Another Holiday Tradition

I'm sure everyone has seen "A Christmas Carol" (my favorite's the Alastair Sim version), and of course "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (the soundtrack by Vince Guaraldi alone would make it a classic). But one of my favorite Christmas episodes is tucked away in the series 2 collection of "All Creatures Great and Small", the series based on the books by British vet James Herriott. The episode is "Merry Gentlemen", and among the plot strands (Siegfried tries to cure a gypsy family's donkey without offering 'charity', Tristan wonders what lies behind the mysterious locked door in the vet's house, and Mrs. Pumphrey's spoiled terrier Tricki Woo suffers the results of too much pampering) is my favorite scene. A visit to the Hewison farm traditionally features a taste of Mrs. Hewison's Christmas cake, but this year, Mrs. Hewison is determined to find out whether Siegfried is just being polite when he praises her cooking. Even though we've seen it probably a dozen times, it's still the height of suspense as Siegfried takes a bit of cake and mulls his response. If you haven't seen it, quick, put it in your holds queue!