Soup flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license
Since before we were married I’ve been going over to Niall’s parents for Sunday lunch. When I first went it was very much a family event with both N’s parents, usually his nephew Ewan who would be staying for the weekend, and his sister Shona would come over after her church service finished (usually very late, so she’d have to gulp down her food down to catch up). Lunch back then was a three course meal of soup, ‘meat’ and two veg, and a pudding with ice cream (always Mackie’s, with a choice of chocolate or vanilla). Sometimes Donald would come over with girlfriend Ruth, later with girlfriend/wife Kirsty. Shona would sometimes be accompanied by husband Nick. I started knitting again to counter the boredom of after lunch coffee – sitting in overstuffed armchairs in silence while Ian snoozed. Ewan and I would sometimes get the Brio trains out and play train crashes. Those were fun games!
Trains flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license
After Ian died we continued with lunch at Morag’s, gradually moving from the three course meal to something lighter – soup with cheese and oatcakes became a regular. Pudding still came out as a treat, and the ice cream was always on offer. When Morag moved from the family home in Bearsden to a new flat in Milngavie the lunches continued. When we went on holiday to the Scottish highlands and islands we’d pick up local cheese and oatcakes – smoked cheese from Mull, cheese with mustard from Arran, mini oatcakes from Stornaway.
As Morag’s memory started to become erratic Niall took to phoning at 12pm on Sunday to check that she had everything needed for lunch, and we’d drop into M&S to collect anything missing. We started picking up tins of ‘nice’ soup to have in the cupboard just in case, and I’d keep a spare pack of coffee in my Sunday bag as that was often forgotten.
Then I started making soup – every Saturday I’d throw together whichever veg needed used – often broccoli or cauliflower stalks and leaves – into a big pot and blitz it with a handful of stilton. M&S mini submarine rolls were perfect to accompany this – and Morag always mentioned how tasty they looked. I bought a ‘picnic basket’ to transport everything, and invested in a robust soup flask.
357 Sunday Lunch flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license
I also started making a pudding – maybe apple and bramble crumble, with fruit from the garden – or a chocolate, ginger and pear sponge. These were adaptations of puddings my mum had made and dad had loved. We bought Mackie’s ice cream and left it in Morag’s freezer, noticing that it would sometimes go down during the week as well when we were not there.
300 Chocolate upside down cakes flickr photo by NomadWarMachine shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license
During lockdown Shona set up a Zoom meeting for 2pm on a Sunday. We’d all join from wherever we were, and both Morag and her elder sister Lesley would join from their separate homes. This tradition continued once lockdown was over, and we’d join the meeting from Morag’s flat after lunch. We’d usually join whenever we were on holiday, showing off the view from whichever lodge or house were were staying in.
A couple of weeks ago Morag was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, and it became apparent that she was not going to be able to go home to her flat. Today, for the first Sunday in a long, long time, the whole day is my own. It’s currently 11.45, and previously I’d be thinking about heating up the soup, checking my knitting was in my Sunday bag, and getting ready to travel over for lunch (in fact, my computer has just pinged to reminder me). As things are put in motion for Morag to move into a home (and these bureaucratic wheels move very, very slowly), today there is no need to leave home for lunch, and I have not made soup. (I have, however, made some rhubarb crumble for lunch). Today I can knit if I like, or wander out into the garden – the time is my own.
I cannot express how relieved I am that there is not a family Zoom at 2pm!
