Have you got a mango story to tell? Or perhaps you have a mango picture like this one you'd like to share? Send us your favourite holiday mango snap, or tell us a funny mango story you might remember from your childhood. We want all things mango in our Summer Mango Stories so don't be shy and let's go an Aussie mango!
Send your Summer Mango Stories to enquiries@mangoes.net.au

The Story of Nanna's Mango Wedding Ring

Dear Summer Mango Stories,

I have a favourite mango story that has been in my family for generations. My nanna Betty, who passed away last year at the age of ninety-two, was proposed to by poppy Fred during World War II. After she had accepted his proposal he presented her with a Bowen mango, which at first she found a bit confusing ‘cause she had been expecting a ring and not a piece of fruit. But poppy Fred insisted she open the mango that had been cut on one side, and when she looked under the flap, she found the ring inside, and she was ever so happy!

They got married soon after and lived a long, happy life. Every year they celebrated their wedding anniversary with a Bowen mango as it held a special place in their hearts, and also because they had plenty of them in their garden.

To this day, I can’t eat a Bowen mango without thinking of my nanna and it always reminds me to go visit poppy Fred. This family story has been one of my favourites and I hope your readers will like it too.

Regards, Lara O’Toole
 

Mangoes - Great Aussie Ambassadors!

Dear Summer Mango Stories,

I’d like to share a special story of friendship with you. I was born in Australia but my parents came here twenty-five years ago from Romania. Throughout the years we’ve always had relatives come to stay with us and this year our cousin Elena spent the summer holidays here to see how we lived and to learn the language. During her stay she made a lot of friends but no-one more special than our neighbour Alan.

Al owns a local greengrocer’s. He is a real character in the neighbourhood and a very generous person, and whenever we were at his shop, he always let Elena choose a piece of fruit on the house. Invariably she chose a mango. She had never eaten mangoes back home and was absolutely mad about them and ate them by the boxful. So, we were not surprised when Al showed up at Elena’s going-away party with a box of mangoes under his arm. But the biggest surprise came when, the next day, Al showed up at the airport with this huge, gift-wrapped basket of mangoes which he gave to Elena to take to Romania! He didn’t realize that she wouldn’t be able to take them on the plane with her so in the end we had to eat the mangoes at the airport lounge!

It was a really funny and touching moment because everyone kept looking at us tucking into these lovely, gorgeous-smelling mangoes. Some people even asked to take a picture! Elena was really touched by Alan’s gesture and said that her visit to Australia was the best trip she’d ever had.

We certainly thought so.
Cheers, D. Buskerby
 

How Mango Laid an Egg

Dear Summer Mango Stories,

My four-year-old twins, Blake and Tiffany, are huge animal lovers so my husband and I have recently bought them a pair of chooks for their backyard zoo. The kids love their new pets which they named Egg and Mango after their favourite foods. Ever since the chickens’ arrival the kids had been taking great care of them, with the expectation that the birds would start laying eggs.

It took a few weeks but finally there was an egg in the coop. Blake took it and said it was his Egg that laid it, and that Mango was a lazy chicken. This made Tiffany cry and Blake was made to apologize.

Well, the next morning, Tiffany was the first one in the chicken coop and this time she found an egg and claimed it was her Mango that laid it. This made Blake cry and again we had a situation where I had to sort the kids out.

By this time I was thinking that getting the chickens wasn’t such a good idea if this was to go on daily. So it was with a fair amount of dread that I went to collect the ‘egg’ with the kids the next morning, when, lo and behold, there was an egg in one nest and a mango in the other! Blake picked it up and very excitedly told Tiffany that her Mango was a very good girl because she laid a mango for her! This made Tiffany very happy.

The mystery of who put the mango in the nest was solved that evening when my husband Tony confessed to planting the fruit in the chicken coop so that there’d a happy ending. And there was, because Mango laid a real egg the very next day!

Love and hugs, Debbie Murphy