‘Cooking Tomato Soup’ by Joyce Hayward

I was educated at the local Girl’s High School and, as neither of my parents drove a car, I, like many of my school pals, had to go to school by bus. This journey was along narrow, winding, country roads and we had to stop and start many times on the four mile trip from where I lived. The biggest nightmare was travelling with a satchel full of books, a PE kit and a whole load of items for our cookery lesson. I absolutely loathed that day of the week; the day when I was expected to take all the necessary ingredients, dishes to carry the end product home and a variety of other paraphernalia.
I was taking a GCSE in cookery and the examination day was a day never to be forgotten. I had to cook a roast dinner for four people and a sweet to follow and, worst of all, a tomato soup made from raw ingredients. It was a mind-boggling thought that I would have to perch on a bus seat accompanied by all the necessities, carry them from the bus stop into school, sit an exam which would take all morning and then carry the end result home to be eaten for tea.
However, I did pass the exam; although my mother was not very impressed with her meal!
My advice to anyone in a similar position would be to choose an easier option, maybe needlework – but I loathed that from day one. So hence my troublesome journeys which were the norm for a school girl in the 50’s.