Seeing the abundance of crops in Jock Tamson’s Gairden at the moment brings back a happy childhood memory for one of our trustees:
![Flowers in the Glebe](https://www.jocktamsonsgairden.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PXL_20210716_143019026-1024x576.jpg)
When I was a wee boy my mother used to give us (me, sister & brother) a big basket of peas to shell and a bowl for the pods and one for the peas and we would sit on the kitchen doorstep in the morning sun.
![Polytunnel](https://www.jocktamsonsgairden.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PXL_20210708_140141739-1024x576.jpg)
My mother told us that while we were shelling peas we had to keep whistling, no matter what, because it bought good luck.
![Potatoes](https://www.jocktamsonsgairden.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PXL_20210708_135949538-1024x576.jpg)
So we would go out and think it was hilarious and we would happily shell peas and whistle and giggle and if we stopped whistling my mother would shout “ don’t stop the lovely whistling” so we whistle and giggled some more and had lots of yummy fresh peas at lunchtime.
It was years before I realised that you can’t whistle and eat peas at the same time. 🙂
![Flowers](https://www.jocktamsonsgairden.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/PXL_20210708_140055984-1024x576.jpg)
Editors note: This is also the reason why on sailing ships in days of yore the cook was the only one allowed to whistle!