Pointless things to make for Easter
By Helen Griffiths
I remember making a whole host of things at Easter and so, although I won’t inflict the recreation of the tomb scene that was compulsory each year at my Catholic primary school – think of a plastic plant tray filled with gravel and an artfully created tomb, possibly replete with a carefully placed shroud – here’s some easy ways to get creative. They probably work better if you’re in the company of someone under ten, but I don’t think it’s mandatory.
Tulips
You will need: 1 empty egg box, 6 green pipe-cleaners, assorted coloured paint
Cut around the individual wells of the egg box to produce six cup-shapes. Pierce the bottom of each with a sharp implement and create a rounded hole. Using contrasting colours paint the inside and outside of each of the six cup-shapes – e.g. yellow inside, red outside. Place them upside down on a sheet of newspaper and allow to dry. Once they are dry to the touch, insert a pipe-cleaner into the hole on the bottom and fold over inside the cup-shape to secure it. Alternatively, to produce daffodils, paint all the cups orange and use yellow card to cut out six petal shapes and affix to the underside of the cups.
Decorative Eggs
You will need: eggs, needle, paints and paintbrushes, assorted ribbon, glitter, braid, glue
Before the egg can be decorated you need to remove the inside by blowing the egg out. Using the needle, poke a small hole in the narrow end of the egg and a slightly larger hole at the opposite end. Wiggle the pin to ensure that the membrane has been broken and then, holding the egg over a bowl, blow through the small hole forcing the egg out of the larger hole. Rinse the egg out well with some water and allow to dry. Once the egg is dry, decorate using any materials gathered – as much or as little as you like!
Easter Baskets
You will need: 6 shredded wheat, 1 block of cooking chocolate, 2 small chocolate eggs, 12 decorative chicks, 12 cup-cases (makes 12)
Heat a pan of water to boiling and place a bowl with the chocolate in on top. While the chocolate melts, crumble the shredded wheat into a bowl. Once the chocolate is liquid, mix into the bowl with the shredded wheat, ensuring an even coverage. Spoon the mixture into the cup-cases shaping into a basket – or an approximation of – leaving an indentation in the centre. Place the baskets in the fridge to set for around 40 minutes. Then decorate using the eggs and chicks,
Helen is a regular contributor to N16 and usually writes about serious stuff. Here she’s getting in touch with her inner child…
Life at the Lodge
Fiona at St Mary’s Lodge on Lordship Road (www.stmaryslodge.co.uk) received the following letter and passed it on to us.
To N16 Magazine and the kind people of Stoke Newington,
I came across your mention of ‘St Mary's Lodge’ (the derelict old house on Lordship Road) on N16's website recently. I have some very fond memories of my time at St Mary's & all them good, well most. I can still picture walking in the front doors & Sister Superior's office was the 1st door on the left. Our girls’ day room was the big room at the back with the bay window, to the right of the stairs. And the wonderful stairway leading us up to the sleeping quarters. To the right was the girls, who hadn’t had their babies & left was for the mother & babies. I can still imagine myself back there, as everything is so clear in my mind. It is bringing a tear to my eyes talking about it, as we where not bad girls. We just got pregnant, and at that time it was a stigma.
I have gone into your photos & I am disgusted at the way the house is now, that has upset me even more. How could anyone, especially the council, let a fine building like that get in to such a state. When we (me & the other girls) lived there, we all had jobs to do. Mine was having to get on my hands & knees to scrub the floors with a scrubbing brush & polish the dining room floor by hand as well. Don't get me wrong,we where not ill treated in any way. We used to sing hymns while doing our jobs. We had to go to church every day, which was also in the building. There was an Annex to the left of the house, which I can't see in any of the website photos.
I have been trying to find out about St Mary's for years & often wondered about driving up there to have a look, but by the photos, I'm glad I didn’t. I have so many stories I could tell you about my 4months there, I could write a book about it. The sad times, when girls had to give their babies up & others who kept theirs. When we found out in the morning that someone wasn’t at breakfast, it was, what she had, a boy or girl. We where innocent children really,& we all had our babies at Hackney Hospital. Even having to go there every week for our check ups, we where looked down on & the nurses made a point of calling us MISS so & so, even though we all wore cheap wedding rings to fit in.
I'm just sorry I haven’t got any photos of when I was there. The only photo I still have, is when my son was about 4-5weeks old & a nun took me to a studio to have my photo taken with him.
Yours Sincerely
Margaret Ann Lewendon
PS. I should have mentioned, I still have my son & he will be 44 this October.
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