"Make edible gardens," they said."It will be fun!" they said,
"All they have to do is crush some biscuits,
add some green coloured coconut for grass
and decorate with some ready-made fondant icing. They can use flower cutters,
or make their own decorations."
"I think I can manage that." I thought to myself,
"I mean it is not exactly cooking is it,
more like playing with food..."
I looked at the equipment.
Hmmm!
This is all looking a bit serious!
A bit....gulp...domesticated!
Before I know it the doors open and I have my first batch of Messy Church goers, eager to make an edible garden.
The cookies are placed in the bag to be crushed, as directed.
Not having trialled this activity, I naively anticipated that a few revolutions of the rolling pin was all that would be required and the cookies would be transformed into a fine tilth.
In reality, after a couple of rolls of the rolling pin, the cookies resembled boulders rather than soil.
My landscape gardeners were unimpressed.
They upend the rolling pins and, without hesitation, pound the cookies into oblivion.
Prayer bubbles float serenely by,
chips are tested to see if they bend,
pots decorated and bulbs planted,
fruit kebabs are constructed,
collages are stuck.
Apart from the chatter of voices, all is calm.
Except at table two, where the now vertical rolling pins are smashing cookies to smithereens.
Each blow gives a distinct boom, as the end of the rolling pin hits the gopak table.
The resulting sound reverberates around the hall...
Once the children get the hang of what they are doing, they are amazingly creative - duck ponds, snakes, and animals of all descriptions are formed fondly from fondant.
If they wanted green fondant they mixed blue and yellow.
One child created a world, from a mixture of blue and green fondant, which was very effective.
Others focused more on the symbolism of the garden.
Mind you, it would be pretty amazing, if a garden designer could recreate this design.
"Make edible gardens," they said.
"It will be fun!" they said.
And it was, but it was also fascinating to see their take on creation.
or make their own decorations."
"I think I can manage that." I thought to myself,
"I mean it is not exactly cooking is it,
more like playing with food..."
I looked at the equipment.
Hmmm!
This is all looking a bit serious!
A bit....gulp...domesticated!
Before I know it the doors open and I have my first batch of Messy Church goers, eager to make an edible garden.
The cookies are placed in the bag to be crushed, as directed.
Not having trialled this activity, I naively anticipated that a few revolutions of the rolling pin was all that would be required and the cookies would be transformed into a fine tilth.
In reality, after a couple of rolls of the rolling pin, the cookies resembled boulders rather than soil.
My landscape gardeners were unimpressed.
They upend the rolling pins and, without hesitation, pound the cookies into oblivion.
Prayer bubbles float serenely by,
chips are tested to see if they bend,
pots decorated and bulbs planted,
fruit kebabs are constructed,
collages are stuck.
Apart from the chatter of voices, all is calm.
Except at table two, where the now vertical rolling pins are smashing cookies to smithereens.
Each blow gives a distinct boom, as the end of the rolling pin hits the gopak table.
The resulting sound reverberates around the hall...
Once the children get the hang of what they are doing, they are amazingly creative - duck ponds, snakes, and animals of all descriptions are formed fondly from fondant.
If they wanted green fondant they mixed blue and yellow.
One child created a world, from a mixture of blue and green fondant, which was very effective.
Others focused more on the symbolism of the garden.Mind you, it would be pretty amazing, if a garden designer could recreate this design.
"Make edible gardens," they said.
"It will be fun!" they said.
And it was, but it was also fascinating to see their take on creation.
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