Tuck parcels

Share your memories and stories from your days at school, and find out the truth behind the rumours....Remember the teachers and pupils, tell us who you remember and why...

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
LongGone
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 383
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:17 pm
Real Name: Mike Adams
Location: New England

Tuck parcels

Post by LongGone »

Katherine’s comment about a box of grapes triggered memories of the arrival of a tuck parcel, always a momentous occasion for the individual and closest friends. Ones from my aunt Margaret were always special. Not only did she include the best items (Rum/raisin Toblerone, dark chocolate digestive, candied ginger in syrup) but provided an hours anticipation. She was a nurse and the parcel was wrapped in layers of Elastoplast. With no scissors on hand, finding each loose end and peeling it off bit by bit until, finally, getting to the contents just built the suspense. The other end of the scale was one from my great-aunt Lilian which contained Rich tea biscuits, a half-empty box of oatmeal and some apples.
Do other readers have memories worth sharing? What was your best and worst experience?
If a stone falls on an egg: alas for the egg
If an egg falls on a stone: alas for the egg
Katharine
Button Grecian
Posts: 3285
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 10:44 pm
Real Name: Katharine Dobson
Location: Gwynedd

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by Katharine »

Strange to say, I have no memory of ever receiving a tuck parcel, nor of seeing one being unpacked! Perhaps 6s girls were just deprived!
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
sejintenej
Button Grecian
Posts: 4092
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:19 pm
Real Name: David Brown ColA '52-'61
Location: Essex

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by sejintenej »

Highly unlikely I ever got one; my mother would not have been able to get to a post office even if she could get anything to send
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
User avatar
J.R.
Forum Moderator
Posts: 15835
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:53 pm
Real Name: John Rutley
Location: Dorking, Surrey

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by J.R. »

I don't remember tuck parcels at all.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
brian walling
LE (Little Erasmus)
Posts: 69
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2004 9:32 pm
Real Name: Brian Walling
Location: Penang, Malaysia

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by brian walling »

I can't recall anyone ever receiving a "tuck parcel" in my time (1953-60). However, the concept must have been similar to the "food parcels" that some of our families (like mine) used to receive from relatives in North America at the end of and just after the Second World War. As I recall, these contained all sorts of non-essential but nice-to-have items, aimed at easing our lives in the hard days at the end of the War. I remember only one specific item in the parcels: the tins of Spam (spiced ham), which made a nice change from the cans of rather dreary Fray Bentos corned beef that were the usual standby at the time.
Ma A 53-60
Avon
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 381
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 10:39 pm
Real Name: Ed Bell

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by Avon »

brian walling wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:30 am ... Spam (spiced ham)
Was Spam spiced? If it was, Mrs Keeley managed to boil that out of it before it got to the table.
Otter
GE (Great Erasmus)
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Aug 20, 2018 5:17 pm
Real Name: Stephen O'Rourke
Location: East Anglia

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by Otter »

I fondly remember tuck parcels.

When I missed a family birthday, I would get a parcel in the form of an empty plastic butter container containing a slice of birthday cake.

I would also get the occasional refill of Penguins, Wagon Wheels, biscuits, etc.
Last edited by Otter on Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
sejintenej
Button Grecian
Posts: 4092
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:19 pm
Real Name: David Brown ColA '52-'61
Location: Essex

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by sejintenej »

brian walling wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:30 am that some of our families (like mine) used to receive from relatives in North America at the end of and just after the Second World War.
My mother's employer "sponsored" an eastern European refugee in a camp, I think in western Germany. On one occasion they sent some tea with other foodstuffs; this was returned with the comment that refugees were not allowed luxuries - only coffee! We couldn't get luxuries like coffee at that time.
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
User avatar
LongGone
Deputy Grecian
Posts: 383
Joined: Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:17 pm
Real Name: Mike Adams
Location: New England

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by LongGone »

Otter wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:37 am I fondly remember tuck parcels.

When I missed a family birthday, I would get a parcel in the form of an empty plastic butter container containing a slice of birthday cake.

I would also get the occasional refill of Pengiuns, Wagon Wheels, biscuits, etc.
I am relieved to read this. I was beginning to think I had imagined it all as some psychological coping mechanism.
If a stone falls on an egg: alas for the egg
If an egg falls on a stone: alas for the egg
sejintenej
Button Grecian
Posts: 4092
Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:19 pm
Real Name: David Brown ColA '52-'61
Location: Essex

Re: Tuck parcels

Post by sejintenej »

Otter wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:37 am When I missed a family birthday, I would get a parcel in the form of an empty plastic butter container containing a slice of birthday cake.
Had a surprise for my 21st when I was working in Gib; a silver cigarette case from my sponsor's son - first ever birthday present. (My birthday was in mid term)
What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution.
What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!
Post Reply