Sunday Family Gatherings

My two sisters, Beng and Maggie, returned from London in the late 1970s after having spent several years there. The family was reunited once again and my mother made it a tradition for us all to gather on Sundays for lunch. She spent the morning cooking one of the many one-meal dishes in her repertoire and included a sweet Nonya dessert to conclude it.

While the pounding sounds from the mortar and pestle began in the kitchen, the cool morning breeze would blow through the house and gently stir the curtains. My father would rest on the sofa, read the newspapers and follow “The Road to Wembley” which would be blaring on the television. My sisters often arrived by noontime, dogs in tow. The family would tuck into lunch, sit around to catch up, and even exchange clothes. One sister might have unwittingly bought clothes she no longer fancied or preferred to barter for a handbag another sister had bought and which she now envied. To this day, we continue to have our ‘jumble sale’ as we exchange our clothes and accessories with one another. My sister Molly keeps a mental history log to track each item.