My friend Françoise has a real passion for Scrabble. She has a whole shelf full of trophies and cups she won in national competitions. She takes much pleasure in attending her local Scrabble club in her home city of Amiens, both as a player and a referee. I’ve accompanied her several times over the years to her club games and training sessions where the scrabbleurs are quite an eclectic mix of ages. What came as a surprise on my first visit was that they don’t compete against each other in games, but try to achieve the highest score against a computer app.
It’s all Scrabble to me
The game begins when the arbitre or referee puts up the letters on a large display board as directed by the computer app and sets a clock for the joueurs to create a word on their own Scrabble boards all at the same time. A ‘ding’ denotes the start of the 30 seconds for them to write down their chosen word and how much it scores. A second ding indicates time is up to hand in their papers.
I’ve usually had the job of picking up these papers, “tu veux ramasser les papiers”. The arbitre then tells everyone which word has the highest count that the computer app or a player has come up with. This continues for 20 or so rounds until all the letters are used or no further words can be created. It usually takes about two hours.
Although my French is pretty good, what astounded me were some of the weird words the joueurs and the computer app came up with and that were deemed acceptable, such as YOD, EWEES and KOTS. It’s quite an experience to see the players’ concentration and dedication, and their amazing knowledge of Scrabble words.
The missing piece … of cake
But what is really missing from these absorbing sessions is a break for a cup of tea/coffee and a slice of cake! It’s the highlight of the evening at our choral society rehearsals. It’s a chance for attendees to catch up and chat with others: to make it a social occasion. So, I’m going to make a very bold suggestion to add a ‘cake break’. Françoise has always liked Grandma’s family fruit loaf when she’s visited me in Yorkshire, and I think this would be a perfect bake. This recipe is very easy, with just a few ingredients and just five steps:
Family Fruit Loaf
450g/1 lb self-raising flour
110g/1/4 lb butter
110g/¼ lb sugar
110g/¼ lb currants
110g/¼ lb raisins
½ tsp grated nutmeg
2 medium eggs
275 ml/½ pint milk
- Preheat the oven to 180C (Fan 160C), Mark 4
- Rub the butter into the flour and then add all the dry ingredients.
- Whisk the eggs with the milk and mix all together well.
- Place in a 450g/1 lb lined loaf tin.
- Bake for 1 hour in a moderate oven until a cake tester comes out clean.
Grandma’s original recipe had twice the quantities so double up, bake two cakes, and freeze one for another time.
I’ve yet to suggest the idea of a ‘pause thé’ to Françoise for her Scrabble Club sessions. How dare I offer a traditional classic staple to a nation renowned for its exquisite pâtisseries, its much-loved madeleines, and Tante Liliane’s unforgettable petits fours? I’ll let you know what she says later. Mais, après tout, what’s a word between old friends? Vive le cake!
You can read more about Grandma Abson’s life, her passion for baking and recipes, and head over to Instagram @grandmaabson to see Meryl baking alongside her grandchildren.
