The story: I was at my parents’ house, cooked myself breakfast. Went into the cupboard so I could plate my food. Lo and behold! There were four stacks of thing, each a different size, all the same size and shape and pattern as each other. And none of them was right.

Don’t get me wrong. Most people have regular sets of dishes, rather than a collection of handmade ware by an almost equally large assortment of makers. So I’d probably run into this anywhere. And somehow it worked out better with the Christmas dishes a month later than it had been with the everyday ones.

But the experience made me realize that I pay attention to finding the right vessels for my food every time I eat or drink. Pretty funny.