Everyone attending follows the proper ‘fetch’ protocol for the Pork Pie Club of Great Britain bringing the best pie and relish from their respective towns and this forms the first evening’s meal and entertainment.
Here are the rules:
The serious business then begins:-
The pies are eaten in relative quiet. Comments that may influence others in the subsequent marking are frowned upon, but this isn’t a game of poker and many an expression may give away private thoughts. A more obvious clue as to how things are going is the condiments box, which contains a wide range of sauces, pickles and mustards. If no one reaches for any of them, the pie must be at least quite good.
The amount of sauce used and the type, also gives a good indication of how the tasting is going. HP sauce is a regular favourite to help provide a little more taste, but should members reach for a Chinese Oyster sauce, Soya sauce or Worcester sauce, things are not looking good, and should anyone reach for Tabasco Chilli sauce then the pie is likely to be considered a disaster.
Once the pies have been eaten, the members write down their mark on a card, without conferring. The person sitting to the left of the pie fetcher for the day begins. He explains what he thinks of the pie in often graphic and amusing detail, and ends by turning over his marking card. Each person then talks, and then the fetcher has his say last. Interruptions to each member’s address are not allowed, nor is leaving the table.
Of course the fetcher is usually a little biased in his marking and he is allowed some latitude which has become known as ‘fetcher’s privilege’. However, the fetcher must be careful not to abuse this and award more than 2 marks above the average. Should he do so, he is denounced loudly as being a bad sportsman and worse.
The scribe diligently takes notes in the minute book, and records the marks of each member. An average of the marks is then calculated. The fetcher is then asked where the pies came from, and this is recorded along with the price. A new source of pies merits a gold star against the name of the fetcher for the day. The names of the members are inscribed on the box and this ensures that pies are fetched in rotation.
The losing fetcher has to give Binners a piggy back for the rest of the weekend.
Posted 6 years ago
