Food Glorious Food – ITV

Food Glorious Food (ITV) Judges (L-R) Anne Harrison, Loyd Grossman, Carol Vorderman, Tom Parker Bowles and Stacie Stewart. Wednesdays, 8-9pm, ITV 1. © Optomen / Syco

I am delighted to tell you about a major new British television series just started on ITV 1, Food Glorious Food. If you love heritage food then this is the programme for you. Do not be swayed by the critics who have been unnecessarily harsh on what is actually a great show put together by a world-class production team (Optomen International and Syco tv). Contrary to what you may have read, the series is NOT trying to copy BBC’s Great British Bake Off neither is the aim of the show to find the next Masterchef. 

On Food Glorious Food, over the coming weeks, you will see a fascinating and engaging series that brings together food and family like never before. A judging team of four passionate food experts travel the country in search of the very best home cooked recipes. Behind every treasured recipe there is an interesting back story which is often bursting with family history and nostalgia.

I can reveal to you now that one of my aforementioned ‘secret media projects’ has been my involvement with Food Glorious Food. My passion for making blancmanges, in particular using my great, great grandmother’s Wedgwood mould as well as researching the history of this long-forgotten dessert, led me to being selected to take part in the show. My judge was the delightful Tom Parker Bowles and we shared a number of interesting conversations about Mrs Beeton and other luminaries from the annals of food history.

I am also in the cookbook that accompanies the series (see below for details) and if you turn to page 86 you will find my recipe for vintage lavender and lemon blancmange which I hope you have as much fun recreating as I did experimenting with it. How far did I progress in the show? Well, I am not able to tell you that at the moment but if you tune-in to ITV 1 on Wednesday 20th March (South-East regional heat) you can watch me begin my Food Glorious Food journey. What I can tell you is that it was a jolly good adventure and has left me with many memories that I will treasure forever.

I recently launched my new website, Viva Blancmange, which celebrates retro food as well as being a platform from which I will continue my campaign to revive the blancmange. My aim is to put this long forgotten dessert back onto the British menu within the next year. (CLICK HERE). My loyal band of readers need not panic, Come Step Back in Time will continue to go from strength-to-strength (so many fabulous history articles coming-up, sadly not enough hours in the day to finishing all the writing). In the future, Come Step Back in Time will feature a lot less retro food and lifestyle articles as these will now appear on Viva Blancmange.

Food Glorious Food’s presenter is Carol Vorderman and joining her on the show’s culinary quest is food historian and writer Tom Parker Bowles, globe-trotting gastronome Loyd Grossman, Women’s Institute vice-chair Anne Harrison and baker Stacie Stewart. Each judge has their own area of interest. Stacie, owner of online company the Beehive Bakery, is on the hunt for an amazing cake or pudding that the nation will fall in love with, food writer royalty, Tom is scouring the land for a great British recipe with culinary heritage, Loyd is hunting for a new favourite to match that much-loved dish, the curry, and Anne is championing traditional home cooking. At each of the six regional heats the team of experts come armed with rosettes which they hand out to dishes that meet with their high standards.

The Food Glorious Food team has been inspired by the show to reminisce about their own childhood food experiences. Carol’s cooking career began when she was a schoolgirl, she cooked for her family, “I used to make tea every night when I was at school. My mum was working as a school secretary so I’d be home from school before her. I loved laying the table and getting everything ready.” For Carol and her family it wasn’t typical 1970s cooking the family dined out on – thanks to her Italian stepfather, “In the ‘70s it was very unusual to cook with proper Italian produce. Back then, you’d buy olive oil from the chemist to get the wax out of your ears! Parmesan cheese was dried in cardboard tubes and smelt like sick. Whereas we had the proper stuff because we used to go to Italy every year. We had canned olive oil from my stepdad’s brother’s farm, we’d bring back Parma ham that my aunties had cured then use a bacon slicer at home to cut it.”

Food historian and writer Tom is keen to find a regional recipe or traditional British dish with real history. “I’m obsessed with the history of food and I want to find a great British recipe with a fascinating culinary heritage. I was quite late to cooking. I’ve always eaten, being a greedy pig. My mum’s a good cook and my dad was a farmer but I didn’t really get into cooking myself until after university. I certainly wasn’t at my mother’s apron strings when I was growing up – I was far too lazy.”

Loyd’s a self-confessed foodie and says childhood experiences first sparked his interest, “I just loved food. I was very lucky: I travelled a lot as a kid; my parents were interested in food and restaurants so I was exposed to a lot of good food. I grew up in New England where there were both farms and fishing so I saw all the fabulous produce first-hand. I always remember how exciting it would be to go down to the harbor in the morning and see the fishermen unloading their catch.”

Anne’s foodie beginnings came from her farming background. “My parents were farmers and my father was killed in the Second World War. My mother didn’t go out to work, she and my grandmother always cooked. In those days, you didn’t go out to buy anything. I was always keen to have a go at cooking myself, I suppose I absorbed their knowledge and I’ve always been used to home cooked food. Later, I went to boarding school and excelled at what they called domestic science. That led me to teaching.”

For Stacie, a recipe with a strong family connection will also win points with her. “I like to see people cooking recipes that have been handed down through generations because that’s how I learnt to cook. Stacie’s grandmother is responsible for her passion for baking, and cooking stems from her childhood. “My mum can’t boil an egg so my nana taught me how to cook. Every Saturday without fail our mams went to bingo, our dads went to the pub, our grandad sat in the front room and watched the horse racing and my nine cousins and I were in the kitchen with our nana. It’s a great memory and, now, all my cousins cook as well as I do. I also like to see innovation, taking something you’ve been taught how to do and making it better. Just because something was done one way many years ago, it doesn’t mean that it has to be done that way now. If that were the case, we’d still be walking around like cavemen. There has to be progression. My nana used to make scones with lard and water, because that’s all she could afford. It doesn’t mean they were the best scones in the world.”

