Dec 2023
With the cost of living crisis, Christmas this year may be a challenging time for many families. Platform Education Scheme have written as special poem for local children, young and old to enjoy over Christmas. Read tale of Santa’s new apprentice elf, Cof as she learns the ropes. In Welsh, Cof means memory.
One Christmas Eve night, all was peaceful and still,
The stars twinkled softly, the air crisp and chill.
A kindly moon shone catching dreams in her glow
From the visions of children asleep down below.
When out of the sky, with a whoosh and a whizz
Came Santa, the reindeer, and all of that bizz.
The laden sleigh sparkled, the reindeer bells rang,
And as it drew closer the children’s hearts sang.
At the back of the sleigh, on the presents, packed tight,
Was a team of elves all set to work through the night.
Here, gripping the seat, trying not to fall off,
Was a brand-new apprentice, an elf name of Cof.
For her first Christmas Eve, Santa gave her one task:
“Gather all happy memories from Christmases past.
The memories are stored, in each sleeping head.
You must copy them carefully on long golden threads.
When we get home, we’ll put them to the test,
So we can find out what makes Christmas the best.”
Cof was perplexed. “Surely everyone knows –
Children like big gifts with huge fancy bows?”
Santa just smiled with a wink of an eye,
And up flew the sleigh through the dark midnight sky.
Cof gazed at the cluster of towns far below,
“Santa,” she asked “How d’you know where to go?”
“Simple,” he cried, “I follow train tracks!
The trains go all over – for me, they’re a map!”
To Taunton and Bridgwater, Highridge and Burnham
From their gift-giving mission, nothing would turn’em.
No time for a trip to the pier at Weston
Could they finish in time? That was the question!
From Milton to Worle and to Yatton for cake!
To Nailsea and Backwell to visit the lake
Then Parson Street, Bedminster, Temple Meads Station
A tribute to Brunel’s great rail innovations.
Out to Keynsham then eastward to Oldfield Park
Next stop the world-famous city Bath Spa
To Lawrence Hill then on to Stapleton Road
(Where an old hidden street and a river once flowed!)
From Montpelier to Redland up the track goes
Past leafy back gardens past Cheltenham Road
Onwards and upwards to Clifton Down Station
A short walk from Brunel’s gorge bridge inspiration.
Through the tunnel to Sea Mills a new world is seen
A broad river twisting through meadows and trees
At the top of the Daisy Field, watching the views
Stands a Shirehampton war horse fashioned from horseshoes
Straight on to Avonmouth (via Portway)
No cruise ships expected here this Christmas day.
St Andrew’s Road industry then Severn Beach
Just as far as the bridge, the train track did reach.
A short hop to Pilning and east to Patchway
No time to rest down at Bristol Parkway
Or Abbey Wood. Boy did they put in a shift
In home after home, as they gave out their gifts!
Stopping at all of the homes on the way,
Quickly, they emptied the gifts from the sleigh.
At each place they stopped Cof unwound her gold thread,
To harvest the memories from each sleeping head.
She thought she’d see memories of Barbies and Kens,
Footballs and scooters, and spy gadget pens,
Battery-powered cars and new mobile phones,
Doll’s houses, teddies, remote-control drones.
But she was wrong.
In place of the “things” she expected to see,
People and moments of joy filled each memory.
A nativity play, a class proudly singing,
Carols by candlelight, bells loudly ringing.
Gifts, handmade with love, hidden under the tree,
Knowing grown-ups had loved them, and that they were free.
The smell of the dinner with all of the trimmings,
The fun of the party games, losing and winning.
The snap of the crackers, the cheap party hats,
Bad jokes and laughter, the warmth of the chat.
Gramps asleep in the chair, Grandma sipping her sherry,
Fresh Christmas cookies topped off with a cherry.
Mince pies and fairly lights, ivy and holly
Even grumpy big brother being quite jolly!
The daily advent calendar thrill,
Those small acts of kindness, the spread of good will.
A memory of tiny hands dressing the tree.
The delight of the 5am screech, “LOOK! HE’S BEEN!”
Reminiscences new, reminiscences old
Were drawn to the thread, now so laden with gold.
Tucking the threads in her red silky sack,
Cof felt tired but content. It was time to go back.
But all was not well when she came to the sleigh
The elves were so anxious, so filled with dismay
That the stars lost their sparkle, the air filled with dread.
“It’s a total disaster, Santa,” they said.
“How so?” Santa asked, his face full of worry,
Dawn was approaching, so they had to hurry.
The elves started telling him where they had been,
In the flats and the houses and all they had seen.
“Many homes are unheated, the trees looked quite bare,
There were far fewer presents, no new clothes to wear,
The sherry was water, the mince pies so small,
And some of the houses had no pie at all.”
The elves were distraught, but Santa – less so,
They said, “Aren’t you troubled? What do you know?”
“If it’s just about gifts,” he said, “Yes, it is tragic,
But there’s much more to Christmas that makes it feel magic.
And haven’t you heard of the high cost of living?
Christmas cannot be just getting and giving.
Let’s take a peep in Cof’s memory sack.
And see all the memories she has brought back.”
Like fireworks, the memories swirled into the sky,
The elves watched in awe – now they knew why.
In years to come, nobody really remembered,
What gift they received on that night in December.
They remembered the love, they remembered the care,
The laughter and kindness, the family time shared.
“It’s true,” Santa said, “That our gifts play their part –
But the real Christmas magic takes place in your heart.”
With a whoosh and a whiz and a, “Giddy up let’s go”,
The sleigh soon looked down on the earth far below
Cof’s tiny voice sang as the sleigh zoomed away,
“Give a memory to someone on your Christmas day.
And remember, in decades to come, you’ll still be,
A thick golden thread, someone’s best Christmas memory.”
