My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in fifteen years...

I was visiting with some South African friends a couple of weeks ago, and as happens this time of year, the conversation turned to Christmas. They had asked me if I had seen something called Dinner for One. I had not, and they quickly gave me an education.

Written for the theater in the 1920s, this 11 minute single take black-and-white 1963 TV recording featuring British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden has become a tradition every New Years Eve on many European television sets. It has also been preformed live and recorded in many other countries. Here is the British version from 1963.