a spoonful of mush...

...it was one of those weird dinner-time games that can only be invented at a boarding school by a culinarily disinclined bunch of kids.

Our dining room was a vaguely cavernous, wood-paneled room - with a sunnier annexe for vegetarians like yours truly. Seats were never assigned - tables tended to have a mixture of seniors and snot-nosed juniors, with a token teacher or two scattered around.

The game would start just around dessert.

Pass the Spoon Please...

With those magical words, a dinner spoon would start making its way around the table. Everyone would take turns adding just a little something to the spoon.

                                             A piece of bread
                                                                Milk
                                                  Sugar
                                             Salt
                                                          Pepper
                                                                         Rice
                                               Curry
                                       Leftover potatoes from the stew
                                                          Drumsticks
                                                  Butter
                                                                  A bit of egg
                                       A bit of leftover dessert
                                                 Peppercorns...

It was a goulash...the ultimate food pyramid. The idea was to build it up as high as possible without tipping the spoon over as it passed between nervous hands. We held our collective breath as each new contribution made the spoon wobble a bit more.

If the pile toppled while you held the spoon in your hands - well...you just had to eat the whole lot. That was the unwritten (and inedible) rule. I ran up against it a few times. Which may explain why I can still taste egg curry every now and then. It's a lingering memory...

Do you remember this game? Or have any others you'd like to share?

Comments

[Asha Prabhakaran]

I remember playing Oliver Twist & rounders in the Girls' school flats.

[piper]

Am trying to remember how we played Oliver Twist? I do remember rounders though! I like it much better than baseball ;-)

[Carolin Newmeyer]

Hehe, that does sound like a pretty fun game for a boarding school setting. Using a spoon does seem tricky when you're made to put so much stuff on it. Nonetheless, it makes the situation more exciting, don't you think?

[piper]

Well, unless you were at the receiving end and had to eat the whole thing ;-D And I have been....I have been...

Thank you for your comment, Carolin! I'm SO sorry - I am just reading the comments! For some reason, I haven't been receiving emails alerting me to comments.