I got a fountain pen once and I was so over the moon with it

I got a skipping rope and I thought that was wonderful.

My father made me a rifle out of wood and a Tommy gun but there were no toys about. I had a teddy bear, which I simply loved and my sister had a doll, but the people along the way couldn't get any toys so we were asked to give up our teddy and doll so that the children along the way could have something. I loved that teddy bear - it was hard.

My teddy is almost as old as I am so I have made him some medals because he was in the war. He sits in the rocking chair and I've made some specs for him and he has a newspaper.

My teddy is very threadbare but he's going nowhere he lives with me.

I can't remember presents but I can remember the decorations which came out year after year and they were just paper chains. We had 4 bells which opened up and I can see my mother now with a darning needle sewing them together because the hole for the metal clip had worn too big, first time she used cotton, then she used thicker thread and eventually it got to a bit of wool as the hole grew.

We had Chinese lanterns made of paper and they had a candle inside them, Health & Safety wouldn't allow them now.

I can't remember any special toys. We always went to church and opened our presents when we got back. A cousin of my mother's was keen on knitting and she knitted lots of doll's clothes for us.

We always had a stocking and it always had an orange in at the bottom and some small toys, puzzles, nuts and anything that hadn't been imported.