It was a dark and stormy night when 24 members and 2 guests turned up at the Scarborough Yacht Club, under the lee of the Lighthouse. Many members duly ignored the dire warnings of ‘High seas’, ‘Strong winds’ and ‘Death’ at the entrance of the pier to park their cars as close to the lighthouse as possible.
Inside were two long galley tables, providing convivial eating arrangements and lines of bunting of the flag of the Ivory Coast! (well it was if you stood on your head!). A free pint of Guinness was quickly acquired, and people marvelled at how Tom’s vibrating machine provided a perfect head (read into that what you like!).
The meal of ham and split pea soup, followed by Dublin Coddle was cooked by Tom, and his band of galley slaves, and was excellent. The Appel Strudel with cream, although not quite traditional to Ireland, made a tasty end to a hearty meal.
Tom then regaled us on the history of the Coddle, and kept referring to the Ring of Kerry. Whilst very few of us noted any ‘curry afterburn’, I was duly corrected by our resident travel Guru (Richard C) that this was in fact a well known cycle route which TC had been on.
Tom continued with an interesting history about the Irish Famine in the 1840’s. Evidently the average daily consumption of potatoes by grown men prior to the potato blight hitting the crop was 6.3Kg (ie almost 14 lbs -or 1 stone- in old money!)
The evening was to finish with a communal rendering of Finnegan’s Wake accompanying the Clancey Brothers, but due to technical difficulties (the bluetooth speaker was not talking to Spotify?!), this had to be abandoned. A collection was made for the RNLI.
It was a great night. Many thanks to Tom and his crew, and to the Yacht Club for hosting us all.
Masterchef Tom gets ready to bring his Coddle Masterpiece up to the judges table
Richard C finds someone to listen to his latest travel dialogue. This picture is also one of the few in existence that shows John White buying a round
Mike S finds himself sat next to Malcolm, who has an uncanny resemblance to Michael Higgens (President of Ireland)
Chairman Mark explains to Richard why Guinness is Good for You and that Stottie Cake is way better than 6.3 kg of potatoes anyday.
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