Off to the kitchen he went. That was strange enough in itself – to see Dad clanging pots and pans was a real sight. We peeped through the outside window. Dad pretended not to notice us.

Into one of Mum’s biggest pots he put some rendered animal fat he had collected from home kills. Before too long the fat was at a boil. Things appeared to be going quite well, and judging by the smirk on Dad’s face we could tell he thought he had it sussed – that is until he added caustic soda and Lux flakes to the broth. The boiling solution immediately expanded in size and frothed up and up and over the pot. “Bloody hell,” said Dad. We crept lower behind the windowsill.

Unfortunately for Dad the frothing solution kept growing; onto the stove it erupted, the molten solution flowing along the bench, into some drawers, and onto the floor.

“Bloody hell!” said dad again, but this time we could tell he really meant it. Us kids looked at each other, realising lives were at risk – our lives. It was one of those situations – being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Right at this moment Dad panicked. He grabbed the overflowing pot and took the shortest route to the nearest exit, crashing over and through furniture in the process. As he burst through an open door he heaved the still foaming pot onto the front lawn. It is fair to say that we were keeping a low profile.

Back into the house dad stormed. “That bloody Aunt Daisy!” he said as he disappeared back into the kitchen. We beat a hasty retreat to a neighbour’s place. It was some hours later before we dared go near the house again. By then things had returned to their normal state – at least as normal as things could be. No one ever said anything about Dad’s soap making idea, and Dad never tried to make soap again.

Oily Rag Ed': J Pearson, a relative of the inventor, has sent us this fabulous reply. “In answer to Dot- Pearson’s sandsoap has not been available since about the 1950’s when my great great grandfather’s company went out of business after about 70 years of trading. I believe someone bought out the name and continued making soap but my understanding is that the last person who knew the secret recipe didn’t divulge it! The soap was made using pumice sand found on my great great grandfather’s property in Hamilton, the only remaining bars are those in museums around NZ and Australia.”

Bev from Auckland replies; “Pearson’s sand soap is no longer in production but the NZ Historical Places Trust sell sand soap bars on their website for $3.00 each.

Penny from Balquhidder, Scotland writes, “I was reading in the soap category, that someone was looking for Pearsons sand soap. On the internet [eBay of course] I saw lots of what is called ‘pumice soap’ which is the same thing – much beloved by chimney sweeps, motor cycle restorers and farmers.  If one is mushing up ends of soap, why not add some pumice powder and make your own?”