Porridge Trivia

Test your knowledge of traditional Scottish porridge terms

  • 'brat'
  • 'grits'
  • 'luggie'

Scoll down for answers

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Trivia Answers

brat the thick(er) surface on a liquid etc, eg curdled cream on milk, skin on porridge.

grits oat kernels, grain.

luggie a small wooden bowl etc with one or two handles formed from projecting staves, frequently used for serving milk with porridge now local North-Roxburgh.

Coutesy of Scottish National Dictionary Association.

 

Tips for putting on your own Porridge Breakfast



Consider this a kit for running your own Porridge for Parkinson's fundraiser. Borrow it all, or tailor it to suit your needs. Think adding dates to the fruit compote recipe will appeal to your guests (and raise more money for Parkinson's research)? Be our guest!



Link down the page to:


The Host's Kit

The host's kit is designed to assist you in organizing your Porridge Breakfast. It is a downloadable package of printable files that include the following:


File
PDF
Word

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Instruction guide
Shopping list
Invitation template
N/A
Silent auction sheet
Name tag template
Fruit compote recipe
The porridge recipe
What is PfP
Why Now
Apron/T-shirt transfer
Tent cards 1
N/A
Tent cards 2
N/A
Tent cards 2
N/A
PfP logo
____________________________________________________________________________________________

With free Acrobat Reader® software,
you can view and print Adobe PDF files.


Timing

  • Check to make sure the date you have chosen for your breakfast doesn't conflict with other events like Run for the Cure.

  • Make sure enough time has lapsed from other Parkinson's events.

  • Sundays seem to be easier as there are fewer kid activities. However, if your guest list is really long, maybe Saturday would be a good alternative.

  • We of Scottish heritage eat porridge all year long so you could have this party any time you want, but we were particularly pleased with the last Sunday in November as everyone seemed quite keen to come out and enjoy some rib-sticking comfort food to soften the blow of winter's approach. Over the years, we have also found that the last Sunday in February is a successful date -- people are dying for a party and breakfasts are great at that bleak time of the year.


The Invitation

Put together your mailing list, ideally on the computer. Plan for the invitation to arrive two weeks ahead of the event. We had our friend, fellow Parkinsonian and professional photographer, Dan Heringa, take our picture. We laid out the copy on the computer and sent a card with this copy... and it doubled as our (early) Christmas card. Sending it to friends far and wide paid off. But, it could be done a lot more simply than this. You are welcome to adapt this invitation for your own use and run them off: View sample invitation layout.


The Logo

The logo file is in TIF format. It has a resolution of 300dpi and can be inserted into MS Word documents, or a s a standalone file. The file is 4,223KB, so unless you have a broadband connection the download will take quite some time.

For other logo file formats, contact Marg Meikle at info@porridgeforparkinsons.com.


The Event

Delegate, delegate, delegate.

  • Designate greeters and have them give out name tags. People were grateful for this gesture, and it was useful for us to figure out who a few people were too! Number the tags beforehand and you will know how many people you have fed. We suggest using chatty "fun" people for the greeting job - it sets the tone for the party.

  • Appoint a money and information person and station. Supply envelopes for cash donations so people can write their name and address on the envelopes to ensure they get a tax receipt. Supply information about your designated recipient -- we found people really wanted to know more. Likely someone from that organization will offer to come and help and talk to people about Parkinson's Disease and the research work they are funding. Have a meeting with these folks beforehand and make sure you get all their materials. We found out, by chance, that the Pacific Parkinson's Research Institute can also accept $U.S. donations through the Vancouver Foundation.

  • Provide something for the kids to do, preferably on another floor and with a babysitter.

  • Handouts for guests with the recipes, local Parkinson's association information and this website address are useful. Feel free to cut and paste anything you want from this site.


The Food

  • Use paper bowls and plastic spoons (or rent the real stuff-but Chinette is far less expensive).

  • Lots of coffee.

  • If you make the fruit compote recipe you will use far less brown sugar and milk than you might expect. This is rich and addictive stuff.

  • Consider a table of toppings for kids. We had brown sugar, milk, mini-marshmallows, sprinkles and chocolate chips. A few parents are still cursing us.


A Silent Auction

A silent auction can be a great way to raise some more money. You need to find a decent spot out of the line of traffic but still accessible. An auction can be a fair amount of work, or you can simply ask for donations in the invitation and provide bid sheets (sample) to guests as they arrive. Remember, this breakfast is meant to be low impact. Delegate the silent auction task to an organized or well-connected friend.

Here are some suggestions for labours of love for silent auction items*

  • Decorated porridge bowls
  • Fly fishing trip
  • Cycle therapist
  • Theme dinner party (Like "Big Night Timpano" or Spaghetti And Spaghetti Westerns)
  • Your special cheesecake
  • 10 lbs of homemade candy
  • Sunday night supper
  • Homemade cookies -- 2 dozen, 3 times a year
  • Xmas baking
  • Scrapbooking
  • Sewing
  • Mending
  • Ironing
  • Party spruce up
  • Pick-up truck for removal or delivery
  • Designing a family Christmas card
  • Roundtrip shuttle to and from airport
  • Organizing your database
  • Cat sitting for 2 nights
  • Tea party
  • House maintenance
  • Gardening/ weeding
  • Yard work
  • Christmas wrapping
  • Pies
  • Casseroles
  • Press release for general distribution
  • Jam
  • Childcare
  • Krispy Kremes delivered
  • Rent a writer
  • Knit
  • Vinyl floor installation
  • Manual labour (X Hours)

If you have more suggestions for auction items or other fund-raisers to do at a porridge breakfast, let us know (info@porridgeforparkinsons.com) and we'll add them.