Happy Easter!Sunday 16 Apr 2006 |
Every Easter it's the same, and every Easter Nicey looks at me like I've gone mad. It's tradition in my family to hard boil some eggs, paint silly faces on them, and then find a big hill to roll them down. Which is not easy now we live in The Fens. The winner is the egg that rolls the furthest without breaking. When that's done, they're all eaten, usually with a little bit of salt. It's fun, and gets the younger members of staff away from all that chocolate for a while.
What I want to know, does anyone else do this, or is it just some tradition dreamt up by Grandma?? I need some confimation of this tradition before Nicey gets us locked up. |
| Katie |
I had never heard of this strange tradition before, but on the Tuesday after Easter (yesterday), I was driving up the A3 in Hampshire and noticed a big sign advertising the 'Great Butser Easter Egg Roll', on Butser Hill in the Queen Elizabeth Country Park near Petersfield. I wondered if it was something they had just made up, but obviously not. No details were given on the sign about whether people were rolling hen's eggs (raw/cooked, painted/plain) or chocolate eggs, but I imagine it was nevertheless a fun day out for all the family. I have walked up that hill and I must say it is ideal for rolling eggs down. Perhaps you could pop over from the Fens next year, Wifey? |
| Wifey replies: Do you know I could do that, for it's not far from where my sister lives in Guildford. I must ask her about it. She has much better hills than we do, and it's a short, but very steep climb to the top of the nearest one. I think we might loose our eggs though, as I don't think the hills actually have a bottom...
In fact, thinking about it, it's probably all part of the same set of hills as Butser Hill. |
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| Merybra |
I'm pleased to see that someone is keeping this tradition alive. When I were a lass in County Durham (sometime last century) we did this every Easter. Also 'jarping', a messy game something like conkers but with boiled eggs. My grandma used to make the most beautiful hard boiled eggs - she covered them in primrose flowers, tied them in string and boiled them with onion skins in the water. All that egg and chocolate - however did we survive? |
| Wifey replies: Jarping sounds like fun. I may have to check that out in time for next Easter (but don't tell Nicey), and try out your grandma's egg boiling techniques. Yay for old mad traditions! |
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