Another snippet from Addlestone, the first book in The Addlestone Chronicles trilogy: Humphrey said, “Today is for family but not so tomorrow. It’s been a Boxing Day tradition since the war that we welcome estate workers along with a few local tradesmen. Servants have the day off so we’ll be fending for ourselves. In the afternoon, local friends will join us for another round of hospitality.”
Smalbridge, along with his wife and son, were the first to arrive. Ten other estate workers and their wives were lined up behind them along with Joseph Hodges, their village butcher, and their builder William Gosden. Humphrey passed a tray of hors d’oeuvres the kitchen had prepared yesterday. James and Margie’s husband, Jonathan, were in charge of serving drinks.
At midday, Humphrey stood by the piano and addressed his guests. “Because of the drought in southern England, we’ve had to buy in fodder from Yorkshire and sell off some of the Angus steers before they’d reached their optimum weight. I’m indebted to all of you for your loyalty and hard work throughout 1934. As a token of our appreciation, please accept this modest gift to see you through the holidays.”
He handed an envelope to each estate worker. James knew Humphrey had doled out similar Christmas boxes to Jarvis, Peets, Sprott, and the kitchen staff. After this ceremony, their guests left to enjoy their own holidays since no estate work was ever conducted on Boxing Day.
Boxing Day, December 26th 1934
