Bart Simpson has been in my life for more than 30 years! Unfortunately, I was not very nice to him for a very long time.

When I was nearly 4 years, I asked mum and dad for a baby doll for Christmas, I pictured playing “mummy and daddy and babies”, carrying my doll in my arms, putting it to bed, and looking after it like mummy and dad do. Yes, I put a lot of thinking into this gift I wanted! I had a pretty good picture of what I wanted and was so excited to open that parcel on Christmas morning.

Christmas morning arrived, dad lit up the fire and sat my big sister and I in front of the television to watch the first-ever episode of the new American Series The Simpsons, I was a strange child who didn’t really think much of any animated series, back then I didn’t understand the humor. I was just waiting for an episode to end so that we could open the presents under the tree.

As I opened this big present I saw this big carry cot and laying in it was a small Bart Simpson. My reaction wasn’t the one my parents expected, I wanted a baby doll, Bart couldn’t be my baby. That afternoon my mum came into our bedroom and asked why Bart was outside on his own, I replied he could not play with us.

Many years after he still lives in the family home and my beautiful niece comes to stay, she loves him and plays with him. Treating him much better than I did…

This year my mum decided to use Bart as a Christmas decoration.