Easter egg heirlooms

And they had been tucked away in a keepsake box for a couple of years before the outbreak of World War One.

Two tea-stained hens eggs with hand-painted inscriptions and signatures are believed to be amongst the oldest Easter eggs in Scotland.

And the former Peebles-to-Glasgow bus driver who owns them, wouldn’t swap them for a truck-load of the chocolate kind.

Robert Kerr from Biggar was the given the eggs - which were decorated 102 years ago by his late mother, Margaret McMeekin, and aunt, Henrietta McMeekin - to put in his treasure box as a boy.

For close to 60 years he has looked after them. And now the 70-year-old hopes to pass the unusual family heirlooms down to his daughter, Kirsty.

Robert told us: “They have been tucked away in cotton wool inside this cashmere socks box since they were first painted. You didn’t have chocolate egss back in those days. You boiled the egg, stained it and then painted it.

“My aunt Reta (Henrietta) was a bit like me, she liked to keep things that meant something to her. I was always close to my aunt and would come to Biggar every holiday to stay with her. She gave me the eggs and I’ve looked after them ever since.” Twin sisters Margaret and Henrietta were 10 years old and living in Bellshill when they painted their eggs.

Robert’s mother, Margaret, went on to become a dressmaker in Glasgow while her sibling also went to the city to train as a millner.

Henrietta died in 1976 after spending most of her adult life in Biggar. Margaret lived well into her 90s.

Staining birds’ eggs with a red dye originated in early Christian times. And the egg was officially adopted by the Christian church in the 17th century to symbolise the resurrection of Jesus.

Thankfully for Robert and the rest of his family, his mum and aunt didn’t do the rolling part of the tradition back in April, 1912.

And now, as well as a few photos and other mementos, Robert’s three-year-old grand-daughter, Emma, will have something rather unusual to remind her of Margaret and Henrietta.

The former panel-beater and bus driver added: “I will make sure that the eggs are passed down to Kirsty and Emma. I hope they can last another 100 years.” And they had been tucked away in a keepsake box for a couple of years before the outbreak of World War One.

Two tea-stained hens eggs with hand-painted inscriptions and signatures are believed to be amongst the oldest Easter eggs in Scotland.

And the former Peebles-to-Glasgow bus driver who owns them, wouldn’t swap them for a truck-load of the chocolate kind.

Robert Kerr from Biggar was the given the eggs - which were decorated 102 years ago by his late mother, Margaret McMeekin, and aunt, Henrietta McMeekin - to put in his treasure box as a boy.

For close to 60 years he has looked after them. And now the 70-year-old hopes to pass the unusual family heirlooms down to his daughter, Kirsty.

Robert told us: “They have been tucked away in cotton wool inside this cashmere socks box since they were first painted. You didn’t have chocolate egss back in those days. You boiled the egg, stained it and then painted it.

“My aunt Reta (Henrietta) was a bit like me, she liked to keep things that meant something to her. I was always close to my aunt and would come to Biggar every holiday to stay with her. She gave me the eggs and I’ve looked after them ever since.” Twin sisters Margaret and Henrietta were 10 years old and living in Bellshill when they painted their eggs.

Robert’s mother, Margaret, went on to become a dressmaker in Glasgow while her sibling also went to the city to train as a milliner.

Henrietta died in 1976 after spending most of her adult life in Biggar. Margaret lived well into her 90s.

Staining birds’ eggs with a red dye originated in early Christian times. And the egg was officially adopted by the Christian church in the 17th century to symbolise the resurrection of Jesus.

Thankfully for Robert and the rest of his family, his mum and aunt didn’t do the rolling part of the tradition back in April, 1912.

And now, as well as a few photos and other mementos, Robert’s three-year-old grand-daughter, Emma, will have something rather unusual to remind her of Margaret and Henrietta.

The former panel-beater and bus driver added: “I will make sure that the eggs are passed down to Kirsty and Emma. I hope they can last another 100 years.”