Sweet Cousins

This blip is inspired by a print in the Printmakers workshop in Glasgow, which Gillipaw and I visited on Thursday.

Being a child during the rationing of WW2 when sugar for jam was scarce, *high tea at 5:30 consisted of a hot meal and then as many slices of bread and syrup as could be managed after a day playing energetic games of skipping or tig in the street.

How different from the lives of my children who did play in the street but came home to high tea with bread and a choice of jams, and now my grandchildren who have never played in the street and eat supper with no bread or jam on offer.

They have missed out on one of life's cheap luxuries; bad for the teeth maybe, bad for incipient diabetes 2 possibly, and bad for weight gain certainly, but oh the sticky sweetness on bread is one of my favourite childhood memories.

Nowadays my syrup is only used for occasional baking, although it's black cousin is much used for my favourite gingerbread.

* In days of yore, lunch at midday was the principle meal with 2 or 3 courses, while high tea consisted of one cooked course followed by bread and jam(or syrup!) and if the gods looked kindly on you, a small piece of cake.