Is Polly Hooked On Panto?

Just this morning I decided to check my stats and was pleasantly surprised to notice a number of visits from Donal Skehan's 'The Good Mood Food Blog.' In my infinite wisdom to check Donal out out; probably, well almost certainly because he's playing Peter Pan in this years Cheerio's Panto at the Tivoli.

The following video was posted on his blog and it's well worth watching; by the way his steak pie looks good too!

Anyone who has been following this blog from the beginning will know that Vinca and family are big fans of the panto; especially those starring Alan Hughes as Sammy Sausages! In the beginning; well, since the beginning of LB's young life, Sammy's panto was performed down at
the quays in St Anthony's church hall.

Sadly; some of the older members of the cast departed to higher planes, while younger fitter actors followed in their stead. One of these is the ever faithful Joe Conlon; appearing as the demur Miss Buffy Minogue he/she has become a family favourite.

Initially the change was hard to swallow; Buffy's youth allowing an altogether more provocative side of the ugly sister to prevail. Compared with the octogenarian panto stars of the past his/her behaviour was shocking; however he/she carries this off with such aplomb that the audience has come to love this essential member of the cast.

A while back we saw the venue change to the more modern Liberty Hall Theatre above the head offices of SIPTU. Not only did the venue change; so did the sponsor's. This lead to all new costumes and an altogether brighter image for Anthem Productions. Despite the increased professional back up; the show must go on showcasing Karl Broderick and Alan Hughes dream's of old fashioned nostalgia combined with modern wit and up to the minute music. Remarkably the show gets better each year...


2008 sees another change of scenery. This time the audience must find their way to The Tivoli Theatre in Frances Street, The Liberties; early booking is advised as this is a small venue with limited seating capacity. This fact was announced from the stage by Sammy himself and thankfully we were lucky enough to secure our usual front of house seats; whereby we shall heckle the cast and soak up the infectious spirit of post New Year's merry making spectacular on the stage.

Purely by chance young Donal, whose scrumptious food blog will leave all but the die-hard's salivating led me to discover that Peter Pan has many talents. Not only is he an accomplished cook and food photographer, he has produced radio shows, presented TV shows, appeared as a prospective Euro-vision representative earlier this year and has even worked as surprise, surprise; a chef in a Scandinavian fortress...

So, who else is appearing in this year's epic production at the Tivoli? Aside from the regulars ie Sammy & Buffy we will be watching Brian Dowling starring as Captain Hook and Jenny Lee Masterson in the role of Tinkerbell; doesn't she look cute?

The only mystery left now is who exactly will play Wendy...

Personally; I can't think of a better way to start the New Year than to sit and shout at some of my favourite stars in the hope that they will loose their lines and crack up laughing! It's happened before and believe me; they are every bit as ruthless as they pick on unsuspecting members of the audience!

If you'll take my advice head over now to the Ticket Reservation office before the last tickets are sold out; I've already come across an agency touting for tickets at whatever price you command! Really folks, this is the best show in town over the festive season; so much so that competitor's have been sighted in the audience consistently year after year. Maybe they want a few tips on how to do it properly?

Traditional New Years Battering in Dublin

To continue on from yesterday’s post about Yorkshire Pudding I thought that it’d be nice if I said a few words about another dish which uses batter; good old Fish & Chips!

Since the Cod wars of the 1970's this poor fish has been almost driven to extinction by over fishing and is no longer one of the less expensive varieties. In fact it's a bit of a treat to have Cod these days! More often than not the Halibut; which used to be expensive is offered as first choice these days; as a child that was beyond reach!

When I was little; growing up in North Yorkshire & Leicestershire, England; "Cod & chips, twice please, with mushy peas and scraps!" was a familiar phrase; the mushy peas being a favourite North of The Watford Gap . In those days there was a great divide between “the sophisticated south and the working class north of England.”

Probably these words were uttered mainly on Friday evenings, due to the relationship with time honoured church traditions, ie the fasting of meat. Times were hard; so a trip to the chippers was definitely something to look forward to.

The take-away meal was served up in newspaper wrappings; a handful of batter scraps sprinkled generously on the top, these luxuries have now been outlawed due to health concerns. It’s a shame about that; there was something special about the combined taste/smell created! When served with plenty of salt and vinegar, and Heinz tomato ketchup, this dish made the perfect end to the week.

For an extra special treat we would sometimes be taken to Harry Ramsdens Fish Restaurant in Guisley. What could be more perfect than Cod & Chips served in the traditional way; with a plate of bread and butter, mushy peas and a pot of tea? I remember queuing for what seemed like hours to get our table in the original carnation of this now world famous venue.

Sadly, those memories are very old now, as my Grandfather, whose special treat this was, died in 1970. Shortly afterwards we moved away; down to Leicestershire, where things were only slightly different. Some years later; in the mid-seventies, my grandmother came to live nearby.

In our family we'd often have a late supper after the swimming club meet on Friday evenings; after two solid hours of lessons, I was more than ready for "Chish & Fips". This childish play on words, ie a spoonerism, is still heard amongst the older members of the family! The innocent fun in this little game might be a little too subtle for today's sophisticated children.

After Nan-nan’s arrival we used to go to her Chippy instead and there was nothing quite like it. That was all a long time ago and there is nothing quite like your memories to make something even more attractive than the reality, is there?

Unfortunately, when it comes to fish and chips this is not always the case. The world of instant gratification that we live in is probably responsible for many evils; particularly in the market place. We expect good food to be conveniently available to us at cheap prices; this can only be achieved by big conglomerate supermarkets and has lead to the closure of many small family businesses.

