Tuesday 14 December 2010

Punch 'n' Pies - 14th Window

Christmas is a time for charitable giving.

Here at Valley's End this giving is usually combined with a jolly occasion for meeting villagers,  drinking mulled wine, eating mince pies and buying home-made cakes, jams and chutneys, 2nd hand books and useless recycled gifts. Most of us have a box under the stairs or in the attic labelled "items to be donated to charity", also known as 'white elephants'. I admit that I no longer buy recycled knick-knacks, but I am happy to splurge on cakes and jars of jam. Unfortunately the best have usually gone by the time I get there.




These events can take place indoors and outdoors. "Punch 'n' Pies", in aid of Arthritis Research,  one of the earliest in December, is held at a private house, generously opened by a village couple for the occasion. Believe me, on a day in December when there is gritty, salty snow about and everybody turns up in rubber boots and large wet coats, that is truly generous. Boots and coats are deposited in a heap on the bottom part of the stairs, making it impossible to climb up or down them. At least fifty people come and go throughout the morning,  fishing for sticks, boots and coats. It's all very jolly and impromptu.
And like everything as jolly and impromptu as this it requires a lot of hard work and preparation.





First stop when you get in is the table where you pay your entrance fee and buy raffle tickets. A  charitable event at Valley's End without a raffle is unheard of, be the event a coffee morning, a church bazaar, a bring-and-buy; in fact, wherever more than five people get together at any one time, you can be sure there's a raffle. It's one of the reasons Valley's End is so good at raising money; that, and the kind hearts of its inhabitants.  The prizes are set out on the table, all of them donated, of course; apart from the obligatory bottle of wine, the hastily potted up plant and the box of chocolates, prizes are of the recycled kind, albeit rather more expensive in the first place than the ones on the white elephant table.




A wine glass full of mulled wine comes included in the entrance fee, as does the mince pie. A large saucepan sits on the cooker warming the drink. As Punch 'n' Pies happens in the morning the term 'mulled wine' is a touch optimistic; wine only plays a very minor role in this concoction. it's more likely to be fruit punch with one bottle of wine to three bottles of fruit juice. Even so there are good Methodist ladies and gentlemen who will forego this refreshment and opt for pure juice instead. As you can see the cup bearer dips his measuring jug into the saucepan and pours a measure into the glass, no standing on ceremony here.




Mince pies galore, wherever you look; on the sales table, as well as being offered round and eaten by everyone while they are standing talking. Mince pies are obligatory during the whole of the season. Personally, I can't stand them. Mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, can't stand any of them. too sticky and sickly sweet for my pickled herring palate. To each his own.




But I do like the book table which is the last stop. I often get lucky. This time I found Richard Russo's Straight Man, a hardback copy of  Scribbling Women, a compilation of Short Stories by 19th Century American Women and a thin book of mostly 19th Century English Naive Paintings. Perhaps the book is thin because not many naive paintings were good enough to be published. After all, they didn't have Blogs in those days.

Charitable giving can be such a cold, soulless, from 'high on low' affair. This way you come away warmed by the general good spirits, a lovely gossip,  and the satisfying feeling of having done good, while enjoying yourself.

Congratulations all round!

21 comments:

  1. such goodness friko!!! i really apprecviate the casual and homey feeling of this fundraiser. by the way, next time you're in a place that offers "Mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding" would you mind boxing up your share and shipping it my way!!! steven

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  2. Don't like sticky and sweet either. (Funny, as I'm not a picky person and enjoy pretty well most foods.) Would much prefer at Christmas a nice joint of ham with chutneys, pickled onions, beetroot and pickled cabbage.

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  3. I bet the mulled wine helps people empty their pockets better. Your charitable giving certainly sounds like more fun that writing a check to United Way.
    I really enjoy reading about life at Valley's End.

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  4. And I forgot to mention that Richard Russo is one of my favorite authors with Nobody's Fool being my favorite book by him - so far.

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  5. You are in fine form there Friko - with many interesting points buried in your description of the charitable events in your corner of the world. No wonder you were attracted to the title of Russo's book! :-)

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  6. Great photo tour as usual Friko. Missed your first few windows but went back to read. I never liked minced pies either but my grandmother had them every Christmas. Never any Christmas pudding thought. You are quite the social butterfly up in your neck of the woods. Enjoy gal, you deserve it. Blessings
    QMM

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  7. Actually sound so old-fashioned lovely. I am very envious and I now have a craving to visit a used book store...none in this area I am afraid.

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  8. I love this little glimpse into your village lifestyle. Like you, I'm developing more of a "pickled herring palate," but it's revealing itself in more ways than one. The sappy books I used to like reading occasionally would be my first picks to add to the pile on the secondhand table.

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  9. Dear Friko: Thank-you for this fine snippet into the lives of the Punch n Pie culture. Truly a rich history and I can see this happening from time immemorial! I love church bizarres but this has some pinnache! Truly I love minced pies, mulled wine and the lemon tarts look to "die for". I'd buy up the lot I would!

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  10. I would so enjoy this shopping experience, mulled wine and mince pies included!

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  11. I think the used book table would be my favorite too.

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  12. That sounds like a very pleasant morning, Friko. I love anything containing dried fruit so adore Christmas cake, pudding and mince pies.

    I'm sure that I too would have chosen the compilation of short stories by 19th century American women, from the book table.

    Thank you for sharing this slice of village life. Most enjoyable!

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  13. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time since you worked your way out of the prison of ice and snow.

    I am with you on the mince pies and plum puddings, although I did bake a spicy pumpkin pie this morning. I love them and sweet potato pies too. My husband loves pecan pies.

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  14. An interesting post about an interesting day, Friko. One gets the feeling that there is a nice sense of community in your village. We share quite a few interests, Friko, but I'm afraid I don't have that "pickled herring palate." Frankly, I would do better with one of those lemon or custard tarts shown in one of the photos.

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  15. Well done to Valley's End! Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the village fairs!

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  16. A wonderful window on village life, Friko.

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  17. A lovely slice of festive village life. The bookstalls are always my favourites - as if I didn't already have a housefull.

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  18. Scribbling Women and the Naive Paintings books sound like good finds. Interesting about taste: Carol-Ann's well-doused Christmas Cake recipe on RA doesn't strike me as likely to be too sweet, though I grant you it's not pickled herring!

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  19. Sounds a fairly painless way of Doing Good!

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  20. I love your comment about having a pickled herring palate. This fundraiser for charity sounds very English to me ...and I would love to go to one. Food, books, chatting all sounds good, especially the books.

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  21. How wonderful to be invited to such a charity event. I have not heard of one like this around here. I really like mince pies and would always buy a fresh or if I could not find a fresh one, then a frozen one, for Thanksgiving. Last Thanksgiving there were only frozen ones and this year none can be found around town, fresh or frozen. Next year I guess I’ll have to make my own. I missed my pie this year.

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