Christmas was in the air as we descended on the streets of Bow for our annual midwinter feast at G. Kelly. The shop was nearly empty when we arrived. Serendipitously, shortly after we sat down to eat, the lunch trade quickly gathered pace and it was full to capacity within minutes.

The halls were well and truly decked out for the season. The colonnade of bauble encrusted garlands has been an annual feature at this shop for over a decade.

We had to endure a 10-minute wait before the stewed eels were ready for serving. Despite this, these fishy steaks were ‘d-eel-licious’ and well worth the delay.

Although it may look like she is decked out the club’s team colours. In actual fact Vikki Cole-Richardson is wearing a Celtic F.C. scarf, as she was on her way to watching a game at an Irish pub later that afternoon.

Ray Goldstone was similarly adorned in green. This is a rather convenient clothing choice, as any splash-back from the liquor can be undetectable to the human eye.

Nick Evans had just endured an epic 6.7-mile cycle ride to get to the shop. After such a strenuous journey, he was more than ready to tuck straight in to his meal with sheer voracity.

Incidentally both Terry Moore and Keith Allwright are keen purveyors of spuds when it comes to their choice of repast. If they teamed up as a double act, they could call themselves ‘The Super Mash Brothers’.

The escarpment of mash was accompanied by a land-mass of pies, surrounded in a lagoon of liquor.

After a two-month absence from club activities, Peter Harvey was more than willing to make up for lost time, with a sizeable platter of 3 pies and 2 mash. This attracted the attention of an onlooker from the adjacent table; anyone who can identify this inquisitive looking individual will get a free pie and a complementary sprig of holly.

Meanwhile, Ace was carrying on the family legacy, showing off a growing level of competitive prowess by consuming a 2&1 plus dessert by the end of play.

Colin Price was is a suitably festive mood that afternoon. He brought with him a pack of Christmas cards which he handed round after lunch. This is rather convenient, as it avoids having to rely on the post, which is prone to delays at this time of year.

Your recorder looked ready to ring out the solstice bells, as he was eager to plunder his meal before it got colder than Frosty the Snowman.

As the hour-hand moved closer to 2pm, the mood was hushed as the contenders thundered their way through the fare, willing to reach the finishing line without a drop of liquor being spilt.

With some appetites left to spare, a few of us went for the dessert course. Like most p&m shops, the choice is usually limited. Classic dishes like Apple Crumble were available that lunch-time along with obligatory Mince Pie, after all tis’ the season.

After we downed our cutlery and cleared the plates, the tugging of crackers filled the room, followed by a flurry of coloured hats, plastic toys and corny pun-filled jokes, all in good measure.

We rounded off the festivities with a selection of p&m themed carols. The tiles around the shop soon reverberated to the sonorous tones of songs like ‘Deck the Pies’, ‘Jingle Pies’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Pie & Mash’. After receiving a rapturous applause from the other diners, we performed ‘Pie Christmas’ for an encore.

Kitchen staff Jamie (left) and Ronnie (right) latterly joined in with our festive sing-a-long.

Meanwhile, over at the serving counter, Samanatha (left) was busily dishing out take outs and dine-ins to the throngs of customers. She was assisted by pie-cook Gemma (right) who had her work cut-out as she prepared trays of pies in their multitude, in order to cope with the increased demand.

For the discerning customer, the shop also offers home-made Mince Pies and an extensive seafood counter to mull over.

The Bow City Rollers.

Before we headed back home on our reindeer and sleigh, we stopped off for a few tipples at the Eleanor Arms and raised a glass to an eventful year.

Ho, Ho, Ho

MG