Acknowledgements

First and foremost, and once again, I want to thank my family for supporting me during the writing, editing and emotional meltdowns involved in putting this book together. To my mammy, who read as I wrote, thank you for all your feedback. To my daddy, sisters and brother, thank you. Most of all thanks to Neil, Joseph and Cara who live with my multiple personalities as my characters find their way. I love you all very much.

Thanks to my wider family circle, in particular my granny, Auntie Raine, ‘Mimi’ and Auntie Marie Louise for their faith, support and practical help. (Cupcakes gratefully accepted, choir stress relief much needed, baby-sitting very much appreciated.)

To my lovely colleagues at the Derry Journal and in particular Erin, Bernie, Catherine and Mary for listening on a sometimes daily basis to my writing woes – thank you.

To Vicki – you simply rock.

For those writer friends who know exactly what it is like and who make me laugh – thank you. Special thanks for their words of encouragement go to Fiona Cassidy (aka the Galbally One), Sharon Owens and Anna McPartlin.

To my Twitter friends, especially the #tayswillinweemin – thank you again for your loveliness. #youareamazing

And to my ‘real world’ friends, especially my Encore choir ‘family’, thank you.

Special thanks as always go to all at Poolbeg – especially Paula Campbell for her vision, support and friendship, and Gaye Shortland for her never-ending enthusiasm and keen eye.

Thanks also to my agent Ger Nichol, who is always there when I need her and who should be available on the NHS to neurotic authors everywhere. I could not do this without you, Ger. Much, much love x

Finally to the booksellers and readers who make this possible and worthwhile – thank you, thank you, thank you.

Introduction

First of all, all of us in Barnardos, in Northern Ireland and the Republic, are really grateful to Poolbeg Press for doing it again! Last year’s Christmas book was brilliant, and it is wonderful that once again so many writers have given their time, their talent, and either their imaginations or their memories, to put this smashing collection together.

If you ask most of us the question, “What would you do if you were a child again for a day?”, it would immediately spark off a jumble of memories in all our heads – and maybe get a great conversation going around the dinner table. The things we didn’t do and always wanted to, and things we did that maybe we shouldn’t have. (One of us – we won’t say who – can still remember being part of a gang that was chased for miles by a very cross farmer whose orchard we had just emptied!)

But nowadays we work with children who might not want to ever revisit their own childhoods. We work as hard as possible to give all our children, when we’re working with them, the best possible childhood we can. And we worry when they go home about the neighbourhoods they live in, or the cold and damp houses, or the problems in the families. Sometimes we think the best thing we can do for our children is to help them build their resilience, because life throws all sorts of adversity their way.

Helping children to get the most out of school, helping to build their confidence, to give them a strong sense of who they are and why they’re important, helping them to make better choices in their lives (especially when the bad choices are easier) – it might sound simple, but actually it’s painstaking work.

It involves building close and honest relationships with children and their families. It takes time and effort. There are setbacks, and sometimes very small increments of progress. If you really want to change the lives of children for the better, you have to decide right from the start that you won’t give up.

And the people who work in Barnardos never give up! It can be emotionally demanding for the staff who work with children in disadvantage every day. But if you feel at the end of the day that you’ve helped someone to look back on a childhood that was happier and more fulfilling than it might have been otherwise, that’s truly rewarding.

In the times we live in, the need for that work is greater than it has ever been. But the resources available are squeezed tighter and tighter all the time. That’s why we really appreciate the support a book like this can give.

We know from talking to some of the writers in this collection that they all got a huge kick out of reliving a moment of childhood. And we hope that everyone who buys the book will enjoy the experience just as much. By putting this collection together, and by getting it to the top of the bestseller lists hopefully, Poolbeg Press, and all the writers here, and all of you who have bought the book are all helping, each in your own way, to change a child’s life for the better.

Fergus Finlay

Chief Executive

Barnardos (Republic of Ireland)

Lynda Wilson

Director

Barnardo’s Northern Ireland