Self Denial

Far from giving up sweets and chocolates for Lent, my consumption seems to have gone into overdrive with a fondness for sickly Cadbury's Easter Eggs and now these piggy fruit gums. I blame my need of sweet things on the general feeling of viral malaise which has lurked in the recesses of the Dower House since Christmas.

I cannot remember in my Scottish Presbyterian childhood, overseen by a threatening fire and brimstone minister, ever having heard about Ash Wednesday far less self denial during Lent. Perhaps I was a particularly unobservant child, but it wasn't until my late teenage years when I saw a new friend with ash on her brow that I was enlightened.

Now the reasons for giving up something dear to one's heart for 6 weeks before Easter are many and varied, I'm sure. There will be some who do it as a mark of their faith, while others may just be taking a convenient opportunity to watch their calorie intake.
Whatever the reason, I have definitely missed the boat.

Pass me a Percy Pig Gum please. I have become a teeny bit sick of cream eggs.