Each of the first six episodes feature a different region of the UK (South-West, South-East, North-East, London and The Midlands). The judges eat their way through plenty of pies and puds, to find six amazing recipes and contestants to take through to the semi-final stages, where two will be picked to battle it out to win a place on the shelves of Marks & Spencer and a prize fund of £20,000. The winning dish will be decided by shoppers and sold exclusively by Marks & Spencer stores across the country with 40p from each dish sold going to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The first episode aired on Wednesday 27th February, 8pm, ITV1 and will continue for a further eight episodes, culminating in The Grand Final which, at the time of writing this article, is due to be aired on Wednesday 24th April. If you missed the first episode, then it is now available to view on itvPlayer. The series continues on Wednesday 6th March, 8pm, ITV1.

Out now, to accompany the series, is a superb anthology, published by Mitchell Beazley, containing some of the best recipes featured in the programme. Divided into regions, it is full of delicious dishes for you to try as well as information about the dish’s creator. All the finalists’ dishes and the winning recipe are included.  Old favourites like Bread and Butter Pudding, Cornish Pasties and Bakewell Tart feature alongside new and inventive fusions of flavours that simply have to be tasted. Some dishes will incorporate quirky twists – for example, an extra ingredient that was originally added by chance – while others will stick to time-honoured techniques handed down through multiple generations of the same family.

Some of my favourite dishes in this beautifully illustrated cookbook include:

• a secret recipe Devon apple cider cake (p.52). In 1983 Sandy Gilbert brought a former bakery with her husband and as part of the deeds they were required to buy this recipe along with the property;
• bonfire stew with cannonball dumplings. Publican Tony Leonard cooks this dish with the South Street Bonfire Society every year and serves it in his pub, The Snowdrop Inn, Lewes, East Sussex, at the start of the Lewes annual bonfire night on November 5th (p.70);
• Henry’s Malay jungle curry (p.84). Rachel Kelly’s father learned to make this dish when he was in the army in Malaya in the 1950s, do also check-out Rachel’s excellent food blog Marmaduke Scarlet it is packed full of great recipes and food photography;
• Laura’s fiery ginger cake (p.94). I can vouch for the fact that Laura Wiles’ cake is delicious. My husband and I tried it at the South-East regional heat in Brighton;
• Nettle cake (p.139). Marcelle Burden’s cake comes from her French grandmother, who used all sorts of wild plants in her cooking;

As well as the featured recipes, there are thoughtful reflections on Britain’s food heritage and the nation’s love affair with home cooking. This is the definitive guide to the nation’s best recipes, written for the people of Great Britain, by the people of Great Britain.

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Vintage Pinboard – Period Drama & Documentaries – Be Inspired in 2013

1930s society glamour.

Here are my recommendations for the best documentaries and period dramas currently on or soon to air on British television.

One other treat, that I am thrilled to tell you about, (credit and thanks for this must go to my husband for its discovery), is the recently digitised Radio Times Archive.  The first edition of The Radio Times was printed on 28th September, 1923, a joint venture between the BBC and publisher George Newnes Ltd. The BBC edited the publication from 1925 until 1937 and it was published in-house until 2011. The digitisation of four thousand five hundred copies of the magazine was completed in 2012. However, access to the full archive is currently restricted to BBC staff but it is hoped that by the end of 2013 the entire archive will be available on-line to the general public. Public access is currently limited to a small collection of, downloadable, pre-war television supplements. For the main website, CLICK HERE.

My favourite supplement is one published at the time of King George VI’s (1895-1952) coronation, which took place on Wednesday 12th May, 1937. To download this issue, CLICK HERE. If you want to listen to an original recording of the King’s coronation speech, then it is available on British Pathé’s website. It might be a good idea to turn-up the sound on your computer before you begin, as it is very faint. The whole speech lasts just over eight minutes.  For the speech, CLICK HERE.

Ripper Street – BBC One

• Victorian Era
• Drama Series 8 x 60 minute episodes. Sundays 9pm

Set in April 1889, six months after the last Jack the Ripper killing, East London. For H Division, the police department charged with keeping order in the seedy back streets of Whitechapel, life goes on. This fictionalised account of the aftermath of the Ripper murders and impact upon the police responsible for solving the crimes, is particularly violent and gory. But nonetheless, a well-acted ensemble piece that contains plenty to hold the interest of Ripper enthusiasts and social historians alike.  Cast includes: Matthew Macfadyen (Detective Inspector Edmund Reid); Jerome Flynn (Detective Sergeant Bennett Drake) and Adam Rothenberg (US Army surgeon and one-time Pinkerton detective, Captain Homer Jackson).

Hat from 1909.

Mr Selfridge – ITV 1

• Edwardian Era
• Drama Series 10 x 60 minute episodes. Sundays 9pm

I have been waiting ages to see Mr Selfridge, ever since ITV teased us with trailers during season three of Downton Abbey last year. It was worth the wait, I know reviews have been mixed but the production values are high and Edwardian London never looked so good. This sumptuous slice of nostalgia helps fill the gap left on Sunday evenings by Downton.

Mr Selfridge is based upon Lindy Woodhead’s book Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge and created by multi-award winning writer Andrew Davies. It tells the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge (1858–1947), the American gentleman who established the iconic British department store, Selfridges, in 1909.  Cast includes Jeremy Piven (Mr Selfridge) and Katherine Kelly (Lady Mae).

