Easter eggs

I have to be truthful and admit that although as a child I was taught ‘the meaning of Easter,’ I really looked forward to it for a whole array of different reasons. Firstly, it was the first real holiday break after Christmas … all that trudging to school in the frost, snow, ice and rain … dark mornings and evenings … coughing, spluttering and sneezing through the damp of it all – and the light at the end of the tunnel was two glorious weeks away from school! Two weeks of beautiful freedom … walking through fields, picking flowers and an endless playtime from dawn to dusk. Secondly, at least one week before the end of term we all made Easter bonnets from paper and card along with various yellow chicks, nests and painting eggs … this was different from our usual routines. Thirdly, but not necessarily in that order … I used to receive chocolate eggs. When I was quite small …… there were many chocolate eggs. One from each of my Grandmas, ones from some of my Aunties and of course one from my Mother and Father. It was a time of sharing and surprise … all those different eggs covered in brightly coloured foils … each egg made a noise when it was rattled – what did it contain? Of course, more chocolates …. Yes, I looked forward to Easter and that magical time that holds such magnificent memories … and yes, I still love chocolate from the creamy sweet, sumptuous flavour of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk to the dark, rich, earthy luscious experience of South American flavours … my current favourite being Arriba Superieur at 81% premium cocoa from the Esmeraldas Province Plantations in Ecuador!

English bluebells

Bluebells found in a lane in Worcestershire on Monday 13th April 2009