The last Sunday before Advent is known as ‘Stir Up Sunday’ as it is the traditional day for making a really delicious Christmas pudding and here at St M’s and as the scent of cinnamon and spice wafts through the air of this cold November morning – there’s a flurry of activity inside the parish hall along with the sound of a busy kettle and clashing pudding pans.
With the chickens on the hunt for some tasty food among the fallen leaves in the grounds of the village hall, Johnnie Hitch has left his rake and has disappeared inside to enjoy a warm mug of tea after a busy morning of gardening.
He is also tucking into a delicious mince pie which his wife Edie had baked for him that very morning…
As Johnnie enjoys the welcome rest after all that raking and sweeping up, Edie is working hard adding flour and eggs into her bowl of deliciously smelling cake mixture and before giving it a really good stir, she sprinkles in some spoonfuls of spice.
But as she has been so busy chattering to Johnnie about the delicious jars of mince meat she’s made and how excited she is to be baking her ‘Candy Cane Cake’ – she’s forgotten how many spoonfuls of spice she needs to add!
With tea time soon over and as Johnnie goes in search of his garden rake to finish clearing away the fallen leaves outside and with the ‘Candy Cane Cake’ now baking in a warm oven, Edie sets about with making the St M’s Christmas Pudding.
Using a special recipe which her family have used for many years, Edie makes her special pudding with lots of care and knowing that her loved ones will love eating this pudding on Christmas Day makes Stir Up Sunday one of her happiest days as she bustles about gathering her assortment of ingredients together.
And as Edie potters about inside the kitchen with her bowls of sugar, dried fruit and spices along with a large jug of whiskey from Johnnie’s collection, Millie arrives dressed for the cold in her cheerful scarf and holding Mark’s football…
But with Mark nowhere to be seen and as ‘Little’ and ‘Snowy’ have no interest in playing football – Millie becomes curious about the delicious smell wafting through the open door and decides to take a peek inside…
That's SO Tee Bylo! 