Harry Selfridge was born on the 11th January 1858 at Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. Aged twenty-one, he went to work at department store and mail-order firm Field, Leiter & Co (later Marshall, Field & Co). In 1886, he became manager of their retail department. Selfridge left the firm in 1904, after having spent the previous fourteen years as a junior partner there. He used his fortune to buy Chicago firm Schlesinger & Mayer which he proceeded to sell quickly, turning him a profit of £50,000 to go with the return of his £300,000 initial investment.  Selfridge arrived in London in 1906 and lived in fashionable Arlington Street. He set about realising his grand plan to open a large department store in the heart of London and spared no expense in gathering around him the best team possible, employing one thousand two hundred staff at his Oxford Street store and even hiring Goldsman, the chief window-dresser at Marshall, Field & Co.

According to writer and historian, Claire Masset: ‘Perhaps the greatest advertising campaign of the early twentieth century was that of Selfridges, announcing its much-awaited opening in March 1909.  During the entire week of its opening, Harry Gordon Selfridge commissioned thirty-eight advertisements designed by well-known graphic artists, appearing on over a hundred pages of eighteen national newspapers. The campaign, which cost £36,000 (equivalent to £2.35 million today), caused a sensation, with 90,000 people visiting the store on its opening day and over a million in the first week.’ (Masset. C., Department Stores, 2011, p. 26, published by Shire Publications.)

I have had a look through a selection of contemporary newspapers from 1909 and found some simply fascinating examples of Selfridges’ advertising campaign. I hope you enjoy reading them as much I did.

The dedication of a Great House.  A day well spent is passed at Selfridge’s. This house is dedicated to woman’s service first of all.  And for this there are many excellent and satisfying reasons.  To begin with, everything at Selfridge’s is obviously and charmingly NEW – the great building itself and its equipment – the vast stocks of varied merchandise in their entirety – the methods of displaying them to best advantage – and the unaccustomed and luxurious appointments instituted to provide every possible comfort for daily visitors.

  This House is dedicated to woman’s service first of all, and our purpose is to make her shopping more attractive than it has ever been before; so to satisfy her with value, stocks, and prices that she will discover a wider and more pleasurable opening in the word ‘shopping’ than she has hitherto read in it;  and learn regard for Selfridge’s as the best equipped place of merchandise in London for every shopping purpose in which she takes an interest.  There is a home-like lounge for smoking and gentleman are invited to use it as they would their club.

(Daily Express, London, Tuesday March 16th 1909)

Enamelled hat pins, tie-pin and buttons. 1912. On display at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham.

The new hat pins  – we believe that we have gathered the largest show of hat pin novelties ever seen together on a counter. Some are metal filigree, some in enamel, others set with big coloured stones, and others again representing dragon flies, bees, etc. with semi-transparent born wings. This price for a ‘scarab’ pin is 6d. Filigree pins from 9d, and Louis Seize designs set with imitation amethysts, topazes, etc. are 1/- each.

(Daily Express, London, Wednesday 19th May 1909)

Woven underwear – for the chilly season.  Ladies’ white Scotch all wool combinations, guaranteed unshrinkable, with spliced seats, high neck and short or long sleeve or low neck and short sleeves – all sizes, price 8/3.

Autumn knickers – Ladies’ satin, cloth and serge sports knickers suitable for Autumn and Winter wear. These are particularly well made as regards shape and finish, and have buttons for fastening in detachable linings. Jap silk accordion pleated knickers in black and white (with linings) for dancing and evening wear. Price 35/

(Daily Express, London, 20th September 1909)

From 1916 to 1922, Harry Selfridge leased Highcliffe Castle, Highcliffe, Dorset from the Stuart Wortleys and this became his country residence, away from the hustle and bustle of London life. His wife, Rosalie and mother, Lois, lived at Highcliffe. Highcliffe Castle is a Grade 1 Listed Georgian Mansion, built in the Gothic Revival style between 1831 and 1835, originally for Lord Stuart de Rothesay. During his tenancy, Selfridge added a number of modern flourishes to the Mansion, including fitted bathrooms, steam central heating and a fully equipped modern kitchen.

After the death of his wife, in 1918, and his mother, in 1924, he lost his direction somewhat and embarked upon a number of romances with younger women. Then came the Great Depression and World War Two when retail therapy was the last thing on everyone’s mind. In his twilight years, Selfridge frittered away his money in French casino resorts and eventually died, virtually penniless, at 2 Ross Court, Putney Heath, London on 8th May 1947. He is buried in St. Marks Churchyard at Highcliffe, next to his wife and mother.

Meridian (ITV) have produced a short film (3 mins. 47) ‘Meeting Mr Selfridge’, about the new series and Harry Selfridge’s life here in England. There is also a segment about his time at Highcliffe Castle. CLICK HERE.

1930s Burberry shooting coat. Perfect for those country house parties.

Dancing on the Edge – BBC 2 

• 1930s
• Drama Series 5 x 60 minute episodes – Mondays 9pm (Starts Monday 4th February 2013)

This new drama series by acclaimed writer/director Stephen Poliakoff is set in England in between 1931 and 1933.  Dancing on the Edge follows black jazz musicians, the Louis Lester Band, as they find fame at the parties and performances of London’s upper class society. Cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode, Jacqueline Bisset, Janet Montgomery, Joanna Vanderham, Tom Hughes, Angel Coulby, Wunmi Mosaku, Mel Smith, Anthony Head, Caroline Quentin and Jane Asher.

For further background on this production, see David Gritten’s excellent article, ‘Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge: Behind the Scenes’, published on The Telegraph’s website, Monday 21st January 2013. For the article, CLICK HERE. For behind the scenes photographs of the production, CLICK HERE.

One of the locations for this lavish BBC production was  Upton House and Gardens, Nr Banbury, Warwickshire (The National Trust). Before the Second World War, this fifteenth century manor house was owned by Lord and Lady Bearsted. Lord Bearsted (Colonel Walter Horace Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, MC – 1882-1948) brought Upton in 1927 and until 1929 made many changes to the property and gardens. Notable additions to the interior include a stunning red and silver aluminium leaf art deco bathroom for Lady Bearsted (Dorothy Montefiore Micholls – d.1949) and in the grounds a swimming pool. Lord Bearsted was an astute businessman, he was Director of Lloyds Bank Ltd, Alliance & Assurance Co and also founded the Shell Transport and Trading Company. During the 1930s, the multi-millionaire and his wife hosted lavish house parties at Upton.   The house is full of priceless art treasures and Lord Bearsted was once a Trustee of the National Gallery.