It seems that most Chippers buy in pre-battered, frozen fish shapes these days. The result is appalling; compounded by the fact that they also use oil, rather than dripping or lard, the result is flavourless and soggy and doesn’t resemble fish & chips as I know them in the slightest.

To date, over the twelve years since I ‘came home’ to live in Ireland we have discovered a couple of decent fish & chip shops; unfortunately the nearest of these is fifty seven miles away in Dublin city centre. There are a couple of cheap and cheerful Harry Ramsdens take-away stations in the big shopping centres, which frankly leave a lot to be desired compared with the original restaurant in Yorkshire.

Leo Burdocks on the other hand are just brilliant. Having been awarded several accolades for their wonderful secret batter recipe; Leo Burdocks is reputed to be the oldest Chippers in Dublin.

With reasonable prices for humongous portions the only thing missing from their menu is proper mushy peas, but then, you can’t have everything can you? They do, however, serve portions of marrowfat peas if requested and I can imagine that the sit-down restaurant over in Phibsborough is even better seeing as you can order bread & butter and a pot of strong tea with your meal!!!

Having written all that and even gone to the trouble of including a photo of their tiny shop front in Werburgh Street my taste buds are watering in advance of our annual pilgrimage on New Years Day!We go there after our trip to the matinee performance of the Liberty Hall Theatre Pantomine; this year it's Snow White, adapted by Karl Broderick and performedby TV3's Alan Hughes it will be outstanding as usual. I can't wait!

Fun Monday!

Evenin’ y’all!

Now then, this post really is going to be just a quickie, especially considering that I have to make a quick Spaghetti ala Bolognaise, serve and eat it all before 7.10pm, which gives me little more than an hour to do both! As much as I love food and cooking there are times when it really is a nuisance and this is one of them.

Anyhow, the reason for this little post script is because Deborah at The Humble Housewife is hosting Fun Monday this month, which for anyone who isn’t aware is an event hosted by a different blogger each month. This month’s theme is family holiday traditions unique to your family, which means it could be any of the public holidays throughout the year and even as embarrassing as the inevitable Aunt Polly falling drunkenly over the Christmas tree.

In our family we have two quite different traditions, one is 'new'; the other 'old'. Both are of equal importance; representing bonds with tradition which have been passed down from generation to generation.

Our Newest holiday tradition is to attend the first matinee performance of the year at three o'clock on New Years Day. Either with; or without the optional hangover, the whole of our family make the annual pilgrimage sixty or so miles to inner city Dublin. Next we invade the seats nearest to the stage and boo-hiss at the cast of the annual Pantomine at the Liberty Hall Theatre.

Since LB was a babe in arms, suckling, oblivious to the hilarious antics of Sammy Sausages et al, this has been our way of ringing in the New Year. It is always great fun, although last year, while feeling a little bit blue; due to ill health; the cast shot me concerned looks of astonishment. For once I hadn't actually succeeded in putting them off their lines.

At one stage I laughed until I cried, and how did I cry; Buffy announced to the whole audience "...ahh, look; Mammy's crying!" With old friends like that I can't imagine a better way to bring in the New Year, especially as it unites three generations in a good Old Fashioned Family Way.

Our next tradition is probably one which is celebrated in most households around the world on the Eve before Christmas. I am sure that my family isn’t unique in our attitude regarding Santa Claus; although at times it certainly feels as though he may have taken a wrong turning. In Ireland, where we live, there is a tendency to large, exotic gifts being delivered under the Christmas tree.

I sometimes feel that our kids are disadvantaged; when the inevitable “What did you get…?” is asked of them. However, I have it on very good authority that Santa’s a cool dude cos he always gives my guys the best presents. This can range from a woollen hat and matching gloves, to action figures, magnetic stones called Oids, bulging eyeballs, caps, mandarin oranges, musical instruments, chocolate, snot in a bottle and so on; you get the picture.

It’s not that Santi, as he is known locally is mean; he just delivers what they really want; generally not the sort of things that stuffy old grown ups approve of. Oh yeah, he always manages to find a mankey old stocking or sometimes a pair of tights (panty hose) which is much more fun than a shop bought felt reproduction. The contents, due to the fact that the bulkier items are sheer hell to extract keeps the rug rats busy for hours on end.

Unfortunately, they do some times decide to blow bubbles onto me as I sleep; followed by all manner of chaotic mayhem on their new instruments, which will range from maraca’s and castanets to tin whistles and harmonica’s.

The absolutely worst of all gifts that the bearded man in the rotund red plush outfit has ever delivered; except for the sea monkeys, has to be the afore mentioned Oids. These magnetised haematite or iron ore ovoids make a horrible cacophonous rattling noise when thrown into the air. I still shudder at the mere thought of being woken up at 4.30am by that! It frightened me witless!

Like I said earlier; Santa is a cool dude, he is the MAN; loved by us all, young and old. Thirteen year old BB; standing behind me reading this as I write, recently told his granny all about him. I think he even claims to have heard sleigh bells last year, or was it the year before?

Anyway, duty is no longer calling me; it is impatient and screaming for attention, knawing incessantly at my right shoulder, so that’s it from me folk’s; dinner is calling!

For more Fun Monday and seasonal traditions go here.

Polly Px Polly Peirce

ps Having frantically & magically created what the English so fondly refer to as 'Spag Bol' in just under an hour, BB & I managed to eat it and arrive almost punctually at the Scouts Den for our weekly meeting. Unfortunately, BB really did eat on the run, with a tea cloth stuffed inside the collar of his uniform shirt in case of spillages and bumps in the road. May God forgive me, for I have sinned...

I can't imagine how MM, our Group Leader can possibly hold down a full time job, and do a degree course as well as all her Scouting Committments; I am worn out at just the very thought of it! Px