Irish Stew is another good medium for scrawny lamb as it typically calls for neck joints. Thinking about it, I have never made a good one for some reason. Thanks for the prompt, Joanna. I think it's something that I should master before St Patrick's Day on 17-Mar.

My mum was a really brilliant cook of the basics. She did a mean I.S. She ran a B&B for many years from the late 70s and it appeared regularly on the menu. On one famous occasion, the family meal (after the guests had dined) was a large serving plate of I.S. placed in the centre of the table and everybody dipped in, The novelty of a shared main dish (as opposed to the normal individual servings) struck a chord for some reason. It never happened before or after but, 30 years later, every one of us five siblings can remember that evening with perfect clarity.