Salut Sunderland’s advent calendar – another door opened on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve should have been the day to open the penultimate door of our advent calendar.

For a while it looked as if the occupants of number 24 had put out the lights and hidden behind the sofa to avoid the late night carol singers but undaunted we have returned after the turkey and trimmings to finally get a response. Now clicking on the door should take you to Deputy Editor Malcolm Dawson’s memories of an afternoon more than twenty one years ago and the end of an era.

Christmas Day itself saw a bumper offering on the advent calendar. No prizes for guessing which event we were remembering but our contributors, Jeanette Sutton, Peter Lynn, Bill Taylor and Paul Dobson all have their own special reasons for remembering the occasion.

And if by any chance you have missed any of the earlier contributions (or if you were thwarted by the gremlins that reside in the internet) they can be accessed by clicking on the relevant door.