You have to hand it to Father Christmas, he's really has got
the work-life balance in his favour. One, admittedly knackering, day visiting
all the children in world and the rest of the year to put his feet up. Or so it
would seem.
In this interview with Father Christmas, not heard for over
50 years, we get to hear that when he's not organising the gifts for the
kiddies ("axes, pistols, do-it-yourself murder kits") or doing battle
with traffic wardens when he has to park the reindeer, then he is, in fact, a
BBC commissionaire - "the one that stands outside and doesn't open the
door for you."
Posing the questions to the man himself is BBC reporter
Greville Havenhand in this extract which probably comes from an edition of Radio Newsreel, though I can't date it
with any precision.
If you think that Father Christmas sounds a little like
Spike Milligan then you'll appreciate this contribution to Punch about his family Christmases and his attempt to disguise
himself as Father Christmas that ends in disaster. This article comes the edition
of Punch dated 4 December 1974.
There's more Spike over Christmas on the radio. As well as
the Operation Christmas Duff episode
of The Goon Show, Radio 4 has a
dramatisation of his comic novel Puckoon with Ed Byrne, Barry Cryer, Pauline McLynn and his daughter Jane Milligan.
With thanks to Tim Havenhand
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