On the weekend of 9th and 10th March, 2013 (Mothering Sunday Weekend),  Upton have a 1930s Beauty Parlour event. There will be demonstrations of 1930s fashion, make-up, hair and beauty techniques. There will also be an opportunity for you to make a gift for your mum. There is no need to pre-book as this event is free, although you will have to pay normal admission charges to Upton.  The house and gardens open again to the public from Saturday 16th February (11-5).  For 2013 opening times. CLICK HERE.

Riding sweater by Hawico, London, 1930s advertisement. ‘Makes an irresistible appeal to all smart riding women. Made in sky, yellow, beige, white and guaranteed to withstand countless washings.’

London store Marshall & Snelgrove’s 1935 advertisement for silk stockings.

Spies of Warsaw- BBC 4

• 1933 to 1943
• Drama Series 2 x 90 minute episodes. Wednesdays 9pm

Directed by Coky Giedroyc, Spies Of Warsaw is a thrilling spy story set in Poland, Paris, London and Berlin between 1933 and 1943. French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. Based on a 2008 novel by American bestseller Alan Furst with the screenplay written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. The main protagonist is jaded French agent and former hero of the Great War, Colonel Jean-François Mercier.  Cast includes: David Tennant (Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier); Janet Montgomery (Anna Skarbek); Marcin Dorocinski (Antoni Pakulski) and Ludger Pistor (Edvard Uhl). This is a superb, classy and intelligent thriller. Tennant is brilliant as Colonel Mercier.

Commissioned by Richard Klein, Controller, BBC Four and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning. Executive produced by Richard Fell for Fresh Pictures and Chris Aird for the BBC, co-produced by Apple Film for TV Poland in association with ARTE FRANCE and BBC Worldwide.

If you would like to read more about the background to this production, Olly Grant has written an excellent, detailed article in Broadcast Now. CLICK HERE.

Call The Midwife (Series 2) – BBC 1

• 1950s – London’s East End
• Drama Series 8 x 60 minute episodes. Sundays 8pm (Starts on 20th January)

Set in London’s East End in the 1950s and based on the memoirs of former midwife Jennifer Worth. For a short history of midwifery in the Britain then please see my popular article, Call The Midwife: An Historical Perspective  (well it did get picked-up and recommended by http://www.studentmidwife.net, which I was thrilled about). I will be writing about the tie-in book for series one and two in a future posting, so keep an eye out for that.

Julian Fellowes’s Historical Houses – ITV 1

• Goodwood House and Burghley House
• Documentary – 2 x 60 minute episodes. Tuesdays 9pm (Starts 22nd January)

Who better to present a documentary about two of England’s greatest stately homes, than Downton Abbey‘s creator Julian Fellowes. The two houses in question are Goodwood House, in West Sussex and Burghley House, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Fans of vintage may already be familiar with the annual Goodwood Revival event, which this year takes place on the 13th, 14th and 15th of  September. Fellowes goes in search of fascinating stories behind these two houses and the characters who helped shape their history. Both houses were selected on the basis that they are still in ownership of the families who built them.

Goodwood House is the seat of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672-1723) was the illegitimate son of Charles II (1630-1685) and Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649-1734). The 1st Duke’s love of hunting led him to Goodwood where he purchased a small Jacobean house on the estate in 1697 for use as a hunting lodge. This house is now referred to as the ‘old house’ and is located at the back of the main house. Goodwood House was developed throughout the eighteenth century. The classical Main Hall was built in 1730, a Palladian style South Wing between 1747-1750 and a North Wing added in 1771. The Regency State apartments were added to the South Wing in 1800. The House now resembles three sides of an octagon. Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1701-1750) was a keen cricketer and arranged matches at Goodwood in the mid 1720s. The 2nd Duke is credited with setting-up the first formal rules of the game, the original document is now kept in Goodwood’s archives.

Burghley House was created by William Cecil, 1st Lord Burghley (1521-1598), Lord High Treasurer to Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The house is thought to be one of the largest Elizabethan mansions ever built. Building began in the 1550s. One of the most notable owners of Burghley was William Cecil’s great-great-great-grandson, John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700) who, together with his wife Lady Anne Cavendish (1645-1703), crammed Burghley full of priceless treasures, paintings, furniture and tapestries.  The 5th Earl embarked upon the fashionable Grand Tour and with his wife travelled extensively overseas during a twenty year period. One particular treasure is the Florentine cabinet, enriched with pietra dura panels, which was given to the 5th Earl by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The 5th Earl died in 1700 at Issy near Paris, apparently after consuming a surfeit of fruit!

The world’s first solid bar of chocolate was produced by Bristol company, J S Fry & Sons in 1847. It was called Chocolat Délicieux à Manger (delicious to eat). The bar was bitter, heavy and a challenge for even the strongest of teeth and jaws. After a slow start, popularity gradually followed. The Victorians often took this portable confectionary with them on long railway journeys whereby it served as a handy snack. The three brothers who were running the company when the bar was invented were: Francis Fry (1803-1886); Richard Fry (1807-1878) and Joseph Fry (1795-1879). By 1910, Fry’s employed 6,000 staff.  Invention No. 5 in the BBC’s booklet 50 Great British Inventions. The exhibit shown are examples of Fry’s chocolate labels, on display at MShed Museum, Bristol.

