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Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy

On September 23, 2009, In Our Yorkshire, By brian

The Guardian are asking web authors for ‘three’ things to ‘enjoy’ about England. Well readers of Gods Own County will know that is an easy question to resolve.

Yorkshire!  Yorkshire!   Yorkshire!

Whilst my opening may now stop the Guardian from linking to this post due to their Lancashire roots, I will continue developing the theme of three things to Enjoy in England. They will be Ridings, Dales and Pastimes.

Yorkshire Ridings
In truth the use of ‘three’ by the Guardian is obviously aimed at our Ridings. We don’t have much truck with South Yorkshire the sorry excuse for a local government reorganisation of 1974, preferring to keep to The West Riding, East Riding and North Riding and the old county boundaries. Maps published with facsimiles of the Domesday Book show that significant parts of Lancashire were formerly a part of Yorkshire but that is a story for another day.
We support, with tongues in cheeks, the Yorkshire Independence Movement and the busy new Yorkshire search engine www.Goole.com.

Three Dales

Choosing only three Dales  is a ‘hard ask’ (what ever that is) when just one Dale from 16 in the Yorkshire Dales National Park could provide a life time of enjoyment. However this is our choice for the Guardians with a phot of Burnsall in Wharfedale.

  1. Wensleydale is full of riches amongst the towns and villages including Hawes, Askrigg, Leyburn and Middleham. From fast flowing falls on the river Ure at Aysgarth and Hardraw to local markets, auctions and racehorse training. That is to say nothing about local beer and cheese.
  2. Wharfedale is the home of the Dalesway from Ilkley to the watershed at Oughtershaw. Wending its way through whirlpools at Bolton Abbey and limestone escarpements it is just the Dale for taking a long walk, having a good pub drink or enjoying a relaxing weekend break.
  3. Swaledale is  a land that time forgot since it gave its name to the hardy sheep with the captivating black faces. Swaledale Sheep even have there own website. Not without culture there is the renown Swaledale Music Festival plus the villages, with names like Muker, Gunnerside and Reeth, which cater for walkers on the coast to coast walk.

Three Pastimes

Folk Music can be heard in at least 3 great festival venues Whitby Folk, Otley Folk and in October at Ingleton Folk Fest. There is more Yo-Ho-Ho at the annual Sea Shanty maritime music festival at Hull. Traditional music is played in pubs and clubs throughout Yorkshire particularly up the East coast in Robin Hoods Bay. Lots more info is printed in Tykes News with details of hundreds of folk club events.


Hobbies

At Gods Own County we are still collecting reports about hobbies and pastimes with a national interest but a local flavour. Trig Spotting on Baildon Moor lead to links to great web sites and exploits of those who bag trigs in the same spirit of the Munro climbers. The smaller society with more items to view is the Pylon Appreciation Society and you could also join the Rag Ruggers.

Humour

The Yorkshire reputation for taking the micturition out of our financial prudence was exemplified by the Yorkshire Supermarket special offer ‘Buy One – Get One’.

Shop sign Cakes 66p – Upside down cakes 99p.’ Nothing half baked about Yorkshire. Three cakes, Pontefract cakes, Havercakes and Cake ‘oles.

A Yorkshireman shopping in London was asked ‘What is Sirs pleasure?’ He replied Whippets and Rugby League if it’s owt to do wi’ thee but reight nah I’d like a new shirt.

The last word goes to a Yorkshire woman ‘A man’s a lump of clay- a woman teks ‘im an’ meks ‘im into a mug.’

 
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Havercakes at Dog & Gun

On April 9, 2009, In Food and Drink, Our Yorkshire, By brian

new-picture-2
Driving back from ‘that place’ this week I stopped at the Dog & Gun in High Malsis near Cowling (pronounced Co-lin our barmaid said). The Timothy Taylors Dark Mild hit the spot and someone else offered to drive. The pub was busy for a Monday because the grub was so good and the highlight was a traditional Haver Cake as a sweet.

Clapcake or havercake is an ancient oat cake after Haver meaning an Oat in Norse. In this part of the world one of our traditional foods is Oatcakes which we usually toast and apply liberally with best butter and they are magic. They are a sort of pancake made from Oats. In the old days these were called Havercakes and in the remoter parts of North Yorkshire and the pennine area they are still called that.

‘The way the Havercakes used to be made was to mix Oats with water and milk in a bowl and leave to ferment overnight. The next day this mixture was stirred until it became a kind of mortar consistency and then was poured out onto a piece of flat board criss-crossed with grooves that encouraged the mixture to spread evenly and yet not to run all over the place, until it formed a round pancake about the size of a dinner plate. The Havercake would bake in a matter of minutes on a fire stone. Of course today these cakes are made on a cast iron griddle on the cooker.

If the cakes were to be eaten fresh they would be served up by rolling them into tubes with a heavy fruit jam filling, such as Rhubarb, Quince or Plum jam. The Dog and Gun used a mixture of Bramley Apple and Sultanas. If the Haver cakes were to be stored they would be suspended over a length of pole near the fire and allowed to dry until they were hard, they say these cakes lasted for ever once they dried out. When required the half moon shaped folded cakes would be placed in canvas bags to be eaten later in the fields or at work etc. these bags became known as Haversacks.

Recipe for the Havercakes

Ingredients
1 pint mixed milk and water
5-6 oz  fine oatmeal
1oz yeast 3oz flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
Mix the flour, salt and oatmeal. Warm the liquid and stir in gradually to make a smooth batter. Crumble in the yeast, stir gently and leave to stand in a warm place for 20 minutes. Stir again and cook in a strong, well-greased frying pan. Pour in enough bater to cover the base fairly thinly and turn out when cooked.

The old Duke of Wellington’s Regiment in Yorkshire were known as the ‘Havercake Boys’ as these cakes formed a major part of their rations. On recruitment days the recruiting Sergeants would tour the inns with a Havercake pierced on the end of his sword held in place with a ribbon of the regimental colours. To take up a soldier’s life with this regiment was a real case of ‘Having your cake and Eating it’
Timothy Taylors brewed a special HaverCake Ale in Keighley in 2002 to help the ‘Dukes’ celebrate 150 years service to their county and country “A very robust Yorkshire ale (ABV 4.7%) brewed to match the qualities of the famous ‘Dukes’ Regiment – it has strength, balance, clarity and a good head” and it is hand pulled. The ale was later relaunched in 2006 and is also available bottled.

I recommend a Lunch or Dinner at the Dog and Gun and give the Havercakes a go

 
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