 | I remember the scene in a woody allen film where Charlotte Rampling leans into Woody and says "what aftershave are you wearing? It brings back my childhood with a Proustian rush..." Woody replies "its.. er, its Proustian Rush, by, er, Chanel". Its that feeling that I associate with the Abernethy biscuit. Once just a staple biscuit, not one for company or show....no, that was for Bourbons or exotic delights in fancy chocolate boxes from Sainsburys....this was an honest biscuit, one to be dunked, snacked upon; a staple biscuit!
But like the sense of being felt by a spawning trout these mild mannered delicacies call to me from the past. Even as I snack down on a tin of Papadopoulos Caprice biscuits, in their whorish tin, reminiscent of christmas cheesy sticks, I enjoy fond remembrances of that simple treat....the Abernethy.
For years I staved off the hunger with simple butter biscuits and unworthy shortbreads, forgetting my true purpose with the trivial matters of climbing the employment ladder and paying the mortgage, until I chanced upon a quite serendipitous career path. Whilst working for a conference and event management company I had the pleasure to enjoy all the happiness that a life of free, prepackaged biscuits could supply. Room service taunted me with ginger and cinnamon whilst my soul cried for more simple excess......until, one day, a vacuum sealed cellophane wrapped delight chanced upon my desk. Mid PowerPoint presentation I exclaimed "Abertheny!" like a cry to a long lost brother, spied across a chance encounter, ""Abertheny", at once reacquainted with my lost love. Two delicate, nay fragile disks of biscuity magic, open and willing to be devoured by my butter starved mouth.
No one decadent, chocolate flavoured, cream filled, rich in fruit, packed with goodness biscuit could ever take the place of the raw honesty of the abertheny, lightly dunked in a strong brew and consumed with a strong accompaniment of its comrades................though a good ginger nut, especially with bits of candied ginger in its crumbly body............hmmmmm |