The Genius of Invention – BBC 2

• History of Inventions and Technology
• Documentary 4 x 60 minute episodes. Thursdays – 9pm. (Starts 24th January)

This four-part series will explore the background behind some of the inventions found in everyday life. Michael Mosley, Prof. Mark Miodownik and Dr Cassie Newland explore the very nature of invention and how and why things are invented. Some of the inventions discussed in the series will include the steam engine, jet propulsion, electrical generator, telephony and television. There is a fascinating and well put together booklet to accompany the series, 50 Great British Inventions. It is free to download and packed full of useful background information and images. CLICK HERE.

1935 advertisement for Schweppe’s drinks. The advert reads: ‘For lively people, let there be lively drinks to match - drinks with sparkling, bubbling freshness to revive tired palates.  Schweppes Soda mixes with anything: it improves everything…that’s why it’s so famous.’ Soda water was invented, in 1772, by Joseph Priestley FRS (1733-1804) a clergyman and scientist. He published instructions on how to make carbonated water, using sulphuric acid and chalk. In 1774, the Swiss fizzy drinks pioneer, Johann Jacob Schweppe (1740-1821) set-up his Schweppes drinks company in London so that he could manufacture carbonated mineral water using Priestley’s method. The brand is still going strong today. No. 14 in the BBC’s booklet 50 Great British Inventions.

This series is part of the BBC’s year-long schedule of programmes focussing on all aspects of British inventiveness.  To browse the full catalogue of programmes due for transmission this year, CLICK HERE. Some of my personal favourites are documentaries on the Romantic landscape painter J.M.W. Turner RA (1775-1851);  Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727); Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) – see my article on The Wedgwood Museum for further information on the Wedgwood dynasty; Why the Industrial Revolution Happened here; Locomotion: Dan Snow’s History of Railways and Stephen Fry’s Planet Invention exploring the background to the ‘stuff’ that fills our homes from putting knives, jeans, bras, flip-flops and fridges to handbags, fast cars and Swiss watches.

Do also check-out the many Genius of Invention related activities that are taking place at museums and heritage sites throughout the UK. CLICK HERE.

The modern hypodermic syringe was invented, in 1853, by Scottish physician Alexander Wood (1817-1884). He was not the only gentleman important to the development of this type of syringe. Francis Rynd (1811-1861) invented hollow needles and Charles Gabriel Pravaz (1791-1853) invented a metal-bodied syringe with a fine hollow point needle for treating aneurysms. No. 15 in the BBC’s booklet, 50 Great British Inventions. Objects shown are from a display at The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, London.

Petworth House, West Sussex (the National Trust) currently have an important exhibition of Turner’s paintings on view, many for the first time. Turner’s Sussex  includes forty exhibits, plus a rare opportunity to view the Old Library, used by Turner as his studio when he visited Petworth, which he frequently did in the 1820s and 30s.  One of Turner’s patrons was the 3rd Earl of Egremont (George O’Brien Wyndham, 1751-1837) for which Petworth was his country seat. The exhibition continues at Petworth until 13th March 2013.  Booking is essential for Turner’s Sussex. Gates open: 10am; Last admission time: 2.15pm; Timed tickets every 45 minutes; Adult £10, child £5; Two-course lunch and high tea available to pre-book on 01798 342207.  To book tickets, call 0844 249 1895 or book online.

 Carved With Love: The Genius of British Woodwork – BBC4

• History of British Woodwork
• Documentary 3 x 60 minute episodes. Thursdays 9pm

As part of the year-long partnership between the BBC and V&A, this three-part documentary explores some of the most important individuals responsible for shaping the history of British woodwork. Episode one explores the extraordinary life and work of fashionable furniture-maker, Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779). Episode two looks at the output of wood-carver Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) and Episode three provides a close study of carpentry during the Middle Ages, including a detailed look at the roof of Westminster Hall and the seven hundred year old Coronation Chairs.

1930s cocktail party.

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Vintage Pinboard – Make & Bake – Be Inspired In 2013

Happy New Year to you all, I hope that 2013 brings you good health and happiness in equal measure.

I say a fond farewell to 2012 -  what an incredible year it was. During the past twelve months I have experienced the usual highs and lows of everyday life as well as a number of unexpected media opportunities which may not have come my way had I not written this blog.

I am hoping that 2013 will be full of adventure and new experiences. I cannot wait to share my news with you about one of these exciting media opportunities, a primetime television series that I have recently been involved in. However, I have to keep my ‘secret squirrel’ promise for a little while longer before all can be revealed and the series finally airs on British television.

The start of a new year is, for many, a time of new beginnings, setting resolutions and making plans for the future. This year, one of my creative aims is to improve my knitting and crocheting skills which at present can best be described as of a basic level. I began my first knitting project in December, a plain scarf for my parents’ dog. A hit I think, but not quite as much as the packet of tasty treats and squeaky ball which were also in the dog’s Christmas stocking!

Margie models her Christmas scarf. I think she was pleased with it!

Last year, I purchased a selection of vintage knitting patterns from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The pattern books contain many inspiring projects. Although, fifty or so years ago most knitters were pretty accomplished at their craft and some of the patterns do look fiendishly difficult but I like to have something to work towards.

My grandmother’s 1948 Singer sewing machine.

Whilst home for the holidays, I took the opportunity to have a rummage in my parents’ attic and was not disappointed by my search. Amongst the assortment of heirlooms and vintage treasures, I found a real gem – my late grandmother’s 1948 Singer sewing machine (Serial No. EE617052).  Mum told me that grandmother had ordered the machine in 1945 and due to the shortage of materials following World War Two, waited three years before taking delivery of it. Mum said that it was grandmother’s pride and joy.

Detail of my grandmother’s 1948 sewing machine.

In 2013, I would like to bring the Singer back to life, perhaps using it to make a vintage outfit. I thought I might use it to make a copy of Christian Dior’s, 1948, New Look - similar to the outfit I wore to the first Goodwood Revival meeting in 1998. (Featured in 1950′s Britain – Part Three)  However, it will have to wait for a short bit as I am currently making a 1950s evening gown for one of my ongoing media projects and anyway, I will need to get the Singer properly serviced first.

