A Taste of Christmas

A Taste of Christmas with Taffy Thomas and John Crouch, Eaglesfield Village Hall.

Taffy Thomas (picture by Candy Schwartz)

The Bible neglects to mention that the Virgin Mary spoke in Cumbrian dialect. But it also forget to say about the 'clarty cat' that visited the stable on Christmas Eve.
Fortunately, the Grasmere storyteller Taffy Thomas was on hand at Eaglesfield village hall last Sunday to put the record straight and relate the almost forgotten tale. He did so with the usual twinkle in his eye and the expertise you would expect from Britain's first storyteller laureate.
The packed hall of children aged five to 95 were held entranced by his Christmas tales - and were delighted to join in when some audience participation was called for.
Between the tales, Cumbrian chef John Crouch entertained and educated the audience with some simple Christmas recipes. Cornflakes and marshmallows mixed together to make edible 'holly', turkey treats and cranberry syllabub were among the recipes that the audience also had a chance to taste. And John 'spiced up' the recipes by telling something of the history of the food stuff as well.
This was another of the Arts Out West events that are touring village halls, giving rural folk a chance to experience first-class arts and theatre.
Still to come is Carolling and Crumpets at Bassenthwaite Parish Hall on Sunday (December 16) at 7.30pm and A Victorian Christmas at the Kirkgate Centre, Cockermouth on Thursday, December 20 at 1.45pm. For more details see www.arts-out-west.co.uk.
Taffy Thomas can be seen in the weekends running up to Christmas in the Studio at Keswick Theatre telling some more festive tales. See www.theatrebythelake.co.uk.