But once a year Available to Purchase

Despite the all‐embracing goodwill, Christmas remains a dangerous time. I don't know about you, but I find that Christmas often seems to trigger off the mounting irritations of the year. As we stagger towards the end of term teachers are slightly off balance, kitchen staff are sweating blood in the refectory and even amiable caretakers get tetchy about decorations and humping furniture about. Heads of department pull themselves up the stairs by the hand‐rail and the principal, ageing visibly, looks like the ghost of Christmas past. The wrong word at the wrong time and the harmony is shattered. Staff rooms fall silent, kitchen staff bridle and caretakers retire to chain‐smoke in subterranean snuggeries.