Today's "Notes & Queries" in the Guardian includes:

"For centuries, Celtic farmers kept a ham in the rafters and cut off slices as needed through the winter. So why does a packet of ham now say 'Eat within two days of opening'?"

One of the replies, from Mike Hine, Kingston, Surrey (always identify your sources) says:

"Because failure to do so could lead to a revival of the taste for polytheistic religion, mournful pipe music and lachrymose balladeering when drunk."

Is this a fair portrayal of Celtic culture, or should we forcibly 're-educate' him?

Phil