Minutes of the Elevenses Meeting and Cake Match of the Pembroke
College Winnie-the-Pooh Society held on the 21st March 1998 in Stephen’s
room, 2 Selwyn Gardens.
Present: Ben, Yasmin, Stephen
Apologies: None.
- We are most shocked at the attendance- we were at least expecting
the James and Vicky to turn up, even though it is a week and a half after
term ends, if we can be here, why can’t they? It then transpires we actually
forgot to tell Vicky.
- Due to a slight miscalculation of numbers, we have to eat: 10 Doughnuts,
12 Hot Cross Buns, and 1 Stripy Cake (really a small angel cake, but Yasmin
renames it) .
- Correction: Scoreflash- the number of donuts has already decreased
by 4. We were hungry after the long trek to Selwyn gardens… More as it
happens!
- Could I just interject at this point by once again remarking on
the stupidity of the Microsoft Word spell-checker. After having to teach
it to spell Winnie-the-Pooh correctly, it now wants to make "Yasmin" into
"Yams." Cretinous piece of software.
- We vote to censure Cambridge generally as being nasty, and especially
everyone in Cambridge who hasn’t come to the meeting, as they were particularly
Rude and Unhelpful. For: 3 Against: 0 Abs: 0. Motion carried.
- Ben notices Yasmin’s trousers for the first time, despite wandering
around all afternoon. He then tries to see if the Teapot sucks as well
as blows (the reader of the minutes should pause here whilst someone makes
the obligatory innuendo), but only succeeds in getting his leg hot and
wet.
- The latest score just in: Poohsoc - 5 Donuts, Assorted Confectionery-
the rest. Things look desperate for Poohsoc. Nevertheless, we grit our
teeth, carry on, and try to keep in formation.
- We discuss the correct cooking method for hot cross buns.
- Yasmin lies. She now claims to have six assignments, not five, to
do. She narrowly escapes censure for such a blatant whopper.
- Stephen plays with his toaster. He once set the fire alarm off
at five in the morning by doing exactly the same thing. We await the sirens
with dread.
- Even though he will soon (hopefully) become Dr Caterall from Glasgow,
he still can’t work out how to use a toaster correctly.
- We decide, for some reason, that Cold Cross buns are nice.
- Ben insults Homerton College, but for some reason these insults
are lost in the wave of Euphoria which we feel when we realise that the
score is now Poohsoc: 5 Donuts, 3 Cross Buns, Assorted Confectionery: The
rest. Still not a good scoreline, but better. We’ll be back for more news
at half-time, but now we’ll show some tediously boring sporting event because
the BBC haven’t got enough money to show decent ones…
- We discuss freezing the stripy cake. Besides that being silly,
it would surely be at the very least a Bookable Offence, and we really
can’t afford to have anyone sent off this early in the match.
- At this point, we decide that Sainsbury’s have gone just too far.
We decide to renew the correspondence we started with the Meat Manager
last year, for which he was censured for referring to the Disney version
of Pooh. The reason for this new correspondence: we have noticed that the
hot cross buns are neither hot, nor particularly cross, and the packaging
is all lies. We instantly draft a letter. A copy of this letter should
be provided in the archives of the society.
- Halfway through this letter, the Doorbell is rung. We believe it
to be James. As the door to the room opens, it is James, dragging
a newcomer but Friend of Pooh, Henry, with him. Henry seems to be wearing
a strange flasher’s coat.
- The half-time score is as before, although Poohsoc is now buoyed
by fresh mouths. We begin to sense that we may be able to turn this thing
around, although the team talk at half time will be critical.
- Ben leaves in search of more mugs, and James takes over the minuting.
The conversation skips lightly over topics such as Stephen’s huge collection
of maps, and then deliquesces into Disney.
- I will have to concede that this probably did happen, although
I don’t know what deliquesces is, except a Jewish shop that sells salt
beef, and pickled herring, and olives, and lots of meaty stuff at very
high prices.
- Ben finds no mugs, because the kitchen, wherein the mugs were situated,
was itself hiding. Stephen then manages to track down this kitchen. It’s
probably in one of his maps.
- We vote to censure Henry for telling James to hit Ben. F:1 A: 3
Abs: 0. Henry escapes lightly.
- Shock constitutional challenge. The James, for only the second
time as far as anyone can remember in the long history of the Pembroke
College Winnie-the-Pooh Society, failed to abstain on the last vote. We
punish him in the only way we know how. Vote to censure James- F: 2 A:0
Abs:2. The James is duly repentant.
- We vote to allow Henry to vote for the duration of the meeting.
F: 2 A:1 Abs :1. Carried
- We vote to thank Granny for thoughtfully leaving us the Stripy
cake, even though he isn’t here. F: 3 A:1 Abs: 0. Granny is thanked by
the Society.
- We vote to stop voting for a while. F:1 A:2 Abs:2. Failed. We then
vote to censure Stephen for even daring to suggest taking away our rights!.
F:2 A:2 Abs:1. Carried.
- The reading is "In Which Rabbit has a busy day."
- We vote to censure Henry for making the sacrilegious suggestion
censuring AA Milne for innuendo. F:3 A:0 Abs:2
- Mr. Shepherd (blessings be on his great name) forgot to draw the
violets which Piglet was holding. James, however, explains that this is
artistic and classical, and should be on a Greek vase. A long debate ensues.
- Approaching full time, with only seconds left, the atmosphere here
at Selwyn Gardens is tense. The latest score is Poohsoc 8, 5/6 of a Stripy
cake, and 4 buns-of-whatever-variety-they-are. Assorted Confectionery:
The rest. It looks like the Buns have won.
- But they’re wrong- The stripy cake gets eaten rapidly. At almost
the same time, in a shock decision by a passing Russian Linesman, one bun
is ruled offside; another donut is rapidly consumed, we just need to get
rid of one more bun and a donut.
- Regulation time has run out- we’re playing innuendo time at the
end of the meeting, time when the meeting was delayed by gratuitous innuendo
from the players.
- Some people are putting on their coats- they think it’s all over-
(we scoff the last of the Confectionery)- it is now! We vote to close before
anyone produces anything else to eat, and head in the direction of a (hopefully
very small) supper. F: 2 A:1 Abs:2. Meeting closed. Victory for the forces
of Pooh!
Return To Lent 1998
©The Pembroke College Winnie-The-Pooh Society 1998.
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