Sometimes we like the food to come to us !
Using home made pizza dough, Maria’s passata recipe, and a selection of ingredients such as olives, cheese, ham, sweetcorn and pineapple, our members could create a pizza of their choice.
These creations – labelled with appropriate names on greaseproof paper, were then cooked in the church ovens by our team of talented cooks, and then enjoyed!
We rounded off a culinary evening by celebrating a birthday, with a delicious home made cake!
Once again we had an evening centred around food, but this time it was pancakes. As we normally do, we asked members to bring any favourite toppings, and cooked pancakes in the Wesley Memorial kitchen so people could add their choice of topping and eat.
The evening took on a distinctively Scottish feel, with a Scotland themed quiz, plenty of chat about our own favourite Scottish connections or memories, and a traditional meal of haggis, neeps and tatties. This was washed down with Irn-Bru, Scotland’s other national drink. We did, of course, have the traditional reading of Robert Burns’ “To a Haggis“, although only the first verse. We also sang along to the Auld Lang Syne and The Proclaimers.
Wesley Memorial Church invited Oxford Phab to join their Church Party with Ploughman’s supper and Barn Dance.
Some Phab members arrived early, and helped set up the Hall and John Wesley Room, lay tables, cut bread and cheese, prepare drinks, put out snacks and the multitude of other tasked needed for such an event, with over 80 attendees to be a success.
There was an urban railway based quiz before the supper, with pictures of trains, trams and buses from all over the world, and city transport maps all round the walls of the John Wesley Room. These gave an alternative activity, and conversation point, though many people were content to sit and chat.
The Ploughmans supper had not only a variety of breads and cheeses, salads and chutneys but also some delicious home made hummus. Following this were a wide selection of contributed deserts, from chocolate cake to crumbles.
The evening was rounded off by a series of Barn Dances, organised by Derek, our experienced and patient caller.
Some Phab members were among the kind people who stayed on to clear up and set the rooms straight for the following day.
Many people beyond our regular member help to keep Phab operating, and our annual Christmas Dinner gives us an opportunity to thank some them by inviting them to eat with us. We had our turkey and all the trimmings, with a tasty vegetarian alternative.
After a eating and chatting there was enough for those who still had room to go back for second helpings.
What could be better on a Friday the thirteenth than watching a Horror Movie ?
Watching a musical with your Phab friends, and various toy sheep (some of them are not that keen on horror films)
and eating burgers and hotdogs (veggie sausages available!).
Pancakes are always popular, and Mary made sure we had plenty to enjoy.
We had a variety of fillings available, though the traditional lemon and sugar was the most popular.
We were also joined by a musical friend of one of our members, who played the guitar and sung a number of songs for us. Their kindness was appreciated by our members.
Like many other social activities the Wesley Memorial Church party, normally held in January, had not taken place since 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Having decided it was time to resume the tradition they kindly invited Phab.
The evening began with socialising and a quiz, involving identifying a range of people, each famous in their own way, ranging from John Wesley to Little Mix, from pictures posted on the walls of the John Wesley Room.
This was followed by a bring and share meal in the Hall, where church members had made a variety of tasty salad, and brought little sausages, crisps and other snacks. This was followed by range of desserts and fresh fruit.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, and while a stalwart team in the kitchens laboured over the clearing up, we played several games of Beetle.
For many years Oxford Phab has joined together for a traditional Christmas Dinner, to which we invite people who have been particularly supportive, or have some special connection with the club. Due to Covid we had not been able to do this since 2019, which made this one particularly special.
A team of volunteers peeled potatoes, parsnips, made stuffing, cooked the turkey joints, laid the tables and prepared the feast for the arrival of members and guests.
As the diners were arrived they gathered in the hall, and chatted and tackled the Christmas Quiz, with questions ranging from ‘Where was baby Jesus born ?’to ‘What is the most fragrant real Christmas tree ?’
We all moved into the John Wesley Room, and enjoyed a delicious meal, with turkey and all the trimmings, or a vegetarian pie, followed by home made Christmas pudding, or fruits and meringue (or both for those who still had room !)
We were also pleased to be joined by Kelly’s family, who had brought a cake, as this would have been her birthday,
Activities involving food are always popular, and tonight was no exception ! With a team in the kitchen making pizza bases our members could add toppings of their choice and return them to the kitchen for cooking.
We had a wide selection of toppings to choose from so each one came out different. Almost a metaphor for Phab, in that they are all different at first sight, but built from the same base, and all valued as individuals !
