Food was basic and barely enough to sustain the children. The 'portly gentlemen' who visit Scrooge ask for a Christmas donation to help the destitute orphans. Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at ...

It is 175 years since Charles Dickens introduced the world to his vision of Christmas in ... and his big finale - boiling a plum pudding "in a gentleman's hat". Dancing then followed as it often ...