During the 1970s, nearly all sales of milk in the UK were handled by independent neighbourhood milkmen. The friendly face of dairies across the land, they would do the rounds each morning in their cart, leaving pint bottles full of delicious creamy goodness on every doorstep. It was an environmentally sound system too: the bottles were reusable and the milk cart was electric. Great! But now those days are long gone. What did for poor old Milky? What happened to him? Mr Sainsbury, Mr Morrison, Mr Tesco, Mr Asda, Mr Tesco Express and Mr Sainsbury’s Savacentre, the big bullies, is what happened, with supermarkets and other stores now accounting for over 95% of milk sales. And so, upon watching this fondly remembered and oft-quoted old advert, several generations of calcium-and-micro-economics fans can be forgiven for innocently asking …

… “Unigate Dairies? Who are they?” Exactly. Meanwhile in other nutrient-rich-beverage-related news, the football club once slandered by the Milk Marketing Board travel to Anfield for a proper old-school David v Goliath third-round FA Cup tie. Kick-off is at 12.15pm GMT. It’s on! Watch out!

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