First
the good news, National Scouse Day is now upgraded officially to Global Scouse
Day.
I
have had a National Scouse Day celebration annually for 3 years now, and it is
becoming an important date on the social calendar.
Scouse
is a dish strongly associated with the city of Liverpool, and is even used as a
term of affection to describe people from that city.
As
Liverpool is, or was, a major world port, the dish is supposed to have
been brought in by sailors, possibly Dutch, or maybe Latvian.
The
earliest recording of the dish is from the early 18th century.
A
simple dish of meat, usually lamb or beef, with onions, carrots, swede and
potatoes, best served with a garnish of pickled red cabbage and/or
beetroot.
And
we are fortunate to have been provided with Lamb from Yealand Farm.
Well
tasty.
A pan
of Blind Scouse is prepared for our vegetarian guests.
Of
course, I know what you are all thinking, ‘But surely National…sorry.. I mean
Global…… Scouse Day is February 28? ‘not in July?’
And
you are right, but sadly I am never at home during February, usually on tour in
some exotic country, so I celebrate this global event in July.
The
first to arrive is our honoured guest McGoohan, one of the leading characters
from the new book by MK Yealand ‘Shag Yourself Thin’,
a
humorous look at the big business of fad diets and the nation’s obsession with
sex.
Very
amusing and at an appropriately slim volume of 57 pages, perfect for that train
ride or flight.
purchase your copy here -
McGoohan
was rather disappointed to be the first to arrive as it meant he had a longer
wait to eat, and he was starving.
But
all is not lost, he has come well armed with organic beers and a nice bottle of
Rosé wine from the Provence region of France, the perfect accompaniment for a dish
of Scouse.
The
next to arrive is an actual Scouser, known as SKB for short, with his
delightful girlfriend. Again suitably armed with beers.
The
guests arrive thick and fast, a famous radio DJ. Friends and neighbours.
And
so the food is served to everyone’s delight.
Some
late comers, but equally welcome. One in particular, Warlow himself arrived,
yes THE Warlow, the hero of ‘Shag Yourself
Thin’.
Warlow,
now that he is a literary character, has become more flamboyant of late, and
entertains us all with his witticisms such as :
‘There
is only one thing worse than being invited to Scouse Day, and that is not being
invited to Scouse Day’’
He
flicks his flowing locks, to be caught by the breeze as he shakes his silver mane
to accentuate the affect.
Warlow
is without his Jester, he had offered the vacant position to McGoohan, as you
can see by reading the book, but McGoohan refused.
His
previous Jester, Gutbucket, had arrived at last year’s National Scouse Day,
insulted all the guests, then the host, and finally the hostess before leaving
with his ‘best friends’ who he had met in the pub an hour earlier.
Gutbucket
is now banished to Australia never to return.
A
noted absentee is Ros who trapped her thumb in the car door and went to
A&E, the other Godfrey Butler, although invited, he declared he preferred
to celebrate all things Scouse actually in Liverpool. A blatant lie, National
Scouse Day holds no opportunity for any social or financial advancement, so he
instead is most likely sunning himself in the South of France, no doubt
at someone else’s expense, quaffing gallons of the local Claret, again, at
someone else’s expense.
A few
late arrivals, Lady Sara Burley turned up completely drunk, having been ‘On the
lash’ all day, and hungrily scoffed the last of the scouse. Fly Boy decided it
was time to leave, as he was talking complete gibberish due to the amount of
Gin and Tonic he had tucked away. We had to persuade him it wasn’t a great idea
to cycle home in such a state of rampant drunkenness, thankfully, good sense
prevailed, and Fly Boy decided it was foolish to cycle home as he could
injure himself and he would walk home instead,
‘Excellent’
we all thought, ‘tll he took 2 steps forward, tripped over his own feet and
with a thud, landed face first on the concrete.
Massive
black eye!
The
first casualty of the day.
As it
got dark and cold the fire came on and the BBQ fired up for some sausages.
Warlow, who had exclaimed his dislike of beetroot, red cabbage, swede, and,
well, the scouse actually, was delighted.
‘Emotions
are for women,’ he exclaimed. ‘Sausages are for men’, and tucked in.
As I
sit here tonight reflecting on the day, there is a knock at the door, Nurse Sue
arrives, the wrong day; it was yesterday Sue!
But
with an eclectic mix of German, Guyanese, American, Italian, Persian Scottish and even
an Australian, Northern folk, public school boys, Posh Birds, DJs,
musicians and authors, maybe Scouse Day can unite the world in perfect peace
and harmony?
So,
what a magnificent National Scouse Day! Rapidly becoming one of the musts on
the social calendar of this divided nation.
Big
thanks to Jane for the cake, Jan for the lamb and the sausages. Amy Hades, you are a
star. No one has ever done such a wonderful job of cooking, serving, pouring
and cleaning up “as you go” — and all the while engaging in meaningful chit
chat with a house full of drunks. Poetry in motion.
See
you next year.
