To warm….

There’s nothing for warming you when you’re cold like tomato soup. I’m almost tempted to capitalise that. Tomato Soup. There.

I hadn’t been at secondary school long – I must have been in the first or second year. A sponsored walk was organised to raise funds, if I remember correctly, for a new mini-bus for the school. The route for us young ‘uns was along the bank of the River Great Ouse from Lynn to Stowbridge, which made a round trip of about 13 or 14 miles. The older students had the option of pressing on the Downham Market, if they wished, making a round trip of about 25.

I have no idea what time of year it was, except that it clearly wouldn’t have been February or anything like that. Even though this was the late ‘70s, there would have been some kind of objection to kids walking at that time of year. Whenever it was, predictably, it threw it down with rain. We weren’t obliged to all stick together as long as no-one was walking alone. I seem to remember being a group of 5 of 6 and we were a rather sorry looking lot by the time we trudged into a marquee by the river at Stowbridge. We were wet through and thoroughly cold. Staff members were serving hot soup. I have never to this day tasted anything as delicious as the two cups of soup I had that day.

Obviously that’s a little artistic licence going on there. Nevertheless the taste of that soup, on that cold wet day, having walked for miles has stayed with me over the years. I don’t believe that I will ever taste Tomato Soup without thinking of that day.