E is for Easter Bunnies - The Half-Sensible Bit!

Well, it was a bit of fun, and not as expensive as I thought it might be, some of them were only a quid or two, but I have got about 20-quids worth of chocolate rabbits to eat, just as I was sliming-down down that middle-age spread, having gone back to work, at something semi-physical!

 

But I didn't purchase every bunny I found, just a cross-section of the more normal ones, I regret the grinning Kinder Bunny, as it's really in the class I avoided, but I console myself with the fact that at least I know what it will taste like!

 

Aldi's had a plethora of Bunnies, including a colour variant of the one I obtained (left), which was the 'specially selected' hazelnut one, and a more colourful range of both upright and squatting milk-chocolate ones . . . maybe next year! The Aldi Rabbit also won several of the online taste-tests, so I'm saving it till last!

 

I seem to recall touching on the Rabbit Wars, a few years ago, when Lindt finally had to admit the basic shape predated their Rabbit by decades, allowing Aldi, Lidl and others to turn-on the taps which have led to today's choice. Since when there has been the Caterpillar Cake War, and regular flare-ups!

 

The Lindt, though, remains a nicely smooth 'European' chocolate, and comes in about six sizes, of which the larger ones tend to have more limited availability, and I only got the smallest three, having half a mind how the posts would develop!

 

I didn't see Lidl's Lindt clone, but they got too confident after the previous round of Rabbit Wars, and made one so similar (in packaging) they had to destroy tons of them a couple of years ago! But their upright did run to two colours, of which I took the blue, naturally, but pink was there!

 

Rejected uprights included the three licensed or 'product placed' Rabbits from Smarties, Milkybar and M&M's, all stupid looking, and while OK for kids, a further example of how a few corporations have literally turned us into consumer-sheep in a few decades, nasty!

 

And don't get me wrong, many years ago I asked for a Smarties egg, and still have the mug, it's one of my favourite mugs, but firstly, that was when A) an egg in a mug was as good as it got, and B) Smarties still tasted nice, and of chocolate, the last few times I've bought smarties I've regretted it, they're flowery-chalky pap now!

 

The three uprights I did end-up with included the Cadbury's Peter, because it was Peter, not because I like their chocolate, I don't! The Lidl Favorina and the Kinder, if I'd been thinking straighter, I'd have got the Thornton's and shot the Kinder, but given the amount of Kinder on the blog, and the fact there may be a toy worth a post in its belly, means it happened the way it happened!

 

Bare chocolate Rabbits were around, and while the Thornton's was expensive for what is now no more than another shelf-brand, I think most of their shops have gone now, just a few dozen franchise 'boutiques' mostly shared with other brands, like Ferrero (Kinder), while the Favorina (Lidl) was too daft-looking, another one for the kids!

 

While this one wasn't as big as its message gives the impression it was, to the casual observer, rejected for being daft-looking! I think I shot it in Aldi?

 

These three all seem to have used the same contractor, or the same commercially available 'off the shelf' mould-tool? From the left we have Tesco's, Morrisons' and Asda's, with only the wrapping being different, I will eat these in sequence, to see if the taste differs? Follow-up in twelve-months? Possibly!

 

The Tesco came in four different pastel wraps, I chose the green, while the Asda also came as a white-chocolate Bunny with a suitably pale artwork and polka-dots! Interestingly though, the online artwork for 'my' Asda Bunny shows a much darker-brown colourway, which may be last year's version, still being used for publicity shots?

 

Another upright and more animated, smaller, filled Rabbits from Nomo, these were in Morrison's, but I think I did see them elsewhere, and I was tempted by the upright, he would have improved the group-shot above, but my several experiences of gluten-free pies have not been good (the pastry is like cardboard), so I stopped myself, and will never know how good or bad they might have been!

 

I can't remember if I shot these in Morrison's or Sainsbury's, the latter, I think, but again too cartoony for me, and more eggy than Rabbity, so pretty much off the parameter list, before I saw them, but Belgian chocolate is never bad?

 

Speaking of Sainsbury's, theirs was by far the prettiest of the wrappings, with a rich greenish-gold that gave Lindt a run for their money, without aping the Swiss one so close as to risk a court-case, design was the closest too, but it wouldn't stand-up, having a bowed base, and needs to be propped!

A comparison with the Aldi and one of the similar trio, to compare with the previous shot.

 

If you go ordering Chocolate Bunnies online, you find lots of smaller, regional or bespoke brands offering similar fayre, of which I was rather taken by the semi-realistic wrap on this one from the Candy Store, but I wouldn't trust chocolate hollow-Rabbits or eggs ordered online to arrive in one piece! And with those ears it might be a Hare!

