When we were kids growing up in the King Country, my grandparents would visit us every Sunday, staying for Sunday Roast lunch. Us kids would look forward to them coming and sit and wait on the roadside, listening for their car and waiting for them to arrive. They would always bring treats - a bag of lollies for us kids and chocolate macaroons for the adults to have after Sunday lunch with their afternoon cuppa. The chocolate macaroons were always for the grownups, us kids were only allowed one on very special occassions, and when we did get one they were like a taste of heaven!!

I left home to study, but always looked forward to visiting my grandfather whenever I went home, and always took a packet of macaroons when I visited - to share over a cuppa and they still tasted heavenly!! I married and had 2 beautiful girls, and as they got older, on very special occassions we would buy chocolate macaroons and I used to call them "Pap biscuits" and my girls knew the story off by heart, how every Sunday my Pap (we used to call my grandfather pappy) would bring us lollies and chocolate macaroons. For years they thought that their real name was Pap biscuits!!

Sadly 2 years ago my grandfather passed away, and during the funeral, I bought a packet of chocolate macaroons and wrote my last letter to my grandfather, however, because we were particularly busy I didn't have time to put the biscuits and letter with my grandfather on his coffin, so both were in the kitchen until the funeral day. My brother and cousins had to prepare the hole at the cemetary on a very wet and dismal afternoon, and when they got back to the kitchen, it was late and they were cold and hungry, and my brother spied the biscuits in the kitchen. He and my cousin both eyed up the unopened packet of macaroons, and he nearly opened them, however Brent convinced him not to. You can imagine their surprise when, the next day (funeral day) they were pallbearers, and I placed the packet of biscuits and letter on Paps coffin as he was being carried to the cemetary. They both looked at each other and tried really hard not to laugh out loud!!