Saturday 30 August 2014

A life on the ocean wave....


I've been having a bit of a clean out...
...not really anything to do with the cancer...
...okay...
...maybe about 5% to do with the cancer...
...and about 95% of thinking that the mother-of-my-children will roll her eyes and sigh  when she and the kids have to clean out the flat.

Actually my flat has just got too full of rubbish.

In 1965 my brother and I travelled with our parents from Southampton in England to Cape Town , on the Athlone Castle, a Union Castle mail boat, on a trip that took 2 weeks.

I remember being given a glass of warm orange juice just prior to boarding as there had been severe snow storms the day before.
I remember trying (i.e., my mother forcing it upon me) ( and not liking) , 'beef tea'.
I remember , after we had crossed the equator, that we were given endless tubs of ice cream, a rare and magnanimous luxury at the time.

I've found a few menus which today make interesting if bizarre reading and provide a snapshot of what was considered to be 'haute cuisine' , in particular the amount of offal on the menu ; and what parents thought  children should eat.

I cannot imagine ever giving my kids a cream-of-celery soup , even today; I do remember though that the children's evening meal was separate to that of the adults and that pretty much, they gave you what you wanted.























This was the menu for the fancy dress dinner, a highlight of the voyage for my parents.






Me?
I'm off to have a jam sandwich.



1 comment:

  1. I'm rather liking those menus. Cream of celery soup. I make celery soup. Cream of, whatever. So wragtig. It's bloody lekker - not what one would think, at all.

    Been thinking about you.

    ReplyDelete