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Wrap up the leftovers
Appears in
Published 2010
Leftovers. What did we do before clingfilm was invented? How did we cope before the days of cavernous fridges and deep freezers?
Vivid Christmas memories are usually childhood ones. One of mine is of my Mum covering the cold turkey carcass with greaseproof paper and, for want of anywhere more suitable, putting it back inside the oven for overnight storage. The scullery, with its stone floor and lino, was always chilly enough.
I will never forget her anguish the following day. She discovered that a mouse had climbed into the back of the oven via the gas pipe and had celebrated its own private Christmas Dinner, foraging its way all over the meaty bones. I can remember my own feelings of dismay when all the lovely leftovers were well and truly dumped in the dustbin. There was no turkey soup and sandwiches that year; no cold stuffing to go with the leftover bread sauce and cold roasties.