Memories of Childhood
by John Appleby

~ 13 ~

Spring! A time of new lambs, busting buds and spring cleaning. Eagerly we looked forward to the Easter holiday. The Sunday before Easter was Carlin Sunday, a custom unique in this corner of the country, would be observed, which it was said celebrated the fortuitous wrecking of a ship on the rocks. The locals were destitute and near starvation. The vessel was carrying a cargo of maple peas and the people were saved! On this day the mothers put the carlins to soak, the night before, then on the little brown peas were boiled then left in their juices to cool and soak. In the evening they were strained and slowly cooked in butter, sugar and pepper, and in some pubs, a shot of rum! The result was a delicious feast of luscious peas in thick black gravy, with predictable effects the next morning

My mother would save scraps of fabric until Easter and we would all help to wrap the eggs in scraps of coloured silk and cotton and bind them in thread. They were then put in a big pan of water to be simmered and transformed. We would crowd around after they were boiled. Mother would hook them out witha fork and lay them on a plate to cool while we jumped with impatience. As they were unwrapped each egg would draw gasps of delight, each one a palette of swirling pastel colours. Those wrapped in onion skins glowed like dusky maidens. When all had been been cooled, rubbed with beef dripping and polished, we would choose one each (after a quarrel!) and flee to the back lane to join the neighbours children. After much boasting, we would challenge each other to "jaap". This meant that you would grip your egg so as to expose only the tip of the sharp end. You would then take turms to whack each others eggs unti one succumbed. If ti was your"s, you were beaten, however you were the first to be munching, what was after all just a hardboiled egg. Of course there were chocolate eggs, but they were nowhere near as exciting!

© 2003 John Appleby, New Zealand

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