APRIL 'Fabled Nights in Newport'

So … the first of the Storytelling Vic Fabled Nights in Newport has taken place. We had fun and games learning how to ‘drive’ the old Scout Hall. Padlocks and light boards proved a challenge for folks whose heads are buried in stories. We ummed and ahhed about how best to arrange the chairs and who would go where on the chalk board and puzzled about why the urn wouldn’t go on. Then we got down to the business of stories!

We scratched our heads about whether the man’s lover had directed him to open the door with the tiger behind it, or the door concealing the beautiful women. We questioned the amount of cocoa in David’s mother’s Honey Cake recipe. We unpacked the veiled meanings of nursery rhymes and meditated on the unconditional love of a dog. We experimented telling a story that really needed a musician, were regaled by an anecdote about how to make curry look appetizing on you tube and Melody and Caroline talked about how and why they chose their English names – they’re both from China.

We lit a candle and ate cake to celebrate the launch of a Storytelling Vic monthly gathering and imagined our numbers growing.

We lightly touched on the work of Frank Stockton (author of The Lady and the Tiger), Jane Yolen, Joseph Jacobs and Pu Songling.

And to return to the Honey Cake story ... behind many family recipes, there are stories. Here is David’s mother’s Honey Cake recipe… with the correct quantity of cocoa! The story? Well maybe he can be persuaded to tell us again another time.

1lb plain flour

2 eggs

2 ozs melted butter

1 lb honey (warmed)

½ teaspoon baking powder

6 ozs sugar

I teaspoon heaped bi carbonate of soda dissolved in water

3 tablespoons cocoa

½ oz mixed spices

candied peel by choice

almonds for decoration on top (split)

½ cup of strong instant coffee (1 heaped teaspoon of coffee).

Mix all ingredients 

Bake at 180 Celsius for 40 minutes

 

The next Fabled Nights in Newport

DATE: 20 May

TIME: 7.30

PLACE: Newport Scout Hall, 6 Market St Newport

COST: $5.00/$3.00 members

Please join us, the more the merrier! 

And maybe, there will be Honey Cake.