• 8oz Fresh breadcrumbs. I find that the best way to make these is to get some bread and then get Small Boy to tear it into chunks and put it in the coffee grinder. 8oz is more than you would expect.
• 8oz of suet. There are so many vegetarians involved this year (SD, my brother's family) that I am trying vegetable suet. If it all goes wrong, then this is why.
• 1lb soft brown sugar
• 1/2pint of Guinness
• 1.5lb of various dried fruit. Normally, I'd get 8oz of sultanas/currents then make up the rest with chopped dried apricots, dates etc.but this year I found exactly the mixture I was looking for at Sainsbury's
• About 6oz of nuts. I tend to use mostly flaked almonds then up it up with chopped walnuts
• About 3oz of flour
• 3 eggs
• Some brandy. A small glug seems to be enough - if people want brandy, they can drink some
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 2tsp salt
• Milk as necessary to get the consistency

If you have a pressure cooker then lob each 3pint pudding in there for a couple of hours (loads of butter to grease the pudding basin - or you will regret it). If not, then steam for 3 hours.

On the day, steam or pressure cook for a couple of hours.

To get it to flame, forget that nonsense about heating a ladle of brandy. It's a liability - particularly if you've been drinking. Instead, heat the oven up to about 200C, turn the pudding out onto a shallow Pyrex dish and pop it in the oven for 5 minutes to get the plate hot and dry the outside of the pudding a bit. Then pour over the brandy and it will light easily.

Serve with brandy butter (whip double cream with brown sugar and brandy to taste).

I'm sure I had some other news as well, but that's all I can think of right now.