General News
29 April, 2026
A Mum's World: Rapt with cling wrap
I think I might have a crush on my roll of Gladwrap. When I'm around it, I just can't get enough; I get clingy when I'm with my cling film.
Case in point - my father-in-law's 90th Birthday Party last weekend.
That roll of shiny transparent plastic was my everything when it came to food transportation and protection.
How else would I have delivered my platter of curried egg sandwiches to the party as fresh as a daisy?
Without that snuggly applied airtight shield of freshness provided by my Gladwrap, the bread could not have remained so sweetly soft.
There's certainly no way my platter of King Island Double Brie with dried cranberries and fresh strawberries would have arrived at the party perfectly presented.
Without cling wrap, everything would have toppled and rolled, with strawberries strewn under car seats and cheese knives posing problems.
As it was, with the help of a little plastic wrap, everything was neatly held in place for the car trip, travelling from kitchen bench at my place to trestle table under a marquee in a backyard across town, in happy harmony.
My freshly washed grapes were built into a tower on a platter and plastered down with plastic to hold them all in place.
My Madeleines didn't move a muscle in motion from location A to location B, turning up on the table laid out like the petals of a flower - my precious little shell-like sponge cakes.
Talk about taking the pressure off.
There's nothing good about watching flies climb all over a beautifully prepared meal while the guests patiently wait for grace to be said at an Australian backyard do.It's not a problem if the plastic is in place.
When cling wrap is doing its thing, the wrapping comes off after grace and, 'voila', food is protected from the blowies and good to go.
As for leftovers, don't get me started on how lost I would be without my darling roll of plastic wrap.
Okay, you got me started, but surely, I need not elaborate on the incredible convenience of popping an airtight seal over a plate, platter or bowl of food to make it last a little longer or survive the journey home in safety.
Without a doubt, some people may consider my passionate involvement with my 'mother's little helper' to be an illicit love affair.
Many might feel that I should be careful not to overuse my precious lifestyle assistant.
Yes, yes, there are microplastics found even in our blood now - but blood is red and red is the colour of love and I love my Gladwrap, so it's complicated.
Maybe my love is just an indication of my generation.I love my planet, but I love my food and I hate waste.
Last weekend's birthday boy is certainly from the most waste conscious generation of our time though.
His generation of Australians lived through the war years and needed to know how to make things last.
If only they had Gladwrap.