Refresh-men-t is primarily a ‘men’s breakfast’ group meeting monthly at The Woodborough Inn in Winscombe.
All are welcome to join us, both regulars and newcomers, as we meet together in a relaxed, informal way to enjoy a quality breakfast with friends. This time there will not be a speaker but time to chat, renew acquaintances and hopefully welcome new people to our friendly group.
Every third month we invite a speaker and on these occasions breakfasts are open to all.
A choice of breakfasts are available but these do need to be pre-booked.
Cooked breakfast: 1 x sausage, 1 x bacon, 1 x fried egg, hash brown, mushrooms, grilled tomato, baked beans, black pudding, toast and butter with tea/coffee/fruit juice – £10.00
Vegetarian Cooked Breakfast £9.50
Bacon Bap including tea/coffee/fruit juice – £7.50
2 rounds of toast with butter, jam, marmalade including tea/coffee/fruit juice – £5.00
Refresh-men-t in July
Our most recent Refresh-men-t Breakfast at the Woodborough Inn took place on Saturday 15th July. This time we were joined by several ladies for breakfast with a speaker. Chris Greenwood told us about his visit, last year, to see the Oberammergau Passion Play.
The village of Oberammergau which today has a population of some 5,300 people is home to the Passion Play which started in 1633 when a vow was made to perform the play every ten years if God spared them from the effects of the plague.
The play is normally performed in years ending with a zero, although the 2020 play was postponed until last year due to COVID-19.
The play involves over 2000 actors, singers, musicians and technicians, almost all residents of the village. It takes four years to produce and is staged from May to October. The very first play was staged on top of the graves of the plague victims in the churchyard but today the audience is seated in an auditorium facing the open-air stage.
The play, in German, is over 5 hours long and staged in two parts with a long break in between. Chris explained that the script changes from production to production depending on demands from the Church and other bodies for particular aspects of the story to be depicted or left out. Nowadays people from all faiths (or none) can take part although in the past it was restricted to Catholics only. As the play has attracted more visitors from cultures across the world the script has had to be more explicit about the characters and events portrayed.
Chris said that watching the play was a really powerful and totally absorbing experience. He and Yvonne couldn’t speak afterwards such was the effect it had on them. Chris still gets goosebumps just talking about it!
For more information about the play (or to plan a visit in 2030) visit the website:
https://www.passionsspiele-oberammergau.de
We do not have a breakfast in August but look forward to meeting again on Saturday 16thSeptember. Details of this meeting will be in next month’s edition of Signpost.
For further information contact Tim Harland on 01834 843248.