‘Commentary’, by David Firth, from December 14, 1979

‘Friends on the whole are anything but puritanical.’

‘The Friend is a very puritanical journal.’ | Image by Thais Melo

Enthroned amid the mercantile splendour of the toy department, Father Christmas sat beaming. Suddenly his eyes narrowed to slits, and he hissed, ‘I’ll give you just five seconds to get out of here!’ The objects of such startling venom were four children, who had formed up decorously and piped in quick succession, ‘Morning, Father Christmas!’

You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.