The Yorkshire Post says: Christmas cheer '“ witness the big society in action

AS BUSINESSES and shops shut for Christmas, it is only right to acknowledge all those people from NHS professionals and members of the emergency services to volunteers looking after the elderly and lonely who will be working over the festive period.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Dec 2018, 00:40 BST

Updated 8th Jan 2019, 16:58 BST

An army of professionals and volunteers will look after the elderly this Christmas.

This civic duty is a great gift to the nation. It is the ‘‘big society’’ in action. For, while this is a time when families do come together, hospitals, care homes and their like cannot stop.

And so, too, do members of the Armed Forces – and all those other responders tasked with keeping Britain safe. There will be no let-up in their duties while the rest of the country is opening Christmas presents, tucking into a festive feast, watching television and playing those party games which have become such a tradition.

As such, our abiding wish is for a happy – and peaceful – Christmas while extending every good wish to all those who will be separated from their family because of their professional duties or personal circumstances.