Having a cracking time for Easter in South Shields

Decorating eggs at Easter time remains a fun pastime for youngsters, even with all of today’s hi-tech distractions.
Winners at Jarrow Epinay School's egg painting contest in 1984.Winners at Jarrow Epinay School's egg painting contest in 1984.
Winners at Jarrow Epinay School's egg painting contest in 1984.

Many of you will recall painting hard-boiled eggs or dying them (do you remember using tea bags or beetroot to colour the shells?) and then displaying them on the sideboard for all the admire.

And there they remained, sometimes for weeks or months, until they were knocked over and cracked, usually releasing a foul smell, or simply binned.

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The same, however, couldn’t be said of their chocolate counterparts which were usually consumed within a day or two of Easter Sunday.

Going back to the 60s and 70s, the choice of “affordable” chocolate eggs was somewhat limited – with Buttons and Smarties being the two favourites: what was yours?

From breaking eggs to breaking records, and one that was set in South Shields in 1985.

Back then, a team of four lads took to the town’s Cyprus Hotel in an attempt to break the world domino playing record.

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Having posted the picture on Facebook, we asked readers if they succeeded?

Pat Maskell emailed to say they did: “Lovely picture lads. I remember this, you broke the world record,is this were they stayed awake for loads of nights not sleeping?

“No wonder they don’t look happy, they were knackered. Ha ha.”

Tracy Briggs agreed, saying: “They broke the world record, I remember this well ... three of them are my brothers.”

The record breakers were (left to right) Keith Hannard and brothers Bob, Alan and Ray McKeith. They are pictured with the pub’s manageress, Adrienne Bell.