THERE is an old story about soup and the kindness of strangers called ‘Stone Soup’. The tale goes that some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making “stone soup”, which tastes wonderful and which they would be delighted to share with the villager, although it still needs a little bit of garnish, which they are missing, to improve the flavour. The villager, who anticipates enjoying a share of the soup, does not mind parting with a few carrots, so these are added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not yet reached its full potential. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, the stone (being inedible) is removed from the pot, and a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by travellers and villagers alike. Although the travellers have thus tricked the villagers into sharing their food with them, they have successfully transformed it into a tasty and nutritious meal which they share with the donors.
There was no need for the stone or any tricking the people of Llanelli this Christmas as the people volunteered ingredients for the Sosban Soup Station’s Christmas dinner. Visitors to the soup station were provided with a sumptuous meal courtesy of the generosity of Llanelli people including some of the local businesses.
Organiser Gary Glennister said that the two events on Christmas Even ad Christmas Day were an amazing success. He said: “Mega thanks to all the amazing people who came along and helped over the last two nights – and thanks to the guests who came and had a belly full.
“Thanks to Paul and Paula at Ruby’s for providing the beautiful vegetable Soup last night.
“Tonight we had full Christmas Dinner. The turkey was provided by Tesco and the veg and trimmings supplied by Samantha and Stephanie of Red 10 American Diner and Fairway View Restaurant fame who were stars and provided about 30 Dinners tonight. Thanks also to Deborah Glenister who provided the live music.
“Everyone also left with a Christmas box thanks to Y Lle and food hampers.
“Thank you everyone for your generous support!!”
