WHO invented Christmas? Certainly not me.

Scrooge by name, Scrooge by nature, therefore my light-hearted view of forthcoming family reunions may strike a chord.

One expects to be constantly interrupted by the inappropriate use of mobile phones in the midst of giving my rendition of the Ten Commandments.

This apparition of Marley’s ghost from A Christmas Carol came by way of being taken by my sister-in-law, a reverend in Holy Orders, to York Minster and given a reprieve, along with Silent Night.

However, the New Year brings with it salvation, having reserved my accommodation alongside Dick Turpin in the Castle Museum’s debtors’ prison.

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York