Shiny Red

Mrs E Rooney

Many years ago at Christmas time and during the 2nd World War, a young girl had to help her mother do the meagre shopping. It was a cold, very dark night. She stepped out into the street, around the sandbags, and as she did so a traincar rattled past with darkened windows and only tiny slits of lights. This was in 1942/43 and the 'blackout' had to be observed. Street lights were shaded and only 1 in 3 were allowed to be on.

She had to meet 'Mum' at the co-op down the street. She made her way there carefully and entered the shop which was very dark. No lights on at the windows, no Xmas decorations and hardly any provisions. She looked around for 'Mum' and she saw her at the counter. The assistants looked rather ghostly in the gloom in their white overalls but there was cheerful banter going on.

She walked over and stood beside 'Mum'. 'Do you think there will be anything extra this week?' she said hopefully. No one spoke. The assistant counted out the eggs, 1 per person (there was 4 in the household) ½ lb sugar, 2 oz of tea, 2 oz butter, 2 oz margarine/cooking fat, 2 oz bacon and 1lb jam if there was enough coupons. It was tinned jam from South Africa. Then the assistant brought out 4 of the reddest sweetest smelling apples the girl had ever seen. 'These apples are all the way from Canada,' she said. 'Canadian McIntosh Reds. Just for us at Xmas.'

The girl was delighted and could hardly wait to have a bite but this apple had to be saved. It would never do to eat it quickly. No - it must be kept for Xmas Eve, and looked at, and polished again and sniffed at and kept in tissue paper.

The girl was 'me' of course and I can't remember exactly when I ate that apple but to this day I never ever see a 'McIntosh Red' without thinking of those dark days of the war and how these apples helped to cheer up the ordinary people that Xmas.