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AUGUST 2004 giggisig .Avlltcongagfig 3.23 48 #5:...043883365325 an; nsgadonfiéfiguinu glixggg gsfagsncgaaaifiigusg fiiggaisotiliioaagg éaiigigiii‘nigfii gig-oigltfigosngigfli gaggiiigiagg Hlstorlc photo submitted courtesy of Whltchurch-Stouflvllle Museum dfiimmfim . ms mm 8|. . nos our-am “'5 "III no. no WM“! And as an aspiring celebrity. I'd like to end this column with a quote from Dame Edna Even: on the subléct of her alter ego Barry Humphrles. “He's very, very well-known. I'd say he's world famous In Melbourne." One of the unsung joys of working at Siouflville This Month is receiving the occasional request to judge local competitions, or being asked to serve as a willing target for hurlers of wet sponges at community events. A few years ago i was invited to participate in a ‘hands-free' pancake eating contest at a maple syrup emporium, which was holding its annual celebration of all things sticky and fattening. raising funds for charity in the process. it was a delightful event, offering a plethora of family activities. but I figured I would have to check my dignity at the entrance. However. the invitation, which thrillingly if erroneously referred to me as a celebrity, was irresistible. As a result, i found myself sitting at a picnic table with a handful of other ‘famous' contestants, my hands behind my back. plunging my visage into a massive pile of pancakes slathered in maple syrup in an attempt to vacuum them up faster than the competition. Warning: do not try this at home. By the end of the treacly affair] was not a pretty sight and, sadly, even failed to place in the top three. But i was awarded a tape of country music hits lust for showing up and. better still. i was spared the expense of having to eat again until the following day. My most recent public appearance was as a judge of jams and pies at the Strawberry Festival. Fortunately i was joined by two fellow ‘celebrities' -- councillors Rob Hargrave and Susanne Hilton -- so the blame for the outcome could be spread between us. Now. it is a fact known to all who practise the culinary arts that those who enter such contests tend to be highly accomplished bakers and makers of preserves. it is also a fact that the best pie or spoonful of lam lostllng for top honours in a contest is the one you have iust tasted. Both these truisms. alas. were unknown to me when I agreed to take on the weighty task of iudging. After all. I could hardly be considered an expert in the matter. since my experience is limited to the creation of one rather nasty batch of quince lam. circa l983. which contained more sugar than a novel by Danielle Steele. As for pies. the only kind I serve' these days come in an unmarked cardboard box. courtesy of the Italian Bakery. So my fellow iudges and l were faced with the impossible task of ranking a bunch of divinely decadent strawberry treats in order of appearance, taste and consistency. We had to award points out of ID in each category and then -- and this proved almost as difficult as deciding on the merits of individual entries -- add them up in our heads. To make matters worse. we then had to arrive at a combined total at the end of the contest (we were into double digits by now don't forget) to come up with the final winners. At that stage. luckily, we were all on a sugar high. which accounted for the bantering and laughter not usually associated with the gravitas required of lodges. Even though I tend to shy away from relentless purveyors of the power of positive thinking. in this case I have to admit that everyone who entered the contest was, indeed. a winner. MOLLER INSURANCE Jam Session No Piece of Cake. For Judges 64 Sandlford Drlve,Un|1 1, STOUFFVILLE ‘ A Home at Auto "WHITCHURCH-SI'OUFFVILLE THIS MONTH” - 7 te l‘la carte