Christmas spirit

One of my earliest memories is attending a village Christmas carols with my mum when I was three or four. At the end of the concert, Santa appeared and started throwing lollies out to the crowd. I didn't get lollies very often and I really wanted one of those lollies. If they came from Santa they must have been special. 

Mum tried really hard to get one, but there were too few lollies and too many quick hands. We were too far away from Santa. I was devastated and in tears. A few minutes later, an older man approached me, knelt beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. He gave me a wink and said 'grab yourself an icecream from the shop'. He gave me a five dollar note. I don't think I'd ever seen a note before, let alone owned one. After much careful deliberation, I bought a Golden Gaytime icecream for me and a Cornetto for mum.

To this day the generosity of this stranger has stuck with me. This was a small gesture from him which I will never forget. He could have done nothing, but he chose to do something. To this man, I say thank you. And to this day, Golden Gaytimes remain my favourite icecream.