I trust you all enjoyed your evening out on Saturday to taste English culture and food at Ebenezer Church. The transport was brilliant, with so many volunteers from various churches driving us to Ebenezer and back again. Thank you for that, you were marvellous.
The cultural events were wide, ranging from a 1950’s film about the Royal Family, the World Cup of 1966 and the life and death of princess Diana 12 years ago. Mind you England has not achieved a World Cup final since 1966. In 1966 the Blogmaster was just 19 years young and in Germany!
Tony with his guitar and mouth organ was brilliant as usual. His first folk song about a street entertainer called Seth with his dancing dolls, who performed on the streets of Liverpool just over a hundred years ago, always makes me a little sad. During the same period, Bristol would have had its street entertainers in what is now the Centre and Park Street.
What about the food? Did you enjoy your sausage and mash, better known as ‘baggers and mash’, with peas and carrots and onion sauce? What does this menu say about the English? I enjoyed mine especially as I had three sausages! The apple pie and ice cream was also delicious. The post dinner entertainment was brilliant. The song ‘Amazing Grace’ was written by an Englishman called John Newton. He began life as a seafarer and became a captain of a slave ship plying between Bristol, the West Coast of Africa and the Caribbean. God intervened in his life and he saw that the slave trade was evil and abhorrent and gave up his sea life. He became a priest with the Church of England and was part of a pressure group led by William Wilberforce that eventually influenced the government to ban the slave trade.
I don’t know much about Ebenezer except that he was the main character in Charles Dickens novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Ebenezer Scrooge was a grumpy bad tempered man of business in mid Victorian England. His life’s aim was to make a worldly profit at the expense of others. Yet on Christmas Eve one year he had a visitation of the supernatural, which changed his life and he became happy and benevolent. In some ways both Newton (who was real) and Ebenezer Scrooge (who was not) reflected a change of life experience. We should ask Ebenezer Church whether their name relates to this powerful tale of a life changing experience.
How did you fare with the quizzes? I checked around a few tables and assisted where possible. No it wasn’t Worcester and cream! It was Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire and cream is a complete contrast. Worcestershire sauce is hot and savoury and with cream that is sweet and cool the blend would taste horrible. Cream goes with apple pie. The contrast of hot and savoury with cream in some ways reflect the lives of John Newton and Ebenezer Scrooge, where in life changing experiences, they threw off their image of hot and savoury and took on the characteristics that represent cream especially when poured on to apple pie, the apple pie representing the world.
Well, there you have it the taste of English culture blog. What were your experiences? Please respond, as I would like your views. Signing off until next week
Have a good week. See you at BISC or the Octagon at UWE and especially at the International Reception. Remember entry is free and you don’t have to book. Bring your friends and enjoy a spectacular multi-cultural evening with food and entertainment from across the world.
Yours, as ever, the Blogmaster.
