Well, of course you can't. The price of kosher (Shabbat) candles being what it is, you could barely afford to light a match.

BBC Radio News has warned that the price of Xmas candles made in China is due to soar just in time for the holiday. It's a shame the bulletin did not add that the kosher variety, imported from Israel, has rocketed by a whopping 55.55% (recurring) as I discovered when I bought a box at a North Manchester deli this week. Yes, a box of '20s' has rocketed from 90p to £1.40 in only a couple of months.

Is this a job for the JC news team, I wonder? Can the guys bother to contact the importer and ask the reason for the ridiculous rise? As the shekel / sterling exchange rate has dropped by a mere 25% is this a case of customer exploitation?

Which reminds me: Rakusen's claimed it could no longer produce 250g tubs of margarine because the cost of plastic had soared in line with oil. So let's hope that as oil prices have now dropped dramatically, that the haimishe food manufacturer will do a major re-think on how it packs probably the most vital ingredient in the kosher cook's fridge-freezer.