After The Fall At Keele…A Quieter Week, Culminating In A Hanley Chinese Restaurant With Bobbie, Malcolm & Ruth, Late November 1983

Wontons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Following an action-packed week, including seeing The Fall perform in the Keele Ballroom, which was a big deal back then…

Doing Stuff In The Keele Students’ Union, An Anarchist Bonfire, The Fall Supported By The Stockholm Monsters and Partying In A High-Falutin’ Place, Mid November 1983

…a quieter week:

My activity reads like a fairly set pattern by that stage of the term. A fair bit of work, Constitutional Committee,, J-Soc, the Union…

…I was spending so much time with Bobbie by then, that she is referred to as “B” in the diary on several occasions.

Bobbie had a television set in her room in Lindsay. “…Bobbie’s – watched film…” after going to the union with Ashley will ahve been a film on TV – my forensics identify The Killing Of Sister George as the likely film. I remember having seen that film way back when…no doubt this is when.

Saturday 26 November 1983 – Did some work today. Went out for Chinese meal with Malcolm [Cornelius], Ruth, Bobbie…

I started behaving more grown up by that year, going out for meals in restaurants and all sorts.

I vaguely remember a half-decent Chinese restaurant in Hanley, although i cannot remember its name. Malcolm might remember, as might a random reader. I’m sure Bobbie won’t.

I am fairly sure this was the occasion that I had a eureka moment in the matter of making wontons. My previous attempts had been OK, but not sufficiently special for my taste. This place made wontons with a mix of pork mince, a whole prawn and a smattering of spring onion within each wonton wrapper.

I recall thinking that the stock in this restaurant was a bit watery for my taste, but the wontons were super-tasty. My subsequent “famous” wonton soup recipe was a variant on the simple but appealing formula I worked out at that place.

Several of my friends liked to refer to the dish as “wanton soup”, with emphasis on the first syllable, not least Alan “The Great Yorkshire Pudding” Gorman. Alan, my flatmate, benefitted from my production of this dish more than most for the rest of that academic year. I seem to recall that Malcolm also was (and probably still is) a food pun addict, as well as a chap who likes his food.

Just using my noodle and stirring a bit, there, eh Malcolm?