British Expatriate Network

HELP !!!

I know how to make my beloved British pancakes with cointreau-Lemon+sugar, for tomorrow, but I have no idea how to make 'Ash' for Wednesday's tea ?

Can anyone help me out please .....

Nicky
x

Ash in your tea?? ???
I know your pregnant but it does'nt sound good to me,We have plenty of ash from our fireplace will that do?

Is this some strange Sheffield custom i don't know about! roll

Lisa - tea as in evening dinner, yer dipstick !!

Is it only us Sheffielder's that say "what yer havin' for yer tea tonight"

honestly, wait till I see you !!!

I'm originally from the Midlands and it's very common there to say that expression, Nicky.

I've frequently said it myself and it really annoys my son! He says to me, "Don't call it tea, and don't call it supper. Call it dinner".

It's just a continuation of the term "High Tea" when the Victorians would have tea, sandwiches and cakes in the late afternoon..of course the middle/upper middle classes would have their dinner at about 8pm and had an afternoon tea to tide them over. smile

PS. I didn't know that there was a special recipe/food for eating on Ash Wednesday. Perhaps it's something plain or bland - no elaborate or spicy dishes?

Perhaps it also depends which religion you are as well? I'm Church of England (Episcopalian) and they don't recommend that one eats 'fish on Friday' compared to Roman Catholics. I guess then, if you are RC, there is a special Ash Wednesday tea/supper/dinner?

I'll look up some Brit recipe websites later.

Gosh - I haven't been to a morning Ash Wednesday church service since I left England! It was always amusing to see people who had been 'ashed'

But Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday are not until March ??? Six weeks before Easter..... are they not?

Still - very curious about the "Ash" too.

KG, yes Ash Wednesday isn't until 5th March, 40 days before Easter. the problem is sometimes Easter is end of March as it was last year and so Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday were in February and so it is easy to make the mistake that it would be in February this year too, if you didn't know or make the connection. smile

I remember something about the Ash, but just can't remember exactly what it is. My parents are from Yorkshire too.

And yes, I call it tea rather than dinner and my kids are always correcting me on this. My friends think it is really cute that I call it tea roll

But what about the Ash?? ???

Yes, could someone explain the ash? I remember when I first came to the states and saw people walking around with a big, black dot on their foreheads and wondered if I'd stepped into the twilight zone. I don't ever remember seeing that in England.

THIS was the simplest explanation I could find regarding Ash Wednesday. :smile:

I remember it happening in the UK (the blob of ash on the forehead thing), but then my dad taught in a Catholic school.

Never heard of anyone eating Ash though, nor any special food for Ash Wednesday. In fact, I would seriously doubt there is anything as you are not supposed to have any special food during Lent -that's why you get rid of it all (fats, sugars etc) on the day befor Lents starts i.e. on Shrove Tuesday, in the form of pancakes.

Dawn, I'm not Roman Catholic, if anything, I'm Church of England. I didn't know about the black dot on forehead thing either.

I'm afraid to say, I'm just a food monster - love pancakes, and remembered having Ash sometime in the past and thought it would be a nice change to make some, having the excuse of Ash Wednesday.

And I do apologise everyone, I did copy down the rough dates from last year onto this calendar, I suppose I wouldn't have gotten it wrong if I possessed an English calendar !!

Nicky
x

I went to a Catholic Ash Wednesday service once when I was at college and got the ashes on the forehead. The Lutheran church here does it too. I have never been to one since, but hubby usually goes.

You are not supposed to wash the ashes off either - hence the 'black dot'.

As far as food, Ash Wednesday is supposed to mark the first day of fasting - the last day being Good Friday I think. At least plain eating and none of the 'good' stuff which you are supposed to have eaten with your pancakes on the Tuesday!

I think I should introduce pancake tossing to my neighbors - should be a laugh!

Nicky_nak are you sure you aren't thinking of hash.
Up north it is commonly pronounced 'ash as us northerners can't talk right.

My hubby still picks on me about my 'air brush in particular as well as, 'otels, 'olidays and prety much anything that begins with an h.

Dont know about pancake day ,i eat them whenever i fancy them .tuesdays or not ...