Last Christmas — Matthew Drzymala

Father Whitworth O'Grady is tired of the same old Christmas Eve ritual. A ritual that consists of watery vegetable soup and a game of cribbage with the ageing Father Stanton.

When Father Stanton catches a nasty cold and has to decline a generous invitation to a meal with the Summers-Day family, Father O'Grady feels no guilt in popping along without him.

With the prospect of snow, cake and a near-fatal penny, could this turn into Father O'Grady's most eventful Christmas Eve ever?

Last Christmas is the first Bumpkinton story, a short prelude to the Bumpkinton novella, Bittersweet. This is a feel-good story with a pinch of pathos.