Let's ensure nobody is overlooked

Extended families, some of whom only get to share a table at such special times, will be opening presents, pulling crackers and having fun.

Spare a thought, then, this Christmas for those for home the family gathering cannot be complete.

Sadly, there will be more than a few for whom this will be the case. But we remember in particular two households.

Joyce Wells' mystifying disappearance was headline news for a couple of weeks at the height of the police search.

As the Observer closed for press for its last edition before Boxing Day there had still been no progress in that hunt, despite what Joyce's daughters gratefully accept has been a diligent and comprehensive police operation.

Heartbreak always seems to take on an added dimension at Christmas, a time when everyone else is preoccupied by having fun.

For a much-loved mother and grandmother to have died at such a time would be difficult enough for any family to bear.

Not to know what has become of Joyce must be an even greater burden.

Our hearts go out to a family which has borne its troubles with a calm and dignified public face, whatever the private grief.

Joyce Wells' unexplained disappearance stands as a metaphor for many family problems across the community: ill health, strained relationships, struggling personal or business finances and, increasingly, the risk of being jobless.

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