There is only one ice cream I ever have. For more than 60 years I have been loyal. Every member of the family knows that an ice cream at Gung’s will only ever be the one and only, original, Tip Top Hokey Pokey. It is truly New Zealand ice cream and it has to be Tip Top, because all the other fancy brands are, to me, just an imitation of the original.

 We had a lovely phone call the other night from a seven-year-old grandson, currently living with his family in France. He had his mother call us on Viber just to have a chat and chew the fat with Bad Jelly and Gung. It was great to hear how they had settled in to the village and were looking forward to starting school. Also to hear how his French was already way better than mine and that they were so enjoying their grand adventure. It was even better to hear that he was missing us and that modern technology allows him to just pick up the phone and call us for free. I remember when we had to book an expensive toll call, weeks in advance, to get chance to have a chat with overseas family at Christmas time. And that my mum used to sit down every Sunday night to write her letters to friends and  family. Because it was harder then, we didn’t take staying in touch for granted and were disciplined about pursuing it, probably resulting in contact being more regular.

This got me thinking about staying in touch more often. Making a regular a call, sending the odd letter or package and making it all exciting and fun. Of course when they really miss us and have a dose of missingungitis they will need comfort food, and what better comfort food than hokey pokey ice cream? So, today I drove out to Boric’s Food Market in Riverhead to buy several packets of the very best hokey pokey, by Kapiti Candy company. Then I posted them off with the following recipe:

A cure for missingungitis

You will need:

1 pack of ingredients (supplied)

1 large tub of plain, preferably vanilla, but not French vanilla, ice cream.

1 hammer.

Method:

Melt the ice cream stirring occasionally until all soft.

Before opening the hokey pokey bag, hit the contents several times with the hammer, to break into smaller pieces.

Open the packs and mix evenly through the Ice cream.

 Refreeze and keep ready.

Dosage:

Take 2 scoops as required for melancholy brought on by missing Gung and Bad Jelly

Contagiousness:

Missingungitis may be spread to others who do not have contact with the Gung. It is OK to share this cure with your new French mates who you feel are genuinely suffering, but do not let them overdose.

That special little phone call from Louis reset my thinking on the frequency and quality of my contacts with him. Technology often empowers us, but it can also make us lazy. How much nicer to get a hand-written letter than an email. Emails are instant and can appear hurried and thoughtless. Somehow a well-written letter can seem an envelope full of love. The excitement and planning that went into an international toll call in the ’60s can be lost completely in a rushed Viber call today. Yes, life is quicker but I often prefer the gratification that comes from a slower world.

Here at Redgraves Home Fabrics, we travel extensively to bring home the very latest in fabrics and styles. Often our quick turnaround means we show new designs years ahead of others in the market. We search for the very latest technology and method of manufacture, investing hugely each year in our processes. Yet despite all this we still like to do things the old-fashioned way. Our process is not just about finding the right fabric for your windows, but also about finding the right lining, the right heading and hem size and style, the right fixing and the right length. Only when these things are done do you have truly custom-made furnishings that celebrate the art of textiles. Like the Tip Top hokey pokey ice cream, any imitation of our process is just that.