Two Yorkshire Culinary Favourites Rhubarb & Ginger

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Hortoris

It is the time of year when Wakefield rhubarb is in season and gingerbread is never out of season. So here is a combination of these two excellent local products brought together as Rhubarb Gingerbread. I use thicker stalks of the rhubarb as the forced pink variety is a bit wet.

Rhubarb & Gingerbread Ingredients

  • 11 oz  flour plus small teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
  • 5 oz  butter, softened
  • 5 oz castor sugar
  • 4 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 6 oz crystallised ginger
  • 10 oz rhubarb cut into small pieces
  • 4 oz  golden syrup
  • 1 beaten egg & milk to mix

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Rainbows – Crock of Gold at the End of Lock Down

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Hortoris

bradford

bradford-interchange

Yorkshire Rainbows

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Menston Garden Conifers

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Hortoris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to Gods Own County I also maintain a gardeners tips web site with over 2000 pages of photos, tips and quirk posts. One of my recent pages ‘Rock on with my Garden’ explained how my ‘Rock Garden’ effectively became overgrown with conifers.

Experience with a ‘Conifery’

  • Some conifers are out and out thugs like Cupressocyparis leylandii a tree sold for hedge growing. A suppliers quote that I found interesting was ‘height: easily maintained at 2-6 meters (I can’t reach that high) Very fast growing, expect up to between 70-90cm per year’. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
  • The large variety of colours and styles that are available at reasonable prices make some excellent evergreen plants for form and varied habit.
  • I like the prostrate forms that only grow about 1 foot high but cover a couple of square yards. There is an example of a spreading Juniper shown in the above photo from my back garden.
  • Dwarf conifers don’t stay dwarf for ever but you can clip them or restrict the root growth in a container and thus there exuberance. Failing that you have to be prepared to sacrifice them and dig out the stumps which tend to be shallow rooted. That is a job I started last month and have some more work to keep me occupied for the rest of April.
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In the Olden Days – Pre Covid 19

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Hortoris

bradford bus
Bradford buses used to be blue and people used them. Now they are rainbow of colours and virtually no one uses them for pleasure.

With nothing to do with our time we are home cleaning and recycling like mad. This has led to some councils consternation as they are struggling to collect and dispose of all our recyclables and excess waste.


When we think about going for our one a day walk we can’t plan to go too far from home so trips to Swaledale or Arkengarthdale should be saved for another day. Thank goodness for Calderdale and I never thought I would be saying that.

  • ‘Oh stands the clock at ten to three
  • and is there still football to see?
  • ‘sorry dear football’s off’

With thanks and apologies to Peter Sellers, residents of ‘Football’ in Yeadon, the good folk of Calderdale, all the public transport and council workers and anyone else who knows me.

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Ow Much!

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Hortoris

A clever shop window sign Ow Much would be even cleverer if I had finished with a ?

Queuing for the Otley 20p Shop

I currently miss  shopping in Otley at the 20p shop! A great concept with everything only 20p a pop. Lots of the items including some books, greeting cards and shop surplus is brand new. In the bric a brac there may be the odd gem and at 5 for £1 it is as near a Yorkshire bargain as you are likely to get.

  • It competes well with the Scottish  bawbee shop only up there they think that is expensive.
  • It knocks in to a flat cap the Cheshire footballers mansion zone £1,000 shop now without 30% off!

Yesterday God was seen walking around Yorkshire.’What are you doing?’ he was asked  ‘Working from home’ he replied. Thanks to Tony Service of Selby & the Daily Telegraph.

 

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Songs, Ballads & Poetry from at Least 160 Years Ago

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Hortoris

Yesterday during the housebound phase of the day I was furtling around my old bookcase and discovered an 1860 edition of  ‘Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire’ by C J Davison Ingledew. I was impressed with the half dozen items related to Robin Hood’s Yorkshire links. Thinking this would provide fertile ground for some posts on GOC I started to copy some relevant poems. They are long out of copyright and I assumed largely unavailable to any fervent seeker of old Yorkshire poems, songs and verse. I was wrong on that availability assumption because, rather belatedly, I let google and amazon in on the act.

Digital Poetry

Amazon had several works by C.J. including Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire Transcribed From Private Manuscripts, Rare Broadsides, and Scarce Publications; With Notes and a Glossary (Classic Reprint)

Google led me to The Project Gutenberg (see logo above)and an EBook of The Ballads and Songs of Yorkshire, by C. J. Davison Ingledew with all the words and detail on each ballad and song. It saved me all the time and effort of copying selected work as I had intended. In case you find it hard to search here is the contents list and links to all the words.

