The evergreenery of our holly and mistletoe declares the everlasting life; and the off-key sounds of carolers, hoarse and shrill and piping, come from the throats of angels, as their listeners for those few moments are transformed into shepherds, hearing for the first time the gladdest tidings of the greatest joy.

Labor’s formal reconciliation with the federal Constitution during the postwar decades has been a significant development both for the ALP and for Australian politics generally.

In 1955, No. 30783, after a collision with an H15 4-6-0 at Bournemouth in which its right-hand cylinder was dislodged, required very extensive frame renewals.

Though a gentle sigh, which stole from the bosom of Nancy, seemed to argue some secret disapprobation of these sentiments, she did not dare openly to oppose them.