Old letter in a chimney - level 3
It's not what you would expect to find stuck up a chimney, but this letter written by a little boy to Santa in 1943 has been found up a chimney stack in Reading. Remarkably, it is in almost perfect condition. The letter was found completely by accident when builders were tearing down the old chimney.
“Normally, we do find stuff, like old newspapers, matchboxes, cigarettes, boxes, but nothing, nothing like this, you know, it is in perfect condition. It was folded up, you know, we found it like that, really. And you know, kids these days ask for a lot more than what's on this list, so that's why we were, you know, we were surprised at that.”
Lewis posted a picture of the letter on Facebook to show how times have changed, but he never could have imagined that the person who wrote the letter would use this new medium to get in touch.
David Haylock is the little boy who wanted chalk, slippers and any toy Santa had to spare.
“The writing looks familiar. It is mine, yes. About 73, 74 years ago. I must have put this up the chimney to Father Christmas, and I can't wait for him to deliver.”
Although his letter may not have been answered all those years ago, luckily for David, these builders have decided in the Christmas spirit to gift him those present he longed for when he was a little boy.
Difficult words: chimney stack (the part of a chimney that goes up above a roof), medium (a way to communicate), spare (if you can spare something, you do not need it), spirit (feeling).