A few posts back I mentioned how my extended family had caught onto my involvement in the ‘HP scene’ (Is there such a thing? There is now!). My reputation as a coffee drinker had finally come to pass and my new ‘HP Sauce obsessed’ label was now sticking to me like two fingers stuck together with crazy glue. Granted, it’s all self inflicted isn’t it? After all, one aught to expect this type of attention when one spends as much time as I have to pursuing the delights of delicious HP Sauce. And although my label is now permanently affixed, there are times when I forget it’s there - much like the first few minutes after putting on a fresh Band-Aid. For the first few moments you’re very aware of its existence. Then as time passes you tend to forget it’s even there; that is until someone points it out to you - which is precisely what happened to me a couple weeks ago as we joined friends and family for dins at my folks’ to celebrate my birthday.

As the meal was winding down, my mom presented me with a birthday pressie for which she announced as being ’somewhat unusual’. “You’re scaring me!” I thought and said aloud before catching myself. Upon opening the gift, I was surprised to find a BBQ apron on which my mom had silk screened various HP Sauce pictures on! The card, also home made features a very cranky grey cat ‘holding’ a bottle of HP’s finest on the front cover. Inside it reads:

HP sauce - oh what a treat
to serve on sHrimP and cHiPs and meat
HeaPing HelPings on sHeeP (lamb) cHoPs
ketcHuP is good, HP is tops.
Collectables - not cHeaP, just rare
sHoPping, sHiPping, are prices fair?
We HoPe on birthday thirty three
you HaPpen to taste some brown HP!

Love Mom & Dad

Thank you for the great gift! I can’t wait to get it good & dirty while BBQ’ing outside. My goal was to BBQ on New Years Day, but for some reason I’ve had a hard time getting myself outside to clear the BBQ of snow….in the dark…. at -5C. Still, I suppose that’s better than doing the same at -25C like it is normally this time of year isn’t it! Best get to it before the weather changes!