I’m guessing, like everyone else out there, I’m finally admitting that Christmas is closing in on us and it’s time to start the lists and the Christmas cooking.  So this weekend I’m making our Christmas pudding.  As it’s going to be a lovely family day I’ve decided to make the traditional pudding that Mum made for many years.  When I was a child she made a pudding in a cloth, but in latter years she made this one in her pudding bowl, covering the top of the mixture with greaseproof paper and then foil and tying it off with string.  I still use her technique of making a string handle to lay across the top so that you can take the hot pudding from the boiling water more easily.  This makes a large pudding for 12, but you can halve the recipe if you want to.  I always make the large one and freeze any leftovers to be enjoyed later on.