Bare Cheek: WHAT WAS THAT?

CAN’T REMEMBER THE NAME OF A FILM, TV SHOW, BOOK, OR SIMILAR? MIKE HUNTER IS THE MAN WITH THE ANSWERS.
barecheek
Dear Mike,
There’s a Christmas carol I want to sing this yuletide – I used to sing it as a nipper, but the passing years have, I’m afraid, dulled my memory, and I can recall neither the lyrics nor the tune. All I remember is that it concerned some early Christian King, observing a pauper from the window of his castle, who then went out into the cold and snow to give alms to the aforementioned pauper. Any ideas?
Peter Wenceslas, Hove

Dear Peter,
I myself have braved our current cold snap to bring you my answer “though the frost was cruel”, and I trust you’ll find what I say to be “deep”, “crisp” and possibly “even” as well (!) Yes, the fine old song of which you speak is, of course, “Santa Claus Is A Black Man” by Akim and the Teddy Vann Production Company.
Happy Christmas everybody!
Mike XXX

FESTIVE HOVE FACTUALLY

Five seasonal things you didn’t know about fantabulous Hove:
dolls
1) Instead of Boxing Day, denizens of Hove celebrate St. Malcolm’s Day, in which all presents are returned to the shops and exchanged for cash.

2) The Hove Santa Claus’ “list” has three categories – “nice”, “nasty” and “sexy.”

3) Mistletoe is illegal in Hove; instead people kiss underneath torn-out pages from the 1971 Harold Robbins potboiler, The Betsy.

4) Christmas was actually banned in Hove between 1921 and 1953. It was replaced by an ancient anglo-saxon festival called “Grumworthy” in which everybody swaps shoes.

5) Instead of singing songs, Hove carollers enact impromptu live sex shows.