‘Then it fell apart’; could be referencing that excellent Moby autobiography (Part 2), but hopefully isn’t from an email after we sent a machine out. It does pretty much describe what happened when I wanted to get the show back on the road earlier this year.
If time is like a box which it’s impossible to fit everything into, that’s pretty much what the issue was. The box can’t be expanded but it definitely is having a revamp / clearout in 2025. So with last order dates not being an issue this year, let’s talk about Christmas food. Odd Christmas food, in fact.
A few years ago a certain high street games retailer managed to hit PR gold by releasing not the latest game or console, but a complete Christmas Dinner In A Tin.
Er… no, I’ll pass thanks, I had a big lunch. I guess ultimately very few were eaten and it just turned into a colossal waste of food, having either been opened out of curiosity and pawed around before being binned, or changed hands on eBay until the expiry date passed. A vegan option came later, but this was as much a sign of the times as food banks, so the whole annual ritual stopped a few years ago and has never come back to visit, no doubt the meat version especially being a horrendous cost to produce by then.
They never did do a Vesta Christmas Dinner, as far as I know, but there was a diet version, Vesta Lites. You’ll thank me later.
Pot Noodle meanwhile experimented a bit over the years, and not only with your digestive system. In 2010, Squadron Leader Stuart Balfour, seemingly presiding over the RAF version of BBC Worldwide and fresh from defending Action Man to the Beeb), endorsed this delicious festive version called, slightly awkwardly, ‘Pot Noeldle‘.
Having trialled it on our troops first, this was described as a “festive fusion of turkey and stuffing, with all the trimmings” but in reality contained noodles, salt and soya. That ‘gift’ mentioned on the packaging by the way, was 2p from each sale to a military charity.
Maybe this ‘ration’ is one that even Steve1989 would pass on? No, of course he wouldn’t, he’s a true professional! But while we got Not Poodle, the French got this, which Steve did enjoy!
The biggest change came with a less clanky name and a wider civvy street marketing campaign right up to a couple of years ago. And ‘Pot Noel‘ was born. As a sign of the times, no mention of turkey!
It’s not clear whether pressure from Edmonds saw the end to this line of products, if so, then I’d like to reiterate that Deal or No Deal really wasn’t as clever as it was made out to be.
There’s no mincemeat of either kind in these, more chicken jetwashed off the carcass, but hats off to ASDA for this cheery looking Xmas Dinner Pizza, regardless of how it tastes;
As you can tell, I’m not saying I’d personally like to eat it, but it does show top effort.
And now for something nicer. Something that in fact has made a bit of a comeback this year are proper, old fashioned, tins at Xmas. Nothing as sturdy as this biscuit tin that we fill up and put out every year, the sort of tin that only a few years earlier was sturdy enough to carry a deposit which would be refunded on return;
But, it’s Cadburys 200th Anniversary this year and they’ve brought out a nice plain tin based on 1980s branding…
In our house this will likely join the BBE 1986 Quality Street tin that I also refill every year, that previously did sterling Government work as a spare keys tin;
The plastic tubs that took over are getting lighter every year; you can just about fit their 600g contents into this neat little tin now. This year however there have also been a few 800g tins too, here’s a picture on one on a grotty office carpet (not ours, that would have more paint and sawdust);
I’m now going to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and as a flavour of a little article I’ve got planned for next year, here’s an old version of a Christmas fave.
I’ll be posting about W & M Duncan and Company, Duncan’s of Edinburgh, or Duncan’s of Scotland – however you like to remember them, in January. Take care of yourselves and see you in the new year!