Oranges and Lemons

Inexplicably this morning I found myself actually singing this nursery rhyme, many nursery rhymes have grim messages, but this one seems particularly macabre. I was mentally plotting the different bell locations on my inner tube map - I couldn't locate St. Clements though.

Then I thought about those orange and lemon candied fruit slices that used to be standard fare at Christmas and only Christmas, did I say standard? I mean compulsory. But they were nice.
In the days of the orange and lemon slices there were things you only had at Christmas, bags of nuts in their shells, liqueur chocolates, fancy cheeses,jars of peanuts and cashews, Cointreau, giant tins of Roses chocolates and Quality Street, selection boxes and the chocolates that hung on the tree.
It would all come into the house sometime leading up to Christmas and then put out on the sideboard on Christmas Eve.

Turkey of course used to be only eaten at Christmas, then it became Christmas and Easter, then finally all year round because it's good value for money and low-fat.

And that's the thing. Nowadays you can have anything you want all year round. Now we can have continental cheese, wine and nuts every week of the year. Ok, there's a tendency not to eat mince pies except at Christmas, but the rest, you either can eat when you wish, or once you realise you can have it anytime, the second realisation comes that you don't really ever want to eat it.

Now it all seems too much. In the hairdresser's today the women were trying to persuade the customers to help them out with the chocolates they keep receiving. Everywhere you go there is an abundance of baked goods and snacks, it's never-ending. Our way of eating has changed but some of our traditions haven't kept up.
There's an advert on TV that I remember seeing last year too. A man in an office keeps being offered food. Every time he takes something he has to do some nominal exercise, he can't keep up with it.

Christmas food can be the healthiest food we eat all year. Lean meat and lots of vegetables. I love Christmas dinner and I love the leftovers. But the thought of all the excess doesn't fill me with much enthusiasm any more.
It kind of all lost its point somewhere.