Stable companions

IT'S nativity season in Alderney and this year the spotlight falls on the stable animals.

Born in a Barn is the title of St Anne's annual 'ahh'-fest and this time the Greatest Story Ever Told has the manger's hairier, furrier, slightly less fragrant occupants taking centre stage.

And while the Gospels of Matthew and Luke do not dwell on the various snufflings, grunts and squawks that heralded the birth of the Christian saviour, there's definitely something unique added by the presence of a rooster, a cat, a dog, a cow, an owl, several lively sheep and a brace of cavorting camels at the holy scene.

With 34 infant-school pupils – all aged between four and six – on stage, it's a fairly full stable, as you can imagine.

'There's a five-star hotel down the road,' recommends the cat to Mary and Joseph, gesturing towards the nearby harbour's sumptuous Braye Beach Hotel. Indeed – apart from the obvious wrongness of a reimagined Mary padding about in a fluffy towelling robe, munching on complimentary packs of shortbread biscuits and flicking though Living TV channels – perhaps they might have been better off down the road. The dress rehearsal, played out in front of senior school pupils, was struck by a power cut minutes before curtain up, meaning no sparkly lights and music teacher Miss Howells being called in to accompany them with simple improvisation on the piano.

The upper school filled the rows of chairs in front of the stage to give many of the youngsters on stage their first taste of speaking and singing in front of an older audience.

But the children rose to the occasion magnificently.

'They practise for four weeks and they all look forward to it,' said Reception teacher Gillan Costello. 'Each year has a special twist. Last year it was aliens and this year it's animals. They adored singing the songs and doing the actions. They were amazing.'

Christmas has multiple meanings to its young stars. Chiefly among them, of course, is presents – but the significance of the small doll held by Mary hasn't gone unnoticed.

'Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus,' said six-year-old Cormac English, who played a dog in the stable. 'Father Christmas is 182 years old. He comes through the front door in our house because the chimneys don't work. Sometimes we have mice in our house and I think he might scare them. My brother is away at boarding school and he is going to come back for Christmas, so that will be good. We do fight a bit, but we do love each other.'

'The best thing about Christmas is that you get lots of presents,' said angel Hollie Jenkins, five. 'I've written a letter and posted it to where Father Christmas lives in the North Pole and I think he is making them now.'

Whatever Christmas ends up costing, the school nativity is priceless.