Sarah Todd: Weighty matters on my mind, but Skippy won't be on the menu

The last time, he put burgers down on the kitchen table. Sounds fair enough. But hang on, they looked a rather strange colour.

"Oh, yes," he said. "One pack's ostrich and the other's kangaroo." Perhaps it's to do with growing up in the 1970s and the television programme Skippy, but there was no way kangaroo was passing my lips. The younger members of the family felt the same.

By coincidence, my mother had got out Mrs Beeton's Every-day Cookery and it has a section on "Australian Cookery". In it she tells how kangaroo meat may be braised or steamed, and includes recipes for cooking the animal bush style, as well as jugged, curried kangaroo tail, kangaroo tail fricassee and kangaroo tail soup.

As it happens, the great lady's recommendations for goose was looked up over Christmas. The final sentence in the section on trussing the bird reads, "Always remove the merry-thought" Now, is that something readers have heard of? We have our suspicions.

This treasure trove contained nothing for ostrich, but other gems included Blackbird Pie ("allow one blackbird to every two persons") and words of wisdom for the young wife. Not sure if this is a category yours truly still falls into. "Whether cottage or mansion... Cleanliness, neatness and regularity should be the ruling qualities of the good housewife."

Looking around, Mrs B perhaps wouldn't be that impressed. Since the snow fell it's been wall-to-wall wellies and woolly hats. The Lurcher, lying out all wet and hairy, certainly doesn't look the image of cleanliness.

Talking of being impressed, mention must be made of our milkman and postman. Many a driver has given up on our lane, but not these two.

It made me think while watching the television news and listening to the stories about all the poor people who had slipped and broken bones having just "popped out" to buy milk or a newspaper. If they'd had a milkman they wouldn't have needed to go out. Ours, like many others, also delivers newspapers, eggs, cream, yoghurt. More than enough to keep people going.

There's been no cream ordered for this house though, as a campaign to lose weight has begun. It's all stemmed from finding an old riding jacket, a smart black affair, not worn for about 20 years. This is the year those buttons are going to fasten again. The jacket's hung in a prominent place, near the scales, and once it fits, the old mare had better watch out …