piled with roast potatoes and vegetables so we could hardly see over the top.

We were not short of food at Christmas but there were no toasts. Nobody had a drink at our house.

The Christmas pudding held 3ds and 6ds bits for us to find in it.

A boy, who worked as ‘boots’ at The Wateredge Hotel, took the pudding upstairs, laid it on a sheet and picked out all the money, then squeezed it all together again and put it back in the kitchen. They could not understand why nobody found the 3ds or 6ds bits.