Black Cow Oyster Mary By Mark Hix

BLACK COW OYSTER MARY

This frozen Bloody Mary mix works a treat spooned onto oysters, it’s a kind of anytime dish and works particularly well for brunch or even breakfast. It’s a kind of classic combo and goes down a treat at the pub as a bar snack

MARK HIX

INGREDIENTS

• 12 rock oysters, shucked

For the Bloody Mary • 30-50ml Black cow vodka • 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce • The juice of ½ lemon • a couple drops of Tabasco, depending on how spicy you like it • 200ml tomato juice • Freshly grated horseradish to taste • Celery salt

Serves 4

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all of the ingredients together for the Bloody Mary then transfer to a container with a lid and place in the freezer for about 2-3 hours, stirring every so often as its freezing. 2. Once frozen you can break it up into small crystals with a spoon and return to the freezer until required. 3. To serve, spoon the frozen Bloody

Mary mix over the oysters.

Make a date with the Hix Oyster Celebration

MARK Hix MBE will kick off the beginning of native oyster season with the official HIX Oyster Celebration. The all day event will take place on the deck of The Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis on 3rd September from 10.30 - 4.30 pm, in collaboration with the Lyme Regis Folk Weekend. Mark and his guests will host a series of talks and tastings exploring the heritage of the great British mollusc. He will be joined by like-minded oyster growers and experts Nigel Bloxham (Crab House Café), Billy Winters, (Portland Oysters) and Pete Miles (Dorset Oysters). He will also be joined by James McCarthy of Red Panda and East Kitchen + Bar. Guests will discover oysters from around the South West of England and enjoy them paired with an array of local drinks. It will be a great opportunity to meet the producers and enjoy local beer, wine and spirits.

With the Lyme Regis Folk Weekend taking place across the town, Mark has teamed up with organiser Jeremy Hayes to bring music into Lister Gardens. The Pitch and Putt in front of the restaurant will become the Oyster Stage for the day, with live acts performing at 12 noon, 2 pm and 4 pm. Entry to the event is free of charge and food and drink tokens will be available to purchase on the day with oysters from £1 each.

Spooky men—wearing black with ‘interesting hats’

Through delicate threads of communication with chief Spookmiester Stephen Taberner, Fergus Byrne hears a history of one of the world’s most extraordinary groups and gets a flavour of the philosophy in which they have become submerged.

Founding member and leader of the Spooky Men’s Chorale, Stephen Taberner, recently described singing as a ‘human right’ and possibly even a ‘human need’. He told Sarah Kanowski, at ABC Australia that singing is ‘simple and elemental’ and that to have the idea that you have to be good at it is essentially ‘doing violence to the psyche.’

‘Singing is good’ he concludes. Stephen believes everyone can sing. Though admits, with his trademark dry humour, that ‘some people sing badly.’

So, whether you confine your singing to the shower, give free concerts to a battered George Michael poster in your bedroom or brave the judgement of a live audience, it’s safe to say that you might agree with Stephen’s thoughts— singing is good, and, as it happens, listening to the Spooky Men’s Chorale is also good.

The group had their first gig in 2001 when Stephen Taberner called around all his friends who could sing and asked them to gather together to make up a performance for a gig. He suggested they wear black and sport an ‘interesting’ hat. They learned three songs, performed them in Paddington Uniting Church in Sydney and never looked back. The Spooky Men are often described as a group of Australian male singers who sing songs on topics ranging from power tools to covers of ABBA songs. They also perform traditional Georgian music, ‘a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocals.’

However, Stephen has many descriptions of his own that don’t necessarily fit into the standard public relations spiel. He calls the chorale ‘a vast, rumbling, steam-powered and black-clad vocal behemoth—seemingly accidentally capable of rendering audiences moist-eyed with mute appreciation, or haplessly gurgling with merriment.’

He has also described the chorale as an ‘unapologetic and unassuming presentation of masculinity’. Another description he uses is ‘vast, weathered and useless.’ He explains that it’s ‘a line of men standing on stage wearing black and wearing hats. It’s a single line so it’s a chorale rather than a choir.’

Stephen started his singing in a church; his family were Christadelphians, which he describes as very serious. ‘There’s no fun to be had’ as he recalls. He remembers playing a bit of violin and a bit of piano when he was young until his brother had a series of what he refers to as ‘rebellions’. One of which was to become a jazz musician. Until that happened Stephen’s youth was ‘isolated—stamps were my only friend’. He learned to play the double bass while minding it for his brother and later joined a choir called Voices from the Vacant Lot which he described as like another species—‘chaotic and wonderful’ mixed music. He stayed with them for four years before forming the Spooky Men’s Chorale.

The group have since gained a cult following on the folk circuit with a brand of music and style that defies any real categorisation. It is driven by humour, a strong tongue-incheek ethos and a sometimes well-disguised depth that, as Stephen says, accomplishes the three aims that he has set for the group; to be ‘magnificent, foolish and tender’. It’s a fair description.

For those that haven’t shared the unique experience of being in the same room as Stephen Taberner’s ‘vocal behemoth’, the Spooky Men’s Chorale are just finishing up their tour of the UK at the moment and will be celebrating their 21st birthday at the Hardye Theatre in Dorchester on August 24th. For tickets visit www.dorchesterarts.org. uk/2022/03/23/spooky-mens-chorale.