Turkeys & the rich: 1844-2020
We have a Government that sees itself firmly in the mould of capitalism, times past, so perhaps its no surprise that the question of turkeys and class has arisen again.
In the Christmas Carol published at Xmas 1843 Dickens had the distinctly not well off Cratchit family provided, after some ghostly interventions, with a top of the range turkey for Christmas lunch by Bob Cratchit’s employer Scrooge.
This didn’t go down well with the neo-liberals of the day. Commenting on the book in passing in the Westminster Review in 1844, a reviewer noted that since there weren’t enough top notch turkeys to go round if the lower orders like the Cratchits got one, than others- the deserving rich-would not.
Who went without turkey and punch in order that Bob Cratchit might get them – for, unless there were turkey and punch in surplus, someone must go without – is a disagreeable reflection kept wholly out of sight.”
William Bridges Adams, Westminster Review 1844
In 2020 a Financial Times report has revealed that the issue still exists, partly because the wealthy who often leave the UK for Xmas are staying at home this year and seeking out luxury turkeys for Xmas dinner.
British Christmas dinners are under threat from a shortage of luxury turkeys
Producers said a broad surge in turkey sales was affecting the top end of the market in particular… Paul Kelly, managing director of KellyBronze, which produces hand-plucked, dry-hung, free-range turkeys, said that his sales were double the level they would normally be at this point.
Financial Times 5th December 2020
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