Ice Cream, Jelly and Tonsillectomy
“He’s got the whole world, in his hand, he’s got the whole world...” Oh my goodness, where am I? And what do those words mean!
I was in a state of semi consciousness, just coming out of the anaesthetic and trying to work out what was going on. A radio! Yes! It was music blaring from a radio. For one frightening moment I thought we were seized by some kind of giant who was holding us all in his hand. As I was gaining consciousness I realised that I was in hospital and the only things that were seized were my tonsils!
I was only eight years old when I went into hospital. Oh those doctors in the fifties had a lot to answer for! If you suffered from any form of throat infection you were very quickly committed to having your tonsils whipped out. Thank goodness there is a very different school of thought today and our children are spared.
I have a very vivid recollection of my first meal after the operation. It was indeed a most amazing experience. Ice cream and jelly. Heaven for the throat. The excruciating pain in your throat totally relieved by that ice cream and jelly slithering down your throat, cooling and calming, bringing a smile to your face again.
It reminds me of the same concept as rain coming to cool you down after an incredibly hot and humid day. After suffering all day with stifling heat, the rain sizzles onto the red hot concrete, cools the air and allows you to breathe again. In Perth, Western Australia, they call it the Fremantle Doctor. To me it is the Ice Cream and Jelly Phenomena.
God bless the nursing staff who advised my parents of post operative care, suggesting that for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I should have ice cream and jelly!
It seems bizarre now to think that at that time, we only served ice cream with cold tinned peaches, at home to visitors, especially on a hot afternoon. It was just one of our customs. I don’t think either Mum or Dad made jelly. The only jelly-like sweets we had were Turkish Delight or Jellied Crystallised fruit, usually at Christmas.
This was the introduction of jelly into our cuisine and there was no stopping us. This was the fifties! Plain jelly was a bit boring and not sweet enough for a Greek household. Mum added tinned fruit (using the syrup to make up the jelly), bananas or other suitable fresh fruit and served it with ice cream. Jelly with tinned raspberries is probably my favourite. Jelly with carnation milk to make up a flummery. Jelly trifles - sponge cake soaked with sherry on the bottom, a fruit layer, and a jelly layer (or 2 layers of different fruit and different coloured jellies) and topped with custard and cream . I have made up my own jelly using champagne, rose wine or fresh fruit juice, fresh fruit and set with gelatine leaves.
