Sunday, May 05, 2013

Croquet Tea and Book Club Dinner


Friday 3 May
Since 2005, perhaps inspired by Holt's use of a croquet mallet as a lituus when he presided (as pontifex minimus) over the opening of the new Blegen bridge, our department has been holding an annual "Dikaiopolis Classic" croquet match.  
The change from quarters to semesters now means that it has to be held after exam week, but the weather was good and the grass green enough for six brave malleteers to sally forth and enact that incomprehensible, interminable exercise.
The point (as with cricket, and many another British "game") is drinks and snacks on the lawn.  Unfortunately no Pimm's cup was available, but there was lemonade, cookies, apple pie, a great lemon pie, various kinds of hummus and pitas, and Deema's cooling cucumber, tomato and feta salad with basil.  
That kept body and soul together in preparation for another social event soon after: our summer book club was meeting for the first time, at Valeria's downtown loft.  So we went home and baked up a batch of kale chips from the giant sheafs Barbara had just bought.  This type of deeply ruffled kale takes 15 mins., no more, and soon we were carrying the crispy bounty downtown. 
Valeria greeted us (and Duncan, and Daniel, and Rose accompanied by her new-found tiny kitten) with glasses of wine (the kitten had milk), and soon we sat down to a satisfying meal of her Bulgarian banitsa, grape tomatoes, and a variety of cheeses, plus the kale crisps.  The cheeses were especially appropriate, as we had met to discuss The Pasteurization of France, by Bruno Latour. 
The judges' verdict: food great, conversation stimulating, kitten adorable, book terrible.  We're looking forward to the next meeting.

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