When I was growing up, my family didn’t so much have Christmas traditions as periods. Our festive celebrations reflected where we were as a family at any given time.
The Scallop Period was probably my favourite. A couple, Colin and Anne, moved into the house next door to my childhood home in Weymouth, and every now and then, Colin, a trawlerman, would leave a massive bag of scallops on our doorstep. Dad would clean and freeze them, ready for Christmas, when we would feast on a starter we’d otherwise never have been able to afford: scallops seared and served with bacon and pea puree.
