Portsmouth lays 35 miles south of where I live.
It was a navy town from well before the sinking
of HMS Mary Rose there in1545.
But as it's Yuletide let's remember that Charles
Dickens was born there. His father was a clerk
in the Royal Navy pay office there.
Charles is sometimes referred to as the inventor
of Christmas from his book A Christmas Carol
which gave us Scrooge.

Bob Taylor