I wanted to find-out more about Singer sewing machines. During the course of my research I found a really interesting website, Love to Know Antiques: Advice Women Can Trust  CLICK HERE. The article on Singer machines was very helpful, particularly when it came to identifying the exact production date of grandmother’s machine.

There are now a growing number of collectors and vintage enthusiasts who are using antique sewing machines for their crafting and dressmaking. Artist Sarah Harper, owner of Rowan Tree Studios, collects and uses them for teaching sewing courses at her workshop in Clovelly, Devon. CLICK HERE. The February issue of Homes & Antiques magazine (on sale in the UK, 3rd January) also includes an article on ‘Vintage Sewing Machines’, exploring why they are becoming increasingly popular and desirable to collect. CLICK HERE. So what are you waiting for, treat yourself to a secondhand sewing machine, you will be so glad you did. Many of the models can be brought for less than £100. Sarah Harper also sells and reconditions old machines so do check-out her website before you begin your search. CLICK HERE.

I discovered there is a Museum dedicated to sewing machines.  The London Sewing Machine Museum can be found on the first floor of Wimbledon Sewing Machine Company’s premises (292-312 Balham High Road, London, SW17 7AA - Tooting Bec tube stop using the London Underground) which is owned by Ray Rushton.  The Museum has over seven hundred industrial and domestic machines, many of which are incredibly rare, including one owned by Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, HRH Princess Frederick of Prussia (1840-1901).  The machine was made in 1865 by a German company to a Wheeler & Wilson pattern, it had been given as a wedding present to the Princess. (Homes & Antiques, February, 2013, Sorrell, K., p.62).

The Museum is open on the first Saturday of every month, between 2pm and 5pm. The next two openings will be on Saturday 2nd February and Saturday 2nd March.  Admission to the Museum is free but donations, upon entry, towards The Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Leukaemia Research, would be much appreciated. One point I must alert you to, is that due to the fact the Museum is located on the first floor of a building, access is via approximately forty steps. Unfortunately, they do not have a lift, so access for the disabled and those with limited physical ability, is restricted.  For views of the Museum’s interior, CLICK HERE.

Judkin sewing machine. The display label reads: ‘Charles Tiot Judkins was the only British exhibitor of a sewing machine in the 1851 exhibition. His machines, made in Manchester, were closely based on American prototypes. This particular type of single thread chainstitch machine was presented in Ameria in 1859 by Charles Raymond. Judkins registered Raymond’s patent in England in 1865 (No. 144) and this little machine is Judkin’s only essay into small domestic machines and few have survived, his other wares relate to industry. Weir and several others cloned or imported Raymond machines.’ Milestones Living History Museum, Basingstoke.

Vintage sewing machine for a child. Milestones Living History Museum, Basingstoke.

Milestones Living History Museum, Basingstoke  has a wonderful collection of domestic bygones to help inspire you. This museum is the perfect day-out for social historians and vintage enthusiasts. In my opinion, Milestones has the best collection of vintage kitchenalia on display of any museum outside London. They also have a nice selection of vintage sewing machines, including models produced for children. For more information on the museum, please see my previous article, CLICK HERE.

The Comet toy sewing machine (EMG - SH.1986.122). The display label reads: ‘The first ‘toy’ machines were small machines pour fillette made in France in the 1860s. Late in the nineteenth century the German tinplate toy industry began to produce large numbers of pressed steel cheap toys. After 1945, production of these simple pressed steel toys was restarted and gradually many of the steel parts were replaced by plastic. The Comet is a British toy of the 1950s with its pressed steel mechanism clothed in a plastic body.’ Milestones Living History Museum, Basingstoke.

Further Reading

• The Knitter’s Handbook (Craft Library): A Guide to Patterns, Yarns, Needles, Stitches, Techniques published by Hamlyn (2012). I love this book. Suitable for both beginners and advanced knitters;
• Me and My Sewing Machine: A Beginner’s Guide by Kate Haxell, published by Apple Press (2010);
• Sewing: A Beginner’s Step-by-Step Guide to Stitching by Hand and Machine by Charlotte Gerlings, published by Fox Chapel Publishing (2012);
• Sew Retro: Simple Vintage-Inspired Projects For The Modern Girl & A Stylish History of The Sewing Revolution by Judi Ketteler published by Voyageur Press: Spi edition (2010). Some of the twenty-five projects include: 1800s – pincushion, shawl, sewing basket, needlecase; 1910 and 1920s – opera bag, flapper apron, felt hat; 1930s and 1940s – potholder, purse, curtains, tablecloth, napkins; 1950s – apron, pillow, purse, table runner, handkerchief bag; 1960s and 1970s – mini-skirt, coasters, headband, patchwork throw; 1980s to present – skirt, farmer’s market bag, catch-all caddy, scarf;
• Old Sewing Machines by Carol Head, published by Shire Library (84) (2004).

To help inspire your inner ‘creative god(dess)’ I have compiled a selection of craft projects for you to have a go at. All chosen from my own collection of vintage magazines and books. Some vintage patterns and sewing instructions tend to be quite tricky, presuming prior ability and knowledge of the craft in question. However, I have selected ones that are fairly straightforward to follow. If crafting isn’t your thing, then why not have a go at one of the vintage recipes instead.

THERE IS A PRIZE TOO….

If you do make/bake any of the items featured below I would love to see the end result, so too will other readers of Come Step Back in Time.  Please e-mail me a photograph (JPEG format), your name and a short paragraph about your experiences making/baking it - which may be good, bad or humourous. I will select the best examples to showcase in an article, here on Come Step Back in Time, in Spring 2013.  My e-mail address can be found on the ‘About Me and Media Contact’ page.  Deadline for receipt of e-mail and image, is midnight (GMT) on Friday 1st March 2013 – so you do have plenty of time to complete your chosen project. I cannot wait to see how you all get on.

