Sometimes we like the food to come to us !
In these bleak February days what better way to cheer ourselves up than with some delicious pancakes.
We assembled the required ingredients, so the pancakes could be batch cooked and kept in the warming cabinet until ready to be served with our usual wide selection of fillings.
There were plenty of pancakes to go round, so people could try different fillings to decide their favourites.
The Stewards of Wesley Memorial Church invited us to their Annual Church Party – a joyous occasion and an opportunity to mingle with members of the congregation.
There was an icebreaker quiz – featuring pictures of church members as children, and more recent images and we were challenged to match them up.
This was followed by a ploughman’s supper with plentiful bread, cheese, salads etc, followed by deserts which had been contributed by church members. It was another chance to chat with people from the church, either renewing acquaintances or making new friends.
The evening was rounded off with a Barn Dance, where we worked off some of calories taken on due to too many tempting treats during the meal.
Part of Scottish cultural tradition is the celebration of the works of Robert Burns around his birthday, January 25th. We celebrated early, but enthusiastically, and in our own style.
Although some regard whisky as a an essential part of the tradition, we had IRN BRU (“It’s yer aither national drink!”).
We had the music of the pipes, using a mobile phone rather than bagpipes, but the haggis was still paraded around the room, and ‘Ode to a Haggis’ was read.
We then tucked into a tasty meal of haggis, swede and carrot, and mash (with a vegetarian haggis available)
We rounded off the evening with home made flapjacks (or Scottish shortbread if preferred)
I hope The Poet would have been proud of 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.
