“What should our theme be this time?”
“How about a Ploughman’s supper?”
“Delicious! That works for us!”
About every 6-8 weeks, my husband and I ZOOM with good friends (my husband’s best friend from graduate school in the UK, his wife, and their two college-aged daughters) in Canada. Our regular virtual meetups began, as you might have guessed, early in the pandemic. They started as check-ins on our collective health and well-being, as well as the latest updates on our mutually aging parents. Eventually, we began sharing Netflix recommendations, books to read, and to swap lockdown stories from Massachusetts and Ontario. We are approaching the two-year mark on these chats and we wonder why we hadn’t thought of them sooner!
A couple of weeks ago they reached out to suggest another meetup with the theme of a Ploughman’s. This is usually a light lunch, but we would be making it dinner. Other themes have included a whisky tasting, sticky toffee pudding (which we both made), and other nibbles. As luck would have it, we discovered a nearby specialty market offers homemade Cornish Pasties (short a, by the way), so those would be perfect. A date was set for today, Saturday, at 5:00 PM.
We began prepping around 4:00 PM, heating the pasties (one steak and one curried chicken), prepping a bit of salad, cheese, Branston pickle, and peeling a couple of hard-boiled eggs. Table set, ZOOM on, ready to go. 5:00 PM came and then it was 5:10 PM. I sent a text, “Everything OK?” No reply. We were concerned. This just wasn’t like them. At 5:25 PM they entered my ZOOM waiting room. “Oh no! We thought it was tomorrow! We have nothing prepared yet. Could you do tomorrow at 5:00?” Of course, we can.
But guess what? Tonight’s dinner was delicious! We just couldn’t wait!
Thanks for wondering and wandering a bit with me today. And many thanks to the crew at Two Writing Teachers, and the extended SOL community, for giving us the time, space, and encouragement to live the writerly life here every Tuesday throughout the year and daily during the month of March.
Wondering and Wandering 
This looks absolutely yummy!!! Will you have a repeat of the dinner? It looks good enough for two nights in a row!
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Sadly, no. We have fish that needs eating, so that’s what it will have to be. Thanks for reading!
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It’s always great when the twist winds up being a nice one. You had a wonderful looking surprise dinner, and you get to hang out with your buddies tomorrow. This is a really cool tradition you all have started. Thanks for sharing!
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Such a fun idea! Glad you have found ways to connect with your friends!
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Love the themes for your Zoom meet ups. Before the pandemic, I didn’t even have a Zoom account. Staying connected is so important as we move onto the next phase of this pandemic. Happy slicing!
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What a fun new tradition! Now you get to do it all again. I love reading about the creative ways people have found to connect and continue making the best of things.
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Your ploughman’s lunch (really dinner) looked and sounded divine!
I love the new traditions you’re creating.
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Me, too. It’s been fun. And I hope lots of them stick.
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