Skip to main content

Blandford's 'Big Blow-out!'

 

With five substantial courses and twelve alcoholic toasts, Blandford Corporation’s 1910 Dinner was not a weight-watcher’s affair.

The evening opened at Blandford’s Crown Hotel with a choice of either mock turtle or julienne soup accompanied with a glass of sherry. This was followed by fish which could be turbot, shrimp sauce, or fried fillets of sole. With this there was a German hock. After the fish, there were lamb cutlets and peas. Next was a meat course offering boned turkey, pheasant, York ham, roast chicken, game pie, spiced beef, tongue, sirloin of beef and finally galantine of beef. With this course there was both claret and champagne. As an ‘entremets’ or desert, there was a choice of plum pudding, trifle, white jellies, compote of pears, apple tart or vanilla creams. As a ‘digestif’, one could partake of a glass of port.

Then, twelve toasts followed responded to by twenty five diners interspersed by eight songs and two violin solos. First toast of the evening was to the King. This was proposed by the Mayor of Blandford, John I Barnes after which there was a rendition of the National Anthem. His Worship then toasted Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales and then the rest of the Royal Family. 

Dr William Casswell Spooner toasted the Bishop and clergy of the diocese and ministers of all denominations. Reverend C H Fynes-Clinton and the Reverend W K Gallagher responded. Toasts followed to the army, navy and reserved forces, municipal institutions, the aldermen of the borough, the visitors, returned councillors, the legal & medical professions, borough officials and the Mayor and Mayor-Elect. Finally, Mr C M Symes toasted the ladies. Clearly, the influence of the Suffragette Movement had not yet made any impact on the town’s ‘great and good’ as three men responded.

As there were usually three respondents to each speech, it would have been late into the evening before Blandford’s dignitaries made their way home replete, if slightly tipsy.

(Illustration: Not a drawing of Blandford Corporation Members of 1910!)

 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Panda Pops

Panda  Blue Rasperry Ade, Strawberry Jelly & Ice Cream and Casper Ghostly Limeade were all unique soft drink flavours produced by the Panda Pops brand owned by Badger Beers. Panda Pops were often sold in small bottles of fizzy drink that were as sweet and sticky as it was as possible for them to be. Other popular Panda Pop flavours were Cherry Ade and Bright Green Cola. Even more singular blends could be concocted by mixing two or more flavours in a Panda Pops mixing bowl. Panda Cola achieved a sort of cult status and there is even a song, ‘ Warm Panda Cola’ . While among Panda aficionados there was even the spoof blend of Princess Diana Memorial flavour! The Blandford drink competed remarkably well against American giants Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. Panda Pops date back to the 1960s when the Blandford brewer dropped the name of Sunparlor for its soft drink brands. Sunparlor had also been the name of a winning race horse owned by a member of the Woodhouse family. Cream soda was...
3 comments
Read more

Greyhound Inn

In the 1700s, the Greyhound Inn was one of the three great coaching inns of Blandford and was both stylish and substantial. The other two great inns were the Crown and the Red Lion. In fact, the Greyhound dates back to the early 1600s. This inn was a regular stopping point for horse drawn coaches travelling between London and the West of England. The Greyhound was destroyed in the 1731 Great Fire of Blandford. It was then rebuilt with an impressive Market Place facing frontage together with sizeable back buildings which included stables, a tap room, workshops and a brewery. The front part covered 3,150 sq ft and the back buildings a further 3,100 sq ft. In 1779, the Inn was advertising it had an excellent and much used billiard table. On Bonfire Night in 1805, the Greyhound Inn was one of the many stopping points to change his horses for Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere of the Royal Navy. He was taking the news of victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and of Horatio Nelson’s death to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

History Slice with an Aussie Flavour.

  From Dorset Gallows to Van Diemen’s Land is the unlikely but true story of political corruption, hangings and transportation in the small market town of Blandford in Southern England.  It is available as a paperback from  Amazon in the United Kingdom, Australia and the USA. The book uncovers the extraordinary tale of two ordinary men, George Long a shoemaker and Richard Bleathman a butcher. Driven by belief and dissatisfaction they are swept along by events. Sentenced to be hanged in Dorchester Gaol for their protests against political corruption they are instead, following clemency appeals,  transported to Van Diemen’s Land -  on the other side of the world. ‘A fascinatingly  good read.  This book entirely complements the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs - also transported to Australia.’ (Richard Holledge, newspaper editor, freelance journalist - London. As read in the Independent, New York Times & Financial Times. Author of   Voices of the M...
Post a Comment
Read more