Saturday, March 8

Katrina's Pop Snapple Crack

Katrina's Pop Snapple Crack (Honey Crackle) We have made honey crackle in our family ever since i was a child. Mum use to let us help her make it always, so i like to now make it with my kids :) Ingredients 100grams of butter 1/4 cup of sugar 4 to 5 heaped table spoons of honey 4-5 cups of rice bubbles Method Put the butter, sugar and honey on the stove until all dissolved together on a medium heat. When it is all dissolved turn off stove and add your cups of rice bubbles. Mix together and lay in a buttered tray and put in the fridge until firm.

The Pictures At OKato

Hi, have some stories to share from a lovely lady called Lois Le Bas (nee Moorby) from round the coast. A few years older than us but her stories still the same a few years later than we can relate to This is priceless The Pictures At OKato Thursday nights were special. Thursday night was ‘Picture’ night. The ‘Flicks’ as the boys as school called it. This was our weekly treat. Very rarely did we not go. It was hustle and bustle to get milked and the tea and the dishes done and get dressed up and get going. Half past 7 we were in the car and by a quarter to 8 we would be sitting in our seats – waiting!!!! It was a wonderful feeling when you were small – the waiting. The hall was all set up with long wooden moveable seats, which were dragged into rows from around the edge of the hall where they were usually lined. When I was younger I used to sit in the front row of backless forms but each year I moved back a row as other smaller kids came to the front. And the third row back had backs on the seats. We made for our friends and we always sat in the same place but back a bit every year. This is where we would head for as soon as we got into the hall. This was the Hempton Hall. It was built in 1906 as a memorial to a Captain Hempton who died in the Boer War. The land that the hall sits on was given to Okato by his mother. It always was a beautiful big hall and over the years it has been meticulously maintained and I am sure it is the biggest country hall in Taranaki today. Mum and Dad would sit in the centre seats, right in the middle of the hall. If I turned around I could always see Dad sitting on the end of the seat. And so that was how people sat. The young ones in the front. The Mum’s and Dad’s in the centre so they could keep an eye on you. And as you got older you ended up in the back portion. This is where all the young couples sat. There was one couple who always used to sit in the back row. They were a young married couple and they were always canoodling. When the lights went off the music of “God Save the King” came on and everyone stood up while it played. At every function back then, the Anthem would be played. And then the ‘Pictures’ would begin. All the waiting – all the excitement – at last!!!!!!! There was always a newsreel first. Always covering the World News. And all black and white of course. Then there was always a serial. Oh these were exciting!!! Just 5 minutes and then it would all be over. Always leaving you on the edge as something awful was going to happen to the heroine or the Star of the show. There was Tarzan! There was The Lone Ranger! There was Jungle Man! It was exciting stuff and we just couldn’t wait for the next week to see what happened. After the serial we usually had a Cartoon. We thought these were so funny. Mickey Mouse and Pluto and the like. And then half time. There would be a rush outside and over the road to Durdle’s dairy on the corner. The little shop would be crammed full, and people would all be wanting an icecream. Picture night was not picture night unless you had an icecream at halftime. And so great big boys and little wee girls like me would be pushing their way to the counter wanting to be served. It was the same every picture night. There were only ice creams in cones. For twice the money you could buy a Chocolate covered one on a stick. And there were iceblocks on sticks. After a while Mr Durdle used to scoop the ice creams before the rush so that he could serve the first rush quickly. When I was older a lady from the school tuckshop set up a lolly stall in the cloak room every picture night and you could buy icecreams on sticks from her so it wasn’t such a mad rush to Durdle’s any more. And so once again we settled into our seats for the main feature. There was no colour until I was 12 or so and then not always. Colour was a novelty. No matter what film was on we enjoyed them. It was just the novelty of having a night out. One night there was a story about the dog Lassie. Lassie was in strife and was hurt and was just lying there looking dead. My cousin Paul was with us that night. He would have been about 6. In the dark with only the light of the picture to guide him he got up out of his seat in the front and walked out. As he passed Dad on the end seat further back, Dad recognised Paul and grabbed his arm. “Where’re you going?” says Dad. “Dog’s dead. I’m going home!” was the reply. That story will never die!!! It has been told and told over the years. Often there would be breakdowns. All of a sudden the hall would be pitch black and nothing on the screen. This is when the feet would start clattering on the floor. Everyone would be showing their displeasure by clattering with their shoes. No rubber soles and sneakers then. Always leather shoes with heel plates to make the soles last longer. So the clattering was pretty loud!!! And why the break down? Well, the films came on big reels and the same reels went around all the country halls and so sometimes they would break. Then the projectionist would have to splice it together somehow and get it running again. Sometimes the film would start running back to front. Clatter Clatter Clatter again!! This would be because the previous projectionist had not rewound the film before sending it on to the next hall. With the advent of Television – the Thursday night pictures drew to a close in the early 60’s.