Patricia, I too am in my 70's and still do fruitcakes the old way. I wrap them in cheese cloth and dampen it well with rum or brandy, put them in plastic bags and into a tight fitting tin in the cool basement. Of course every week they get another dowsing of liquor. By Christmas they are well aged and ready for a slice of dried pineapple and a cherry on top then I brush them with corn syrup, just enough to give them a little glaze before wrapping in plastic wrap.

• Reply