Goodbye to Robertson's Marmalade.

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I once had a friend who's cat was called Marmalade - a ginger Tom no doubt.

I also have a record somewhere of some vintage jazz with a tune called 'Clarinet Marmalade'.

I found a 1920's recording here. Far too complicated for the Street Organ, but I do have an excellent tune called the 'Clarinet Polka' and I have popped up Bob playing the roll on his 26 note. He has taken the front off for all to see the 'works'!

But back to Marmalade.

A story goes that marmalade was invented in 1700, when a storm-damaged Spanish ship, carrying Seville oranges, sought refuge in Dundee harbour. The cargo was sold off cheaply to James Keiller, a down-on-his-luck local merchant, whose wife turned it into a preserve.

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And now after 300 years, I read that marmalade may soon be history itself.

It appears that it is gradually vanishing from the nation's breakfast tables – along with, maybe, the breakfast tables themselves!

But not in my kitchen! I have both a ’breakfast’ table, (how posh - mine’s a kitchen table) and a jar of marmalade. The latter coming from the market in Thame. Home made by the WI - although they now call themselves ’Country Markets’.

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This jar of Grapefruit marmalade was made in a lady's kitchen at ‘Brambles’ Cottage in Haddenham, (not far from Kath I guess), whereas this old photo below shows a somewhat larger WI production line.

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History shows, that there is good evidence, that orange marmalade was made in England from Tudor times. A certain English lady, Mrs Hasell-McCosh has in her possession a record book compiled by an ancestor in the early 17th century which contains recipes for orange marmalade.

"The Scots can't claim this one," she says. "We are the home of marmalade."

It sounds to me however, that her ancestor may have come from north of the border with that early recipe?

What can be said with some certainty, however, is that the Keillers of Dundee were the first to establish a marmalade factory, and to put the spread on the mass market to which it now struggles to cling.

For years, the big marmalade manufacturers have been trying to spiff up its image – introducing new flavours, and even, repackaging it as "orange jam".

Labels have been jazzed up and plastered with extravagant health claims. The blameless Robertson's golliwog, who served for almost a century as the emblem of the nation's biggest marmalade firm, was removed after complaints from anti-racism campaigners.

Well they haven’t confiscated my collection yet!

These are still in my Mothers old cookbook along with vintage Certo labels.

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As children we used to collect these gollies from each jar and when you had a set or certain number, you could send them back to Robertson's and get a badge.

I still have one of these on my ’Grinder’s waistcoat’.

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So successful was this accommodation of PC zealotry that last year Robertson's ceased to exist as a brand, being quietly replaced by Hartley's.

Amen.

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