From the examples showcased in the article I will select one winner to be the ‘best in show’.  The ’best in show’ winner will receive one of my vintage, secondhand books.  I will send it to you wherever you are in the world - postage paid by myself! I have a large collection of incredible books so it will be something special, I promise. So, what are you waiting for, get creative…….

Peg-top kite diagram.

The Peg-top Kite

(The Motherhood Book, c.1932, Amalgamated Press, pp.700-701)

The best-known simple kite is the peg-top pattern.  It is of fairly small size and covered with tissue paper gummed to the frame; such a kite, a foot long, can be flown on stout thread as a line.  The frame consists of a relatively stiff wooden backbone, and a thin, flexible piece of split cane bent to a semicircle by a string arranged like a bowstring.  The centre of the bow is lashed to the top of the backbone, and strings are run from the horns of the bow to the bottom of the back-bone; these strings, however, are not too tight, as the strain is to be taken on the bowstring.

After the frame is covered, a piece of string double the length of the kite has its two ends tied to the backbone, one near each end.  This is the bridle, and the kite line is tied to it so that the upper arm of the bridle is shorter than the lower.  The rig of the kite is completed by a tail, to which convention consigns the form of a string two or three times the length of the kite, tied to the bottom of the backbone and having screws of paper tied to it at intervals; a strip of fabric, however, answers the purpose equally well, being more durable and less trouble to fix.

Home-made peg-top kites sometimes have a rigid wooden member instead of the bowstring.  This is a mistake, as it tends to prevent the horns of the bow from bending backwards under the air pressure, as they must do to give the dihedral angle effect needful for stability.

The adjustments that have to be made consist in varying the amount of tail to be carried and the point of the bridle at which the line is tied on; the kite will not fly unless these adjustments are made suitable to the speed at which the wind is travelling.

The peg-top pattern is inconvenient in large sizes, as it cannot well be taken to pieces for travelling.  A modified form of it is therefore used in which the bowstring is replaced by a straight and particularly flexible stick and the bow omitted, the frame thus consisting of two wooden members arranged in the form of a cross, with a surrounding edge of string tied in succession to the four ends of the sticks.  If this frame is covered with a light cotton fabric it can easily be arranged so that the sticks may be removed and the whole rolled up for transport.  The same adjustments as in the case of the peg-top kit are needed in order to secure for it a satisfactory stability.

Rabbit Soft Toy

(The Motherhood Book, c.1932, Amalgamated Press, pp.670-671)

The main part of the body and the head are cut in one, but the under part and the ears are added separately.  A quarter of a yard of cloth, 48 inches wide, is needed, together with a little pink silk material for lining the ears.

Pattern for toy rabbit.

When cutting out, use the cloth folded with the selvedges together, and arrange the pattern, cut to the shape shown, in the positions seen.

It is necessary first to join the long straight seam of the base or under part; then take it, still folded, so that the seam runs along the top, but with the wrong side inside, and slip it between the two layers of the main body.  The latter should be so put together that the right sides face.

Stitch the edges of each layer of the base to the edges of each layer of the main part, matching edges neatly, and also drawing the curved back part of the base down to the lower edge of the main part.  Next stitch the two main parts of the body together above the inserted base portions, commencing at the front just below the head, and working around this along the top of the body to the back of the inserted base.

Leave a small opening in the part of this seam, however, so that the stuffing may be put in.  Turn the shape inside out, stuff it tightly with kapok;  and sew up opening.  Line each ear with silk; then make a pleat in the straight edge and sew it to the head.  Insert two eyes. [Plastic animal eyes are easily brought from a craft shop or on-line store. These modern eyes will need to be inserted before you commence stuffing the toy. If you intend making the toy to give to a child/baby then not all man-made or natural stuffing is safe. I found an interesting article on the website 'FunkyFriendsFactory', about toy-making which you may find helpful when choosing materials for your rabbit. CLICK HERE.].

Knitted Bed Socks

(Woman’s Weekly, November 4th, 1911, p. 4)

Cast on eighty stitches for lady’s and ninety for gentleman’s socks.  Knit four plain rows, increasing one at each end of the rows.  Then knit ten or twelve rows (knit two, purl two) to form the width of the foot.  Begin the intakes by knitting two together twice in the centre of every row.  Do this for about eighteen or twenty rows, afterwards knit without decreasing, ten more rows, cast off, and sew up.

Knitted Bath Mat

(Stitchcraft, September 1947, p.9)

The original mat measures 20 by 26 inches.  It is knitted from end to end in an easy loop stitch, and can be made very quickly by even the most amateur worker.

12 ozs of thick knitting cotton are used here, but you may find the quantity you use may be slightly different, as these knitting cottons vary very much.  So we give you here the stitch you use first of all; just try a bit to make sure. Tighten loops as you knit.

Cast on 8 stitches on the largest needles you have, about size 5 will do; use the yarn double.  1st row: Work loops thus: – k. 2 border sts., * put needle into next st. without knitting it, put forefinger of left hand under point of right needle and wrap yarn over right needle point and round finger in opposite way to knitting, then round needle again, draw through stitch on left needle, put these on left needle, then knit all sts. again as 1 st.; repeat from * to last 2 sts., k. 2.

2nd row: k. 2, purl to last 2 sts., k. 2. These two rows form the pattern. Repeat them in a few times to make a piece about 2 inches.

Now measure the tension of your work over the back, and work out how many sts. you will need to cast on to get a width of 20 inches.  For example, if you have 3 sts. to an inch you will need 60 sts.  The mat you see here had just under 2 sts. to an inch, so 45 sts. were cast on.

When you have done 9 inches in pattern, work 5 sts. in centre of the work in plain stocking-stitch, keeping remainder in pattern as before, for 8 inches, then finish off with another 9 inches of pattern. Cast off.

