Luke howled with glee as one scruffy little boy with the seat hanging out of his pants clambered on to John’s lap and refused to move.

Matthew mopped his eyes and nodded, speechless with laughter. Everyone else – Mrs Stannard and her committee, Fred, Glad, Ivy, Ron and Stan – was in the same state. Mr Stannard had turned up as well. Jimmy and Agnes were pitching in and seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the others.

Jenny was glad she had bought extra presents, as they had far more children than anticipated. They were all from unemployed or very poor families. No one had been turned away.

The cries of joy from the little ones as they tore open their parcels brought tears to Jenny’s eyes. This was probably the only present they would get.

‘Just wait until they see all that food,’ Luke gurgled. ‘My God, there will be jelly everywhere.’

‘We’ve got plenty of helpers.’ Matthew slipped his arm around Jenny’s shoulder and smiled down at her. ‘Have you told Fred and his family about the houses yet?’

‘No. Now that our offer has been accepted, I’m going to talk to them after dinner tomorrow.’ She was bursting to tell them but had waited until it had all been settled. They’d had to go up to £280. That had been accepted, and the deposit paid. Luke would deal with the paperwork in the New Year.

‘Children!’ Louise Stannard clapped her hands. ‘I want you all to make an orderly queue. Tea is waiting for you in the hall.’

That was asking the impossible, and there was a stampede for the food. Toys were clutched firmly in one hand, with the other used to demolish the sandwiches, cakes, jellies and biscuits.

All the helpers were fully occupied, and at one point Jenny dragged a small boy off the floor as he tried to suck up some jelly that had fallen. She spooned some more in his dish and was rewarded with a brilliant smile, minus two front teeth.

By the time the parents collected their children, each was stuffed full of food and was hugging the precious toy and a bag containing an apple, orange and a few sweets. In the eerie quiet after they had gone, the exhausted helpers gulped strong cups of tea. No one spoke, but every so often someone chuckled as they remembered the party. It had been a joyous time.

Christmas Day was special. Jenny had made sure that each family in the street with the man unemployed had a proper meal. Gifts of a chicken, pudding and vegetables were made by Fred and said to come from an anonymous friend. Everyone had assumed the food came from the centre, and it had been accepted with much gratitude.