Page 11 - Publication2

Chicken bones and water

Life was tough growing up. Money was tight and there were a lot of mouths to feed. Originally just 5 of us until Nana
came to stay with us. I don’t know how but then along came two more. You would think that was enough but as I said
times were tough so mum took on work as a carer of another child, Holly. We came to look on Holly as an addition to our
family. Still this was not enough and the Fates saw fit to provide three more. Our cousins came to live with for a period of
time due to the tragic loss of Uncle Jim. Although they stayed for only a short while, our cousins became more brother and
sisters than relatives.

So as I said times were tough. Yet we never went hungry. Mum (and at times Dad) would always be cooking and stretch-
ing food to unbelievable lengths. Along with preserved fruits and homemade jams and so forth, there were a number of
other culinary delights. Sausage surprise of course was a favourite- the surprise was when you actually got a piece of sau-
sage! Lamb roasts were also a favourite – especially when mum carved. Dad would cut rice paper thin slices from the leg
while mum cut steaks.

The best thing of my childhood was that the house always smelt of
cooking. Good cooking – not the smell that came from the kitchens
at College, or the shared houses that I have had to endure. But good
home style food. Even back in those days (how old do I sound?)
mum would be pushing the boundaries with food. Exotic recipes or
just creative with what we had left in the fridge, our plates were
filled and always rapidly emptied. Except of course David and the
pea – another story that I feel obliged to record.
We could not afford extravagant or exotic meals like Rice a-riso or
Chicken tonight so thankfully Mum and Dad cooked nearly every-
thing from scratch. To my pallet, this made them even more of a
culinary delight. The meals – not mum and dad.

The favourite meal of course was mums infamous chicken bones and water. I can still remember getting home from school
to be hit with this wondrous aroma. Inquisitive as we all were we would open the steaming pot to see what delights we
could expect for dinner. OK we were trying to sneak an early snack. To our horror all we could find in the pot was chicken
bones and boiling water. What was mum trying to do? There was no way that could feed us all no matter how good it smelt.
Being the polite and respectful children that we were we of course we said nothing.