May 22, 2007

Trigger’s Broom

I wouldn’t consider a Mars bar to be a Mars bar if Masterfoods had gone ahead with its plan to introduce rennet (an enzyme derived from cows’ stomachs) into the recipe.
I’m not a veggie, but my enjoyment of the product would be greatly diminished if I thought there was dead animal in it. Mars bars are a rich sensory overload; pure, sweet pleasure. If carniverous guilt had become part of the package, then I wouldn’t want to eat them.
But how much of its ingredients need to be intact in order to maintain a brand’s authenticity?
We are told that the fire which nearly destroyed the Cutty Sark did leave much of its infrastructure whole. It looks like the metal skeleton and some assorted geegaws that had been removed for renovation survived. Virtually all of the wood was consumed.
I’ve downed many a pint in the shadow of this magnificent sailing ship, but, despite my affection for the old vessel, it’ll take a lot of effort to convince me that when the ship is eventually rebuilt, that it’ll be the same one.
It’ll be like Trigger’s Broom.
(Trigger, a character in a British TV comedy, famously celebrated using the same broom to sweep the streets for 20 years, even though he’d replaced the head 17 times and the handle 14 times).

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