My sisters and I were cooking gallons of soup, alongside hundreds of breakfast items, on the Aga at my parents’ house. The heat from the oven was almost unbearable: my Crocs offered little protection and I really needed to find a heavy apron.

I asked my sister S what she was up to when she started cutting out rectangles of silver paper and arranging them next to empty toilet roll insides. “I’m making Christmas crackers” she replied. “I’m going to fill them with the bacon and eggs”.