Name: Karen Slinger
Scran: Egg Soldiers
Mother Language: British Sign Language
With many thanks to Anita Kanji – WAITE Wellbeing Leader for Manchester Deaf Centre – for organising and facilitating all aspects of the Sounds Like Scran sessions for MDC.
BSL Interpretation: Spoken English
“I remember when I was a little girl about 2 or 3 years old, I sat with my mum and father around the table for breakfast. We were having boiled eggs. When I saw the boiled egg sat in an egg cup I felt emotional because I thought that when a hen lays an egg there would be a chick inside. My family explained to me the egg is to eat and it is different from an egg that has a chick in. I hadn’t had a boiled egg before and so didn’t know how to eat it, so my mum showed me how to use a spoon to bang on the egg, crack the shell and take the top off. When I opened up the egg I saw the slimy inside and the yellow yolk and I was unsure if I wanted to eat it. I watched my dad as he showed me how to dip a slice of toast into the yolk so I copied him and I liked it. I also copied my dad when he added some salt for taste but because I was so young my mum only allowed me to add a little.
I chose this anecdote to share as a memory of my childhood breakfast that was a tradition passed down to me from my Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother.”