By way of an introduction: The Marmalade Project purports to be a follow-on from my marmalade mission of last year, 'Mummy's Marmalade', whose objectives were the following:
A fund-raising venture set up in memory of my mum
To raise awareness and support for the Stroke Association
A means of channelling my grief into something meaningful, mindful and cathartic
A way for people who knew her to remember her
A reminder to never take for-granted the people you love
A force for good, a motivation to be a better person, to be kind, and to spread joy - both literally and metaphorically.
The Marmalade Project aims to continue to fulfil all of these objectives, as well as embody a broader theme; and as the eponymous title, 'Joy', suggests (whilst keen to avoid the trite connotations associated with similarly sycophantic ideals such as 'live love laugh')- I see marmalade as a joyful food, a cause to pause, a moment to savour.
Just look at this picture - did you ever see anything more cheerful, more glowing, more radiant, full of warmth and energy and light.
Marmalade is joyful for me on many levels:
1. It reminds me of my mum.
Ironically she didn't actually eat that much marmalade (she was incredibly petite - although she did relish the odd treat of a hunk of toasted sourdough lathered with marmalade as a companionable breakfast with me, amid vociferous exclamations from us both 'MMMMMMmmmmmmm YUMM!') - but the act of making it was something we did together, a famous ritual, ever since I impulsively read an article in a magazine and decided we absolutely must make marmalade.
I would take a few days off every January and we would embark on this Herculean mission, punctuated with ridiculously gourmet lunches and swigging glasses of sherry.
As ever, she was CEO of the operation, calmly executing all the planning and preparation, the weighing and measuring, digesting the technical and practical requirements (e.g. attaching a string tied muslin bag to a cupboard door handle in order to suspend the parcel in the pan overnight).
These were all things I totally took for granted, the way that every inch of the horrendously sticky mess - the hundreds of sticky bowls and vessels which had probably only been used to rest one small sticky teaspoon, deployed to test for the ever elusive set - would suddenly mysteriously, effortlessly vanish; suddenly somehow be sparkling clean and back in the cupboards - so quietly and understatedly done - of which I only realised the full extent of this wizardry when she was no longer here to do it, and suddenly I was left hopelessly battling with the piles of washing up and sticky utensils, wondering why there suddenly seemed to be so many more pieces of equipment involved than previous years... which of course was not the case... it was just that my little magic fairy was no longer by my side 🧚🪄
2. Its very hue embodies warmth (see above photo): its warm glow, embers, connection
3. It is symbolic with breakfast time, a new day, the MORNING - and I famously love mornings (VAMOS!!)
4. Orange is the colour of joy and creativity. 'Orange promotes a sense of general wellness and emotional energy that should be shared, such as compassion, passion, and warmth. Orange will help a person recover from disappointment, a wounded heart, or a blow to one's pride. The meaning of the colour orange is stimulating, vibrant, and flamboyant. While made up of red and yellow, it carries less aggression and fierceness than the colour red due to its combination with the calming colour yellow.'
5. A jar of marmalade is a beacon of light on cold dark mornings, glowing quietly in the dimly lit kitchen
6. Everyone has an opinion on marmalade. Whether it's their mum's, their granny's, thick cut, thin cut, they love it, they hate it (NB. I am proud to have converted a number of self-proclaimed marmalade haters…. Just saying).
So many people have reached out to me with stories about their history / relationship with marmalade, an emotional connection, it is something which is eminently traditional - the British have a great history of preserving - and it is a powerful and nostalgic trigger for many.
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