The jollity associated with Christmas dinner has gone, so says a YouGov survey. And at the heart of the issue is the lack of rudely shaped vegetables. Not so long ago it was common place to see everyone laughing when Auntie Brenda dicovered a cock and balls shaped parsnip, cunningly hidden under cabbage leaves. And the conjoined sprouts forming miniature comedy breasts have all but gone
Even the preparation of the food has dulled with the uniformity of the offerings from large supermarkets. Finding a King Edward that was the spitting image of Uncle Malcolm used to bring the kitchen to a standstill while it was lovingly peeled ready for the oven, and those in on the gag would be in the kitchen to make sure that it did end up on Malc’s plate. But now every potato is the same, all looking like Wayne Rooney. And if he wasnt coming to dinner the gag was wasted
Most respondents said that they just didn’t bother trying to find the humour anymore. Peel it, cook it, eat it and get back to the sofa for beer seems to be the new benchmark. A few did make the effort this year but instead of a vegetable, a comedy willy was drawn on each plate and the prankster just waited for the gravy to disappear
The search for the elusive turnip goes on for die-hard Blackadder fans
