I gave the roses a good mid season prune today. Some of them just needed a bit of dead heading and others needed a bit more. They fought back valiantly but I won. Just. Much blood was shed. I then gave them a good soaking and a feed. It will no doubt rain of course.
As I was pruning them I found a few had already set rose hips. This reminded me of being given rose hip syrup from a teaspoon as a very wee lass. Probably late 50's early 60s. Apparently rose hips are rich in vitamin C. I don't remember much about the taste other than being quite sweet. We then moved onto Ribena and eventually vitamin C lozenges. Did anyone else have rose hip syrup? It could have been an English thing.
My mother was always a bit different. She was eating muesli and yoghurt long before it became a thing. Brown bread (even though in those days it was white bread dyed brown) until she decided to make her own stone ground wholemeal bread which was impossible to chew. Fortunately that didn't last long.
We went to New Zealand one winter and she decided the best way to prevent us getting colds was to drink cinnamon oil. During the second world war the women who worked in the cinnamon factory didn't get colds. My mother never did quite get correlation and causation. I don't know if anyone has tried cinnamon oil and, to be honest, I don't know why anyone would but it burns. Oh boy does it burn. Our top lips would sting for ages. We drank it in milk to reduce the sting except the oil didn't mix in with the milk - it floated on the top and stuck to our top lips. It is one of my main memories of what could have been a lovely holiday in NZ!
At some point in the 70s she discovered bio-strath. A swiss supplement that also tasted disgusting. My father used to tease her that it had fairies in the bottom of the bottle for all the good it did. I did a quick search and it is still being sold. I wonder if the fairies are still there.
I have my Auslan class tonight. I am still really apprehensive about this but I will persevere. I have to keep reminding myself it's just certificate II.
I have a small bowl of roses on my desk. They smell lovely. I must remind myself to keep enjoying the simple things in life and not stress the rest.
I've heard of rose hip syrup but I don't think it was around when I was young.
ReplyDeleteYou're about my age, mate! Maybe R would remember from his youth in the UK.
DeleteConcentrated Orange Juice, Cod liver oil plus malt was our mainstay for us war time babes growing up in the UK.
ReplyDeleteRose hip syrup then Ribena were expensive even when my children were growing up in the 1960s
At least it’s cooler this evening so concentration levels will be high…..won’t they.
I should be thankful I didn't have to take cod liver oil. Ribena was treated like an elixir - not the cordial it is today.
DeleteI too had to have cod liver oil. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteThe things people did to try and keep you safe from disease
Pitty they don’t seem to care anymore
I’m sure you will do well in your classes. Good luck
I so remember rose hip syrup! It was a real treat so delicious. I also remember Ribena another drink I loved. Nowadays I don't think the Ribena is as good as the old stuff it seems weaker in taste. I also remember Syrup of figs for constipation...yuk! It was horrible! Keep well. Amanda x
ReplyDeleteRose hip syrup, cod liver oil and malt and ribena were all things my Mum gave my sister and I when we were in the UK.
ReplyDeleteRibena is still quite pricey and not as good as I remember it.
Memories,