a cara.....one of the realities of life is....growing old is mandatory....the other day....i was unpacking...and going through the christmas lights and decorations i had put away ...and as i unravelled the strings of bulbs and other christmas ornaments ....i found myself tripping back ....back...and down memory lane....to mchale road....in the late'40s....the big one....as archie bunker described it....w.w.2....had come to an end ....and it seems that prosperity.....was everywhere......not really....but items like sugar ....chocolates...sweets...and fruits...which were not available during the war years...were not finding their way to shops.....during the war...those of us that survived those austere times....remember ration books....the blackouts....and other measures.....growing up in 10 mchale road...in a big family...christmas was a traditional event.....no matter what the previous months of the year gave....the atmosphere changed at christmas....a certain joy and happiness permeated.....and i remember well the anxiety of waiting for santa when i was young......my letter to santa was an annual ritual.....and it was posted....up the flue of the range ...and i really believed santa would get the letter.....on christmas eve...i hung my old sock...on a line above the range ...hoping to have it filled with goodies....each year...when we were young we would try to stay up as late as we could...but inevitabily...we were marched up tp bed...with the threat that if we didnt go to bed ...and go to sleep....santa would not come....as i reflect....i believed in the magical miracle of santa....and christmas...until i was about 10 years old.....i don't know how the many families managed to bring that christmas magic...and joy....to us when we were young....it must have been a great struggle.....but families did....and although we might not have got what we asked for we were never disappointed at what we got

after 1945...life began to come back to normal....but mchale road was always a street of brotherhood and community....we gave and borrowed the odd cup of sugar...or grain of tea.....many of the 116 houses .....had two families living in them...and i remember so...so ...well the higgins family that lived in mcgintys.....mr.higgins was a very friendlyman...and the family lived upstairs..in the front room...we would sit around the big....fire in the grate.....with a blazen glow...which illumined the room....mr. higgins would sing carols to us....and then conclude...with his trade mark song.....coming in on a wing and a prayer...."oh! theres one engine gone ...but we'll still carry on.....comin' in on a wing and a prayer....mchale road always embraced the season.....and theres was always an air of comraderie....and togetherness.....mchale road had large families...but homes were always gaily decorated with streamers....and crepe....with many clusters of holly....were fashioned to the walls....its vivid green...thorny leaf adorned in berries of fire engine red.....christmas puddings....in their pots....gauze...and waxed paper...hung from the ceilings.....and rich dark fruit cakes...bound in crepe and foil....exuded....a rich...spicy....pungent....mouth watering fruit...festive aroma.....back in those days....there were telegram boys....which delivered hopefully money laden telegrams....josie feeney...and joady scully.....were the bearers way back then.....the bacon factory..was alaso a hive of productivity.......as sides of bacon....green...and smoked were cured for the rush......pop deane...was always making sure things were moving alongin the sausage house .....sausages were...linked and strung out ...mr.mcgough...and mrs darker.....kept the sausage house hopping....at the top end of the road in clarkes shop...mrs clarke ....was always good to us kids...there were two things peculiar to clarkes shop....the smell of parrafin oil.....which they supplied ...and the grand picture of metro goldwynn mayers...stars.....we often asked mrs clarke to take it down to the counter so we could look at it......here we gazed at louis b mayer ....spencer tracy....mickey rooney.....clark gable....and my favourite wallace beery....under the picture was the caption.....mgm has more stars thaan there are in heaven.........i have vivid memories of murrays shop ...and phyliss...with her head of golden wrinklets.....and jimmy...my mouth organ friend....i recall how ...and the memories are quite vivid...even after all the years....of visiting my grandparents...con and ellen ocallaghan...in new line.....i used to bring them holly....my grandfather would send me with a note to johnny mchales ...for a baby power.....or granny might send me to ...lawlesses...or kearneys....or even andy jennings....after we put up the holly....we would sit around the range....and play snakes and ladders...or maybe ludo.....newline was a second home to me...and i knew all the friendly neighbours....the rowlands ....the mclaughlins...the mchughs....the neelys.....hubert gary....the lyons's....we all...often met at the two water pumps at either end.....bring home buckets of water...was a daily chore.....back then christmas bulbs were much bigger...than the more modern mini lights of today.....tom dunne back then...had by now installed the nativity crib in the church....the waites had began to awaken the silence of the night...with their nightly song and call.....

i saw on castlebar news pictures of various christmas parties being held....and i realized castlebar has become quite cosmopolitan....but long before.....e.u.....roundabouts.....traffic signals....mega super stores and tv.....the old stock of the townwore the sprit of christmas.....we were poor....and did not have too much....but our hearts were lit up like christmas trees.....leo shaughnessy...my old acquaintance....pushed the swithch...that sparked the illumination of the town's christmas lights.....

as i glide back in time i see peter moran....and frank tonra ....with their ass carts of turf....going down the road....good value for a half a crown......the only warmth back then was from the range and its fire ablaze with turf.....and as we huddled around......later as we went to bed...we ran up the stairs....threw a top coat on the bed ...and jumped into bed as quick as we could...lest we froze to death....

and now back in reality and toronto....the temperature with the wind chill is -20..........

.....to all....from my house to yours.......merry christmas

.....tog go bog e......