In the little Atora beef suet Christmas book from 1933, on each page is a little item ‘Christmas past and present, with illustrations’; there is a couple of paragraphs, written most charmingly by an unnamed author, which must have been fun in 1933, but to us seem quaint and also very interesting, not for the content but the social picture they portray. Then there are a couple of family games or entertainment, one usually a sedentary activity and one which involves moving around – the sort of things I remember playing at parties when i was a child, and then there is a recipe.
On page 9, at the top of the page, as with every page there is a little poetic quotation, ‘Let there still bloom, midwinter snows, in beauty like the Christmas rose the flowers of sweet remembrance…’. Then there is a little article entitled ‘Christmas Greetings’, about the excitement when the postman calls… funnily enough I have just rushed to the door to receive some parcels! The games are ‘bumps’ – a bit like musical chairs, and electric shock, where someone has to guess which object the others are thinking of. The recipe is fig pudding:
- 4 oz Atora suet (they now do vegetarian ‘suet’)
- 4 oz flour and 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 oz breadcrumbs
- 4 oz brown sugar
- ¾ lb figs, chopped finely
- 1 large apple, peeled, cored, chopped finely
- ¼ pint milk
- mix all the dry ingredients and add the milk
- pour into a greased basin and steam for 2½hours
- sufficient for 8-10 persons… so probably half it for most families unless this is for a party!
Lois Elsden 