British cancer patients’ poverty at Christmas

This video says about itself:

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

23 September 2012

A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens, first published by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge‘s ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim.

The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain when it was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and at the time when new customs such as the Christmas tree and greeting cards were being introduced. Dickens‘ sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

The tale has been viewed by critics as an indictment of 19th-century industrial capitalism. It has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a period of sobriety and sombreness. A Christmas Carol remains popular, has never been out of print, and has been adapted to film, stage, opera, and other media multiple times.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Cancer sufferers ‘too poor for Christmas‘

Monday 30th November 2015

MACMILLAN Cancer Support warned that nearly 200,000 cancer sufferers will feel “cold” and “alone” this Christmas because they do not have enough money to heat their homes.

The leading charity revealed that 28 per cent of those surveyed said they were unable to heat their homes due to financial worries while 9 per cent said they had to miss out on visiting family and friends because they couldn’t afford it.

Macmillan have called on the Tory government to rethink its plans on welfare, saying it was “incomprehensible” that the plans would take away £30 from sufferers too ill to work.