Chocolate Fever Friday!

Saturday 10 October

Hola!

Yesterday (Friday 9/10) was just fantastic and no not just because it involved chocolate as you may have guessed from the title!

Walking into the safe house in the morning loaded with two big bags of grocery bags got the girls very curious from the moment they saw me...there was a slight nervousness and excitement all around until the girls found out exactly what we were going to be doing, big boxes of corn flakes, 24 bars of milk and white chocolate and of course marshmallows just for that little extra meant only one thing; corn flake cakes! When it was explained to the girls what we would be doing they were excited to say the least and so was I. I have never seen a group of children clear up tables, join them together, and be seated as quickly as I did on Friday, if it was a marathon they´d be the first to cross that line!

The excitement in the air was just electric for so many reasons; an activity involving chocolate usually in itself is a treat but for these girls it was so much more, for some it was the fact that they had not had any chocolate in two years, none of them had ever had corn flakes or marshmallows before, I am certain that when you read this it may give you some idea of how I felt upon hearing and realising this, I remained and was excited and enthusiastic but for a brief moment when I went in search of pots, pans etc and even as I type now I was and am deeply saddened and upset in learning this and recalling the incomprehensible things that these beautiful bright young girls (one as young as eight years old) have gone through, I needed a moment before being able to get back to the girls.

We were however, missing one essential item in order to make these corn flake cakes and despite me having scoured the super mercado from aisle to aisle twice over I still couldn’t find any cup cakes! I refused to be defeated where there is a will there is a way so we improvised:

What you need:
-Half a sheet of A4 paper;
-Colouring pencils;
-Scissors;
-Some sellotape; and
-A group of enthusiastic participants!

What you do
1. Design your half sheet of A4 with any kind of design you like, the only requirement is it must be full of colour and not taken seriously;
2. Ensure your name is clearly drawn on the paper;
3. Cut up the top end of the paper and using scissors fray the ends with adult supervision, and
4. Roll up like a cone and tape together using sellotape ensuring the designed side is outward facing!

The girls as you can see were just so engrossed in their designing it was great to see them enjoying what they were doing, I couldn’t get a peep out of them and they were so proud of their cones once they had been taped together.

Everyday two girls are on lunch duty which entails preparing lunch from scratch for all of the girls and staff at the safe house, unbelievable is the only word I can use to describe them when the girls are in chef mode, the size of the pans on the cooker is scary in itself but to see them stand on a stool to stir the big bubbling pans which are best described as vats is incredible they are not in the slightest phased. Whilst this rota system may appear a little harsh i.e. spending a morning cooking it is in fact another way in which the safe house is teaching them day to day life skills for when they leave the safe house. Needless to say of course when it came to the melting of the chocolate it was no problem! Before I could say ´willy wonka´ the girls had melted all of the chocolate in three separate bowls, one for each table, we moved the bowls into the main activity room where the girls had fun stirring in the corn flakes and then spooning the mixture in layers of white and milk chocolate in their individually designed cones, there was of course a sneaky tasting session by the girls OK, and me(!) but it would have been rude not to!

Next was the topping and decorating of the cones with mini marshmallows and most of the marshmallows did get used for decorative purposes before being devoured. Finally grab a spoon and enjoy! Nigella eat your heart out!



We had so much fun, the girls were brilliant and it was great to see all of them being able to partake in an activity altogether at the same time as opposed to in small groups.

You might be wondering why I have gone into so much detail in telling you about my morning with the girls in carrying out this simple activity with them, the reason is because I want to try and portray across to you as best as I can and if not fully then even just a fraction of the excitement, fun and enjoyment the girls and I had and how easy it can be to bring a smile and some happiness to a child's life.