Saturday, 27 February 2016

Heigh Ho!


A frog he would a wooing go
Heigh Ho! says Rowley
A frog he would a wooing go
Whether his mother would let him or no
With a rowley, powley, gammon and spinach
Heigh Ho! says Anthony Rowley

Rowley Powley was a favorite cheap pudding of suet pastry covered with jam known by us a a Jam Roly Poly that filled us up.

     My mind it wanders
     Back to my distant childhood
     Constantly hungry

     Had words enough though
     Childhood rhymes to fill us up
     Despite rationing

     Sunday meal the best
     Dad carving the small roast joint
     And Suet pudding

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie
Kissed the girls and made them cry
When the boys came out to play
Georgie Porgie ran away

Note Georgie Porgie was George Villiers who was lover of Anne of Austria, Queen of France wife to Louis X111. He also had a close  relationship with James 1 of England that upset the British nobility and Parliament with his political scheming.

Picture found at www.bbc.co.uk/foodrecipes
Quote 1 found at www.mamalisa.com
Quote 2 found at www.rhymes.org.uk

4 comments:

  1. That's my kinda' history lesson. And I still make jam roley poley and I drown it in custard! Yum!

    Hector's new motor car!

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  2. History and food and memory fondly rolled up...i remember jam sponge..then everything went supersonic with Angel Delight, Arctic rolls and Smash...no wonder 70's children have rotten teeth

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  3. Interesting history behind these nursery rhymes.I think you would be roly poly with that kind of food.Tsk ,you would think England would have a palatable cuisine with France only being 20 miles away across the channel.

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    Replies
    1. Not after Henry VIII's reign when his insatiable need for wives necessitated special rules free of Papal interference.

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