When my sister's husband died I invited her to come and spend her first Christmas alone with me. We are not close as we hardly saw each other during our childhood years, but you know how it is, you want to do the right thing!

On the surface all appeared to be "all right", with snippets of previously unknown information being exchanged, and we shared in that year's festive offerings but I sensed an unidentifiable undercurrent of discontent/sadness or what?

This surfaced as I waited with her in the airport lounge as she left on her way to her home. I said I hoped she had enjoyed her stay. She replied in the affirmative but added that she had no idea I was such a control freak!!

As I sat pondering this new insight into my character her plane began loading & her parting words were "There are never any leftovers in your fridge to make bubble & squeak!"

Since then I've given the matter considerable thought. OK I'm used to cooking for one, so logic suggests that cooking for two, just double it.

WRONG. Always add a bit more. Not everyone eats like a bird.

However, look on the bright side, it has given me cause to think about other areas of my life where I might need to consider creating in such a way that there are "leftovers" for other than culinary kinds of bubble and squeak.

I recently created a 'Fantasy Bird' using that technique and it can be fun.

PS; Since then my sister and I keep in contact with fairly frequent chatty phone calls, but bubble and squeak is never mentioned.

PPS; Another thought: She and her husband were together for 26 years and I often invited them to come for a Territory holiday. They never did, but I have never been invited to stay at her place either, so I'm searching for the right phrase to describe her characteristic: 'Isolationist' or what?

Fran Wickes