With a length of contrasting wool, embroider ‘bath’ across the plain centre piece, then work all round the edge in buttonhole-stitch.

Knitted Scarves

(What’s New in Knitting by Patons & Baldwins Ltd, 1958, p.24)

Tubular knitting on only 2 needles. The secret is how you can knit on one pair of needles a double fabric often used for scarves which has the appearance of a tube of stocking stitch seamed together at both ends. This fabric is easy to knit, and simply consists of one row.

Cast on double the number of stitches required for the finished width, e.g. if you are working at a tension of 8 sts. to the inch in stocking stitch (3-ply on a size 11 needle), you would need 80 sts. for a 10-inch width in ordinary stocking stitch, therefore would cast on 160 sts. for tubular knitting.

Cast on an even number of sts.

1st and every row – * K. 1, bring wool to front, slip 1 purlwise, take wool to back; repeat from * all across row.

Suggestions for scarves:

For a light-weight scarf in 2-ply, use No. 9 needles. Cast on 160 sts.

Work in tubular knitting for 46 inches. Cast off, knitting, 2 together, all across row. Fringe ends.

The ideal needle for 3-play is a size 8; 4-play a size 7, and double knitting a size 5.

Make Do And Mend – Two Old Dresses into a Coat-Frock

(Make Do and Mend by The Board of Trade by The Ministry of Information, 1943, p. 25)

Here is an idea for a dark woollen dress that is worn in front and is too tight for you.  Open it from neck to hem and finish the edges neatly, turning hem in and rounding them up to the neck, unless you like to turn down the points at the neck as revers.  Then use the best part of the silk from an old printed dress or any other material you may have in a contrasting colour, and gather it in a panel down the front, fastening it under the edges of the dark material to give the effect of a Redingote worn over a dress.  This is very suitable for maternity wear.

You could use the bodice of the figured silk frock to make a blouse.  It will probably be worn under the arms, or you wouldn’t be cutting it up, but there should be ample material left over in the skirt after making the panel for the coat-frock to put in new short sleeves and a yoke to the blouse.

Edwardian home sweetmaking.

Marshmallows

Tipped to be THE sweet of 2013, be on trend!

(Highclass Sweetmaking: Chocolates, Candies and Dessert Bonbons by May Whyte, 1909, p. 77)

Ingredients: 10 ozs granulated sugar; 1/4 pint water; 3/4 oz powdered gelatine; 1 dessertspoonful glucose and 1/4 pint water and orange flower water mixed (4 dessertspoonfuls orange flower water is sufficient).

Method: Put the gelatine in the water and orange flower water, then dissolve it in a fairly large pan over gentle heat, and set it aside.  In another pan put the sugar, water, and glucose, dissolve in usual way, and boil to 260 degrees.  Rewarm the pan containing gelatine and pour the boiled sugar into it, beating briskly with an egg whisk; after a minute or two add the stiffly beaten white of an egg, then whip the batch till it gets white and stiff (takes about 15 minutes), leave it in pan for half an hour, then run a thin knife round the sides of pan, and turn it out on to dry sifted icing sugar.  Leave it for an hour or  for some hours, then rub it over with icing sugar, then with large scissors cut it into squares, and rub each square with icing sugar.  Leave these exposed to the air in a warm room for two or three days, then keep in a tin lined with kitchen paper.  Any kind of nuts, if ground, can be added to the batch while beating it.  Various flavours can be used, such as vanilla, rose, chocolate, strawberry, or coffee.

To Mould Chocolate Eggs

Get ready for Easter, which this year is on Sunday 31st March, 2013

(Highclass Sweetmaking: Chocolates, Candies and Dessert Bonbons by May Whyte, 1909, pp. 55-6)

Have [melted chocolate] covering at same temperature as for dipping.  Pour some into the mould, and run it all round the mould to line it well, then empty out the surplus chocolate.  When almost setting, with a knife push some of the chocolate up round the edge – to form a wider rim. Then when the chocolate is quite firm and set take a very sharp knife and pare the edge of the mould quite clear, then give lightly a little jerk or squeeze to the mould each way, then turn it upside down and tap the edge on the marble, and the chocolate egg will drop out.  Fill inside of egg with toy, sweets, motto, etc. Damp round edges of shell with warm chocolate, insert a loop of ribbon or cord to hang egg by, and press the moulds together and let set.

Rich Cream Chocolates

(Highclass Sweetmaking: Chocolates, Candies and Dessert Bonbons by May Whyte, 1909, pp. 64-5)

Ingredients: 1 dessertspoonful of glucose; 1 and 1/4lb granulated sugar; 1/2 oz fresh butter; Saffron [yellow] colouring; 1/2 pint good cream; small 1/2 pint cold water; vanilla flavour.

Method: Dissolve the sugar in the water in usual way, add the glucose and butter, and the cream poured in slowly, and carefully stirred all the time, until the thermometer registers 236 degrees.  Pour into a basin which has been rinsed out with cold water, and when half cold, add colour and flavour and stir with a wooden spoon until it creams.  Cover it with wax paper and a towel and leave for twenty minutes, then work it soft and mellow, and make into centres, and when these are cold and firm cover them either with chocolate, or make them into suffed fondants.

I was recently asked to create a blancmange banquet. Here are some of the results.

Orange Blancmange 

Another hot trend for 2013 – Jelly has had its revival, now it is all about blancmange.

(Practical Cookery for All  by Anding B. et al, c.1950, p.406 – original recipe was for lemon blancmange.)

Ingredients: 1 pint milk; zest of two oranges; pinch of salt; 1  oz sugar;  1  oz cornflour;  1/2  oz custard powder.

Method: Pour about three-quarters of the milk into a saucepan, add the orange zest, salt and sugar and bring to the boil slