In this exclusive tale four generations of an expat Irish family share a London house, where they gossip and drink and dream as Christmas draws near

Two Irish ladies in their high 70s sat drinking gin as they looked out to the great pall of winter: the drearier end of Kentish Town, late in the morning. There was a snap of rain on the wind, a lowering December sky.

“You’re takin’ your life in your hands with them things,” said Annie.