Page 93 - Through a glass brightly

From Jenny at 17.11
Janet is right - this was an absolute revelation to all of us. Miss Mayer said it was a 'traditional Belgian cake' and in later years I came to recognise it in other guises as a 'refrigerator cake' for which there are numerous recipes available on the internet. But this one is very rich and scrummy - and to those of us who enjoyed it that December evening in 1961 - uniquely delicious.
Tuesday, May 19th
From Maggie R. at 02.21
This QE Old Girls communication is a very precious thing!! I am sure that we have all found it uplifting and supportive.
I guess that at this stage we are getting rather restless and looking more to the future for when life maybe freer.
Val, I love your nativity figures. I think that you can start a cottage industry in your spare time!!
Thankyou for the recipe Janet. Something for a special occasion. Miss Mayer was such a lovely person and great teacher. As you know she married an Australian.
From Judy at 14.36
It was good to read what Janet, Jenny and Val wrote about our correspondence, stressing its value in these demanding times. I always feel at Commem. occasions, how relaxing it is with those we have known for so long; no need for long explanations or justifications. It is good to feel the links to our shared past- as E.M. Forster famously said: ’Only connect’!
I thought your handicraft was really good, Val. I assume you made it for the girls? They must love it!
I too remember Elise’s chocolate cake or ganache or whatever it was but am sure I wasn’t at the Christmas occasion Jen and Janet mention. So maybe she brought it into school at some point? Sorry, it sounds so formal to call her Miss Meyer; I got to know her well, esp. in Third Year Sixth. Still on the subject of food, I also recall a trip to London and some of us going to an Italian restaurant after what? - a lecture? performance? Whatever it was, that was my first visit to an Italian restaurant and it seemed so exotic. I had ravioli.
I was not always well behaved on school trips. I was on that Canterbury trip or at least, I assume it was the same one- and am afraid I shocked Jenny by signing a false name in a visitors’ book. I don’t know why I wanted to do this. I think I called myself Christiana Brand? Why that name? ...Even earlier in my school career, on another trip with Elise to Norwich, Sandy and I were more interested in the local talent than in the architecture. I think Elise might have guessed as she quizzed us about what we had seen, but she didn’t seem annoyed about it! She usually had a twinkle in her eye.
The boys’ swimming pool: I too remember the relay races in which I sometimes took part. Swimming being one of the few sports in which I ever showed any skill. I can’t remember Ann’s mishap but had one of my own. I had done my best and when I stood up in the shallow end, my horrible wool(?) costume had slipped and I was revealing rather more than intended! Happy days... some of them anyway.
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