One of the most important Christmas traditions for John Field of Fields in Skibbereen is ensuring that others have what they need to fulfil and enjoy their own festive tradition.

'As the song goes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and we want to keep it a wonderful time for everybody. This will be my 63rd in the shop. The most important thing for us at this time of year is to never leave anybody short of anything that they require and we start preparing for Christmas far in advance. It's our job to make sure that we have the range and we have the quality that people are entitled to.

'I don't know if you remember but about 20 years ago there was a very bad storm on Christmas Eve and sure enough the electricity was gone on Christmas Day for a huge number of people around the area. We put on the ovens and we baked hams and turkeys for several families. It was great to think that we helped them have a "normal" Christmas Day. No matter what happens, you look after people. When it comes to food, we can never afford to run out of anything and the motto of this shop is "Never say no."

'Christmas Day itself is beautiful because you have children and grandchildren around. Sometimes we might visit some friends. On Christmas Eve the youngest member of the family will light the Christmas candle and we wish for health in the coming year. We have Christmas Day dinner at home and we'll always have turkey and ham. St Stephen's Day is one of the great horseracing days and I really look forward to watching that. At the end of the day then we go and relax and I have a pint of Guinness.'