And if, like me, you didn’t quite get the reference to the lang spin ( long spoon), here are some possible explanations from some Fife ladies who run a specialist food store in Fife called The Long Spoon Larder”.

“Well firstly, we are Fifers and if you know anything about Fife you will have heard that ‘it takes a lang spin tae supp wi a Fifer’!

Some say that means that Fifers are miserly, i.e. you need a long spoon to get to the pot first. Others have suggested it’s because we are generous, that we are willing to share. Who knows the truth!

What we really loved was the parable of the Long Spoon, which describes the difference between Heaven and Hell. In Hell, all the people sit around a large round table with a pot of stew in the middle, they only have long spoons. Whilst they can reach the stew, they cannot get the food to their mouths as the spoons are too long. The people are thin, malnourished, and miserable.

In Heaven all the people sit around a large round table with a pot of stew in the middle, they too only have long spoons. But the people work together, they feed each other, no-one is hungry, no-one does without, and everyone is happier for it. This is our value, we believe, we can co-operate and work together, which makes life better for everyone.

That’s why the long Spoon! It’s more than looking after our own interests and chasing only profit, it’s about doing something that brings you joy and is worthwhile and is driven by doing the right thing.”