The Kindness Of Strangers

Julie is repaying many times over the charity which helped her and her struggling mum

- FIONA DUFFY

I was just seven years old when Santa's little helpers made a very special delivery to my home. Now, more than 50 years later, I'm trying to help keep the magic alive for thousands of other children.

It's one of my earliest Christmas memories...waking at dawn and tiptoeing downstairs, with my toddler brother, to find a bundle of beautifully wrapped presents waiting for us.

Mum was even more excited than we were. Her face lit up as we opened the shiny paper to reveal teddy bears, books, jigsaws and toys. Once or twice, she even wiped her eyes.

It was years before I truly understood why she was so emotional.

It was her first Christmas as a single parent. Dad had upped and left a few months earlier leaving Mum to bring us up alone. I was seven and Damon just 18 months.

It was a constant struggle to keep us fed, warm and clothed. Mum, bless her, had just one dress and underslip to her name. When she did the laundry, we'd have to wait until it had dried before we could leave our house in Bordesley, Birmingham.

Not surprisingly, she'd been dreading that first Christmas on her own. There was barely enough to buy food and pay bills - let alone buy toys and treats for two small kids. Then, late on Christmas Eve, there had been a knock at the door.