John and I announced our engagement to our families on Christmas Day, 1979. It was to become the most insanely hectic Christmas Day ever in our history together.( even after kids came along). The day began with Christmas morning and Church with my Mum, Dad and sister, then Christmas lunch with John's family. I'd already met his parents, who I liked very much and later I was introduced as John's fiancee to his two sisters, Marg (the eldest),and Liz, the youngest and John's elder brother, Bob. Of course, they were all there with partners, kids and step-kids. It reminds me now of that Gilbert and Sullivan song from H.M.S. Pinafore ; 'I Am The Monarch Of The Sea' featuring  'his sisters and his cousins and his aunts'. Everyone was lovely though and very warm and welcoming.

In the afternoon, my aunt and cousins wanted their share of the action and implored us to come up to their Christmas Tea which was to be at the home of one of my cousin's who lives in Tanunda in the Barossa Valley( over an hour's drive away) . I should explain that this side of my family is absolutely addicted to engagements, weddings and babies and they live for it. ( My Mum and I have often had a bit of a giggle about it over the years, as sometimes their interest seems a bit O.T.T). However, it was Christmas and John and I, feeling very happy ourselves, wanted to be inclusive and do the right family thing.

You're probably wondering about how all this leads in to Turkish Delight? On Christmas Eve, or it could have been the day before, I'd made some Turkish Delight to take as a'hostess gift' to John's sister Liz, who was hosting Christmas lunch.I worked from my Mum's old family recipe, which is simple but absolutely mouth-watering/to-die-for/ sinfully delicious. The recipe turned out well and naturally, I popped it into the fridge. Before leaving for Church on Christmas morning I cut it painstakingly into squares, rolled it in icing sugar, popped it into a plastic bag or cellophane bag; I honestly can't remember which, then into a decorative Christmas bag. John and I were going straight on to Liz's place for lunch after Church, and so the Turkish Delight travelled in the car with us, along with some other presents for John's family, mainly his two nieces and nephews.

Meanwhile the warm, clear morning was turning into a brilliantly blue-skied stinking hot day. Church of course, was quite a long service, as it tends to be at Christmas-time with heaps more people turning up for Christmas Communion. I never gave a thought to my Turkish Delight, sitting in the meltingly hot car. I'm not sure how I expected it to remain in its pristine, refrigerated state. I also don't remember whether John had air-con in his car at the time.  Amazingly, not all cars did back then.  Now they all do; you really need it in this country!

We stopped at Liz's, took the presents,along with the Turkish delight, inside and after introductions and pleasantries, I went to get the bag containing my Turkish delight. To my horror, inside the pretty Christmas bag, swirled a red liquid(fortunately still in the plastic) and a hot mess, as they say. I was mortified. I held up the bag, which looked like it should have had a fish floating in there, except it was warm ruby-red liquid Turkish Delight.

I showed John and we both agreed to just not mention it. I guess nobody had really expected me to make something and so it became our 'sticky little secret'. Can't remember whether in the end I told Liz or not. I must ask her sometime.

You'll be glad to know that now when we transport Christmas goodies, which often involve, chocolate, cream or gelatine we're super-fussy and carry vulnerable ingredients in eskies containing a couple of frozen ice bottles/blocks and it's all carried in the interior of a car in which the air-con is blasting away on full power.