Last year we ordered a goose for the first time from a small independent supplier. On the delivery date there was a load of snow and the geese ended up stuck at the Luton distribution centre. For some reason they were taken off the refrigerated lorry and left outside between the hours of 2.00am and 6.00am.
As a result, health and safety at the depot refused to onward deliver as the geese had not been kept in the required container lorry. The farmer explained to them that, as it had remained below zero for the entire night, defrosting was more likely to be an issue than the meat going off, but they wouldn't budge. In the end, they 'relented' by saying that you could come and pick it up if you signed a disclaimer. Apparently a few did, but that was no use for us and more than 200 hundred birds were destroyed. Shocking.
We ended up digging around the back of the freezer and found some lamb chops previously forgotten about. Possibly because our expectations were so much lower, it was one of the best Christmas meals we have ever cooked.