Bullo Slush

During my years at primary school I would buy a patty, crust, or fritters at the school gate. I have never tasted patties so good as the smoke-filled ones from the patty pans with the hot coals underneath.

All those years, at lunch time, a cart was pushed into the school yard with huge pots of food, and the children would shout "Bullo man come!"  I did not pay much attention to it, I just knew that those huge pots held cooked food that the children called bullo slush.

I discovered bullo slush in my last year of primary school. In fact, my only regret at primary school was that I did not 'take bullo' from the day I started school. I loved it so much, and missed it so much, that after I started high school I used to ask the helper to make it for me. I would describe the taste, and she would attempt to make the saltfish stew with macaroni. There was a tart taste that was missing, but I didn't know what it was. (Maybe it's better that I didn't know). I also loved the cornmeal dumplings with the oblong shape, that was served with the stewed peas (really really thick, and no meat) and I loved the turned cornmeal on the side.

We would also get half of a ripe banana, a peg of grapefruit, or a slice of watermelon with our meals. It was a really balanced meal.

In recent years, the primary schools were getting something called nutribun. What's that about?

P.S. Since writing this, I have read a couple articles where it is said that bullo slush was a free lunch provided by the government. I know that I had to pay for the lunch. It might have been heavily subsidised, though, because the cost was minimal.

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