 

With the many types out there, the alternate wraps, and the regular changes in artwork, one hopes somebody, somewhere, is annotating them all, as I'm too busy with toy figures to disappear down a Chocolate Rabbit hole!

E is for Easter Funnies with Easter Bunnies

There are a lot of Easter Bunny memes out there, a lot of them are either not that funny, a bit sad, or just mawkishly sentimental, but over the years these three have made me genuinely  chuckle . . .

 

This one has been seen before here, abut 12 years ago, but is a perfect example of everything which is wrong with the Internet, it was originally a low-res copy-of-a-copy of a greeting card from here in the UK, hence 'Arse', yet if you google 'Ester bunny meme' you will find dozens and dozens of examples, Americanised with 'Butt', while many versions have been re-shot, or re-drawn, by people who want the credit for something which was someone else's idea.

 

Another version has a third bunny, missing his face going "Where are you guys?", or similar, yet the original artist is never credited, not even by me, as no one knows, presumably a Clinton's, Birthdays' (or the chain which went bust a few years ago)'s jobbing commercial artist?

I saw this a couple of years ago, and haven't seen it again.

While this also made me chuckle!

And the fact that the originators of this stuff get lost, forgotten or omitted, often on purpose by people wanting to extract a little ownership for themselves is a sad indictment of what's wrong with us, we are losing our humanity, and our altruism, which are (were?) our 'Darwinian' strengths in a world made harder to navigate by a thousand tongues and the [necessary?] evil of economics!

More here; https://www.care.com/c/funny-easter-memes/

E is for Easter Bunnies - Breaking! Murder in Rabbit Town!

 

"They've killed Kenny!"

 

E is for Easter Bunnies - Let the Party Begin!

 

 

Finally, Miss Fancy Pants turned-up from Sainsbury's in her best frock!

E is for Easter Bunnies - Still Growing!

 

 

Benjamin Brown (Asda) joins the party!

E is for Easter Bundesbunny!

 

 

Lady Favorina Lidl has joined the Family gathering!

E is for Another Easter Bunny!

 

 

Great Uncle Moldova dropped-by on his way back from Tesco!

E is for Easter Bunnies - Smallies

 

 

The kid's school has broken-up for three weeks!

They're breeding . . . like . . . err . . . rabbits!

E is for Easter Bunnies Expand

 

 

Aunty Ada's off to Aldi's!

E is still for Easter Bunnies

 

 

Uncle Brian's back from Morrison's 

and the eldest has six-weeks off from Uni'!

E is for Easter Bunnies

 

 

 The gathering of the Clan!

H is for Happy Easter Bunny . . . Not!

 

Stolen from Todd Killinger on the Pod Stallions Faceplant group

 

G is for Good Friday

Start of the Easter weekend, and Brian (Terranova in comments) had sent us this year's seasonal window display from Scully & Scully (so good they named it twice!), and they are every-bit a lovely as last years, There's not much to say about them as this is the third time they've been here, so a couple of lines on each, but thanks to Brian for taking the shots and for taking such excellent photographs through what must have been one or - in places - two panes of glass?

Exquisite detail worked into each engraving and beautifully painted, these are a joy to look at and there's so much going-on as well, it's not just a rabbit, it's a rabbit with eggs and balloons and chicks and friends and a something-or-other . . . !

It's just as busy on the pond!

Easter wreaths, not a particularly UK thing, and I don't remember them from my childhood, but I have seen them for sale in the last few years, so I guess it's not just steel, aluminium or plastics which have 'globalised'!

Is that a young Dylan on the left? Roundabout of magic not folk-rock star of moroseness, of course! And don't lick that mushroom kidos, they look pretty but they're not nice! Although - maybe mice have evolved to eat them - slugs love'em!

Tuning-up for Sunday Service! I hope someone's going to be feeding all these chicks running around everywhere, and I love the little curious hedgehog that keeps popping-up at the edge of things!

"Faster little lambie; faster! Get us to the Easter party on time or I'll have to whip you with these silken ribbons!" It's a Harley Electra-egg-chariot-pram-glide!

Thanks again Mr. B; these are a real treat and it's a joy to put them on the Blog occasionally - timeless craft/art!

C is for Cloisonné

Not quite up to Peter Carl's famous jewelled 'Faberge' eggs of Imperial Russia's Czars, but pretty nevertheless. My favorite type of decorative object - if I have just one! - as cloisonné tends to very rich colours due to the depth of the enamel - powdered glass - while the little trails of metal always give it an outlined, cartoon-like, quality.

Cloisonné is a method of enameling, especially curved objects, by reducing the area to be covered by breaking it into lots of little areas or chambers, using thin metal wire or ribbon which is then soldered into place.

The chambers are then filled with enamel powder (or on something as curved as this; a paste) and when fired it won't flow beyond the 'walls' of the chamber (which on these eggs; is formed of fine brass ribbon) due to a type of 'water tention' keeping them within their bounds.

From a distance we can see it's a mass of blue chrysanthemums (a typical oriental or 'chinoiserie' motif) with the odd green leaf sprinkled among the blue.

This one is a mass of butterflies or moths flying hither and thither! I don't know the significance of the holes both these eggs have, but suspect it's related to the firing; as in somewhere to hang the egg in the oven without leaving a mark in the enamel? It may be for more straightforward, decorative 'hanging' purposes?

And . . . is that the Cherilea hen we looked at the other day? It makes a good painting guide!

E is for Eggtastic Eggstravaganda of Erzatz Easter Eggs

After the conservative nature of stone eggs, we're looking at all sorts in this post, as faux eggs or decorative eggs like other collectable miniature 'favourites'; frogs, bears, rabbits, owls, cats & dogs, barrels, pigs, elephants, turtles & tortoises, hedgehogs, gnomes, and - these days - bloody meerkats (seemples!), they come in all sorts of materials and sizes, and various things can be disguised as 'them'.

So we'll start with the oddest, an egg timer, perhaps not so odd but rather obvious! I bought this in Lidl years ago as a present for my mother (who's just celebrated her 80th!), while I bough myself a cow (to match my - free from Argos with my works van petrol points card - mookie sandwich-maker!), but they had several other designs, once you have a standard mechanism for a decorative but practical item, it's a matter of imagination and its limits as to how many versions you chuck-out . . . note to self; must look out for soldier (probably guardsman) egg-timer! Or robot?

Shot with it is the original 'Faux Egg'; a basic ceramic (in this case bisque) egg, used on the farm to keep a broody-hen sitting until you can get some fertilised eggs under her. This one is hollow, but I've seen solid clay or earthenware ones, and even glazed ceramics.

These wooden ones ('Treen') probably served the same purpose as the ceramic one in the previous shot, but could just as easily be 'apprentice pieces', showing skill with the turning or carving and sanding of wood. I feel that an apprentice piece would probably have a better grain with contrasting colours or some interesting feature or something and these are just for hen's nests?

As they are painted it's hard to tell if these are wood or papier mâché underneath? What is clear however is that three of them follow a trope, in that while they came from different places at different times, and are painted by different artists on slightly different-shaped eggs; they all have a song-bird on one side and a crested hoopoe (or something!!) on the other.

I think they are oriental, and there will be more to them; culturally speaking, some tradition with an attached story or something? The floral/geometric, salmon-pink one is about half the size (bantam egg) in real life, but was cropped to fit!

Equally colourful, but a cheaper technology (who says progress has to mean better? 'Progress' is only inevitable, directional but not necessarily an improvement!), these litho-printed tin ones would have had a small toy or confectionary in them in the same vein as Christmas crackers, and pre-date Kinder by decades!

By my childhood they were being replaced by decorative paper-veneered, 'stock-card' eggs (there's a larger one which would have held a full-size chocolate egg - as a card 'box' - in storage so we will return to these again one day) and now - as we know - have been replaced completely by plastic gift eggs, available all year round.

I think the cat's probably slightly earlier (overall quality) and I like that the rabbit is painting a giant egg, on a tin egg that might have contained mini chocolate or sugar-candy eggs!

These might actually be trying to be acorns, but they were with the other eggs, so I shot them all together! The larger one is for a pot, the smaller one for a single-cup serving and they are charged with tea-leaves and used to infuse the hot water to make tea! Both are plated brass.

Coming back to ceramic for a full circle on this post, we have a stenciled 'Blue & White' pattern china egg sitting in a 'Red & White' pattern china egg-cup which is transfer-printed - the reason model kits have transfers not 'decals' (whatever they are - some Franco-American, Cajun-Quebecois, I wouldn't be surprised to learn!), the water-slide transfer being historically much older than the model-kit!

The china egg may even be from China, but it's a modern one (you can tell by the less defined or fuzzy edges of the colour) and there is an attempt at a crackle glaze - created by flicking damp sawdust at the items while they are in the oven.