How many forks do you have in your kitchen? There are 47 in mine, an unnecessary 12 per family member.


I know this because whilst I was in Seattle and not using any of these 47, someone sat the house and decided to clean everything and pack away things not immediately useful for her.

This morning, inspired by an empty bread bin and a trip to the computer repair shop that takes me past a flourmill, I started baking and I needed my mother’s old tablespoon to measure the honey; it resided no longer in the kitchen drawer. A nearby search of plastic bags, which now hold the remnants of my pre-stateside life, unearthed a box of gleaming cutlery.

Usually the forks would be divided between kitchen drawer, draining board, dishwasher, the kid’s bedroom and the floor of my car and so their abundance was never noticed, yet face-to-face in the confined space of a shoebox it was startling.

Further investigation shows me that there are 37 knives, a surprising 10 of which do not therefore have a fork partner, but to make up for this deficiency there are a total of 66 spoons!

I’m going to count the tooth brushes now.