CONTENTS.

Page
The Dirge of Offa 1
Athelgiva 4
The Battle of Cuton Moore 18
Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne 35
The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield 45
The Noble Fisherman; or, Robin Hood’s Preferment 48
Robin Hood and the Curtall Fryer of Fountains Abbey 52
The Bishop of Hereford’s Entertainment by Robin Hood and
Little John, in merry Barnsdale 58
Robin Hood’s Death and Burial 61
History of Sir John Eland, of Eland, and his Antagonists 66
The Boy of Egremond 86
The Deposing of Richard II. and his Murder in Pomfret Castle 90
The Felon Sew of Rokeby and the Fryers of Richmond 93
The Rising in the North 104
Yorke, Yorke for my Monie 113
The Sisters of Beverley 119
Mother Shipton 123
Bold Nevison, the Highwayman 125
Roseberry Topping 128
The Cruel Step-Mother; or, the Unhappy Son 131
The Bonny Scotch Lad, and his Bonnet so Blue 138
The Child in the Wood; or, the Cruel Unkle 140
Bowes Tragedy; or, a Pattern of True Love 145
The Doncaster Volunteers 152
The Yorkshire Horse-Dealers 160
Bill Brown, the Poacher 162
The Romanby Tragedy 164
Armthorpe Bells 171
[ix]
Paul Jones, the Cumberland Militia, and Scarbrough Volunteers 184
A New Fox-hunting Song 187
An Honest Yorkshire-man 190
Spence Broughton 191
The Yorkshire Knight; or, the Fortunate Farmer’s Daughter 193
The Virgin Race; or, Yorkshire’s Glory 202
The Mayor of Doncaster 204
The Crafty Plough Boy 209
The Yorkshire Tragedy; or, a Warning to all Perjur’d Lovers 211
Dolly Dugging 217
Scarboro’ Sands 219
The Sheffield ‘Prentice 220
The Yorkshire Volunteers’ Farewell to the Good Folks of  Stockton 221
Fragment of the Hagmena Song 225
The Fair 226
The Yorkshire Lad in London 227
The Tryal of Patience 229
The Beggar’s Bridge 233
The Banks o’ Morton o’ Swale 235
The Chase of the Black Fox 237
Miss Bailey’s Ghost 241
The Two Yorkshire Lovers 242
Natterin Nan 246
The Barber of Thirsk’s Forfeits 254
The Yorkshire Irishman; or, the Adventures of a  Potato Merchant 255
When at Hame wi’ Dad 257
I’m Yorkshire too 258
The Sweeper and Thieves 259
Howell Wood; or, the Raby Hunt, in Yorkshire 261
The Collingham Ghost 269
The Twea Threshers 273
Dolly’s Gaon; or, the Effects of Pride 275
The Widow’s Lament 282
Alice Hawthorn 286
[x]
Tommy Thumb 288
The Funny Wedding 289
The Flying Dutchman 292
The Yorkshireman in London 294
The Great Exhibition; or, Prince Albert’s Curiosity Shop 296
The Lord of Saltaire 298
A Remarkable Circumstance connected with Bretton Hall 300
The Butcher turned Devil 304
Song 306
Colonel Thompson’s Volunteers 307
The Sledmere Poachers 308
The Yorkshire Concert 311
The Soldier in Yorkshire 313
Aw nivir can call hur my Wife 315
Glossary 317

There is a wealth of free content on Project Gutenberg and I was a bit awestruck  by its scope. I wonder what the original Yorkshire creative folk would think about the digital availability of their work 160+ years on. However to me there is still no substitute for being able to hold a book so I am off for a read.

 

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Gisburn and Yorkshire’s White Bull

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Hortoris

We want it back!

  1. Gisburn is a ‘West Riding’ village in the Ribble Valley on our border with Lancashire. The natural and historic affinity with Yorkshire was usurped during some misguided county reorganisation and Lancashire was given primogenitor.
  2. The quiet and unspoiled village of Gisburn lies in the Ribble Valley but in what many think of as Airedale in the Yorkshire Dales.
  3. In Gisburn Forest and nearby Forest of Bowland there are mountain biking trails located at the western fringe of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
  4. The historic village has a medieval church, St Mary the Virgin which boasts architecture and parish records of great historical interest.

 

The White Bull Gisburn

  1. An 18th-century coaching inn in the village of Gisburn has been offering me exemplary service and support over a booking during the corvid-19 scare. They and staff deserve a positive mention and a recommendation to visit them when we are able.
  2. This warm Grade II-listed pub with quaint rooms is well located for walking and exploring the local area.
  3. The charming pub features include wood decor, fireplaces, garden with a terrace and great meals.
  4. The White Bull, Cawthorne Barnsley, and the White Bull restaurant at Cannon Hall farm will also be suffering a loss of trade due to corona-virus restrictions so we wish all three establishments well.

 

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Grand Old Duke

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Hortoris

When I titled this as the Grand Old Duke I was thinking of York but the heritage spud not the second son of the Queen (you could say her errant spud.)

Prince Andrew former husband of Fergie (Sarah Ferguson)  and friend of Ghislaine has recently resigned from 3 Yorkshire roles. He has left his role as the chancellor of the University of Huddersfield, has resigned from his role as royal patron of the York Minster Fund and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance has thrown him out of the cockpit (sorry withdraw its connection). Looks like he has had his chips and his erstwhile Yorkshire career is mashed up.

 

First Earlies

  • Duke of York are seed potatoes that have been recognised since  1891
  • They are very popular for their great taste, early harvesting and all-round use.
  • Luckly I have just planted mine but find they are currently hard to obtain as they have fallen victim to Corvid 91. This is not a potato virus but a supply chain issue due to the pandemic. I never expected to see panic buying of heritage seed potato but they are currently hard to obtain.
  • Red Duke of York is a sport of the variety Duke of York first discovered during the WWII

 

 

 

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Yorkshire Retailers Welcome Panic Buyers

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Hortoris

Fish & Chips Shops

  • Oh my Cod, how many Cod Fathers are there to a flounder?I will have to check on Fishbook
  • Open on Frydays all over Yorkshire not just the Chip in Dales
  • A Fish Called Rhondda
  • The Prawnbroker may get a bell from The Town Fryer
  • The New Cod on the Block may be called Plaice Station
  • If you think this is a load of Codswallop you should see the southern chippy Battersea Cod’s Home selling catfish

Other Retailers

  • Why don’t Boots  sell boots, and Selfridges don’t sell fridges

Boroughbridge 008

Ali’s Barbers is a cut above the rest but doesn’t make Aladdin appear.

Have you a favorite misleading street signs or one that downright lies like the one above. Even in Ilkley wells do not walk. Wells gush or flow, store and seep and cover for Yorkshire water when there is a drought. Tying to our earlier theme there is Frying Pan Alley in the east end of London where the eels and fish and chips are southern are soggy.

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Tyke Taverner – Timothy Taylor’s Top Tipples

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Hortoris

As a veteran beer drinker and former member of the campaign for real ale, CAMRA, I am embarrassed to find there are 17 local branches in towns and cities across the county. I only discovered this fact only from reading the bimonthly magazine Tyke Taverner, the beer consumers’ magazine, supplied to pubs and clubs in Bradford and beyond.

  1. Barnsley:  barnsleycamra.org.uk
  2. Bradford: bradfordcamra.org.uk
  3. Cleveland: clevelandcamra.org.uk
  4. Doncaster: doncastercamra.org.uk
  5. Halifax & Calder:  hxcalderdalecamra.org.uk
  6. Harrogate & Ripon:harrogateandriponcamra.org.uk
  7. Heavy Woolen: heavywoollencamra.org.uk
  8. Huddersfield:  huddscamra.org.uk
  9. Hull & East Yorkshire:  hull.camra.org.uk
  10. Keighley & Craven:keighleyandcraven.camra.org.uk
  11. Leeds:  leeds-camra.com
  12. North West Yorkshire:  nwyorkscamra.co.uk
  13. Rotherham: rotherhamcamra.org.uk
  14. Scarborough:scarborough.camra.org.uk
  15. Sheffield:sheffieldcamra.org.uk
  16. Wakefield:  wakefieldcamra.org.uk
  17. York:  york.camra.org.uk

Haversack ale is a clever name and one of Timothy Taylors range that used to include Ram Tam that has been renames Landlord Dark.  Cook Lane is named after the site of Timothy Taylor’s first brewery in Keighley. It is meant to create a best in class modern 5.8 abv IPA using aromatic English grown Cascade and Chinook hops.

Not Taylors but a different session pale ale that caught my eye but not my throat is Dare of the Hog look out for it in Whitby or a blue pig sty.

Information from the Walkers Crispy issue of Tyke Taverner March/April 2020

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