Marmalade Helpline
Have lunch with a
marmalade-making friend; I take a jar of Batch Two as a gift and make him
admire the hand-cut peel. He later emails me to tell me that he started an
office discussion about marmalade after our lunch, and found that there is an insect called a marmalade hoverfly. But his colleague misheard and said ‘Marmalade
Helpline? Is there such a thing?’
Which is a rather
nice idea. Run by the WI, of course.
I planned to
ignore such non-edible distractions on this site, but can’t resist looking up
the hoverfly and it is, in fact, rather beautiful, with black markings
that look like a selection of false moustaches. As you'll see if you click here.
And, once more, I am delighted that people talk about marmalade at work.
The Britishness of
Marmalade
One thing that
interests me about marmalade is how it has become a symbol of Britishness, an
essential foodstuff without which the country’s morale would surely collapse.
As we didn’t invent it and it’s not even made with a native crop, I’m not sure
why this is. But it has become so; and this blog will frequently present
evidence that this is the case.
For example, last
year the Radio Times printed a diary written by actor Ben Miller, who had moved
to Guadeloupe for six months to film the wonderful ‘Death in Paradise’ for BBC1. I particularly liked this entry:
‘15 August 2011:
What I really miss are the most clichéd things about England. Things I don’t
even generally care about when I’m in England. I have started fantasising about
marmalade. They have orange jam here, which is really not the same. I have
invited a friend out. I have pretended I want to see him, but really I just
want him to bring some marmalade. I hope he doesn’t read this.’
Note to Ben
Miller: if you ever go back and make Series 2, I promise to send you at least
one jar of marmalade for moral support. In fact, could you write it into the
script? Although then your character might cheer up a bit, which would never
do.
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