Page 48 of Christmas at Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

‘The tinsel and baubles?’

‘Yep, and the twinkly lights.’

‘Yes, that sounds a nice idea. I’ll give them a call when we get back, see if they want to come over. And we could have hot chocolates in the Pantry with Granny Jill to warm up before we start.’

‘Ooh, yes!’

They began their walk back, Rachel dragging the tree behind her making a trail through the frost, with Moss barking at it both animatedly and suspiciously, as though it were something to round up.

‘Grandma Jill, Grandma Jill, we’ve found a good one!’ Maisy was shouting excitedly, as she reached the barn door.

‘And a big one,’ Rachel followed up with a wry smile. Despite being used to heavy manual work on the farm, her arms were aching from dragging the tree back. It seemed to get heavier with every step. She’d abandoned it outside in the yard.

‘We’re going to ask Amelia to come and help too,’ said Maisy.

‘To decorate it,’ added Rachel by way of explanation.

‘Super.’

‘And we need hot chocolates to warm up – pretty please.’ Maisy gave her most charming smile.

‘In you come, then, you’re letting out all the warmth.’ Jill ushered Maisy through.

‘But we need to bring in the tree.’

‘We’ll leave it outside for now, petal,’ said Rachel.

‘Oh, but I wanted to show Grandma.’

‘Yes, but we need to find something to put it in and fetch all the decorations and the fairy lights yet. It’ll be best left outside until then.’

‘O-kay. Well let’s ring Amelia’s mummy straight away.’ Maisy was on a mission.

After sipping warming hot chocolates in the Pantry, served Grandma-style with whipped cream and chocolate flakes crumbled on the top, Rachel headed across to the farmhouse to find the Christmas decorations. She knew they were boxed up in the loft, so she got out the stepladders and a torch and made her way up.

After a bit of poking about, there they were, three slightly dusty, brown cardboard boxes marked ‘Christmas’ in Dad’s handwriting. The lid on one of them was open so she pulled out strands of silver tinsel and found a pack of baubles, and then the ancient angel that used to sit on the top when she was a little girl. She remembered that it had been Granny Ruth’s. Yes, Dad used to pop her on his shoulders so she could reach the very top. She trailed her fingertips over his writing on the box.

‘Oh, Dad.’ He should be here, getting ready for Christmas with them, looking forward to all those special times with his family. Memories made him feel so close, and yet so far away, always out of reach. ‘Miss you,’ she whispered aloud, feeling that familiar pang in her heart.

Well, this wasn’t getting her very far; Maisy would be waiting at the Pantry, no doubt along with Eve and Amelia by now. When she’d phoned a little earlier, Eve had said they’d be delighted to help, and they were going to set off as soon as she’d gathered some of her craft decorations together. Rachel gave an emotional sniff, took a deep breath, and then moved the three boxes to the edge of the large loft hatch. Hmm, it’d be a bit tricky on her own, but if she took it slowly, she should be able to manage the stepladders one box at a time.

She ferried the boxes over to the Pudding Pantry and was delighted to see Eve and Amelia already there, sitting at a table, chatting with Maisy. Eve and Rachel were soon manhandling the rather enormous tree into place in the far corner of the barn, setting it upright into a huge terracotta garden pot full of stones and earth. With a bit of tweaking and pieces of kindling jammed down the trunk on one side, they straightened it and it just about reached the top of the stone wall.

Maisy was already opening up boxes and clapping her hands with glee, pulling out glistening strands of tinsel in silver and gold, and boxes of baubles. Amelia found Granny Ruth’s angel for the top, and some silver beads.

‘Hold fire, you two, and go gently with all that – some of it’s very old and delicate. And before we put anything else on, we need the fairy lights arranged. Let’s find them.’

The two girls and their mums dug around in the Pandora’s box of Christmas decorations. ‘Is this them?’ Eve pulled out a green wire strand with little glass bulbs all along that was wrapped around a piece of card.

‘Yep, and let’s get them tested first, before we pop them on.’ Rachel remembered that magic rule from the time when her dad had them strung on the Christmas tree in the living room of the farmhouse, with tinsel, baubles – the full works – and the magical moment of switching on, and … nothing. When they had looked closely, a couple of bulbs were smashed and that was it – an unravelling of tinsel and baubles, a trip to the hardware store with a rather grumpy Dad, plus a herd of disgruntled cattle whose hay delivery was late.

Rachel gently unwound the lights and plugged them into a nearby socket. Phew, they lit up with a warm-white glow that gave a gentle twinkle. Perfect. She was beginning to get in the festive mood herself.

Frank was now in the barn for his late morning coffee and sitting watching, delighted with the festivities. ‘You’re doing a grand job, girls,’ he called from his seat, as they began draping festoons of tinsel over prickly branches.

‘Thank you, Frank.’

‘Cheers. Would you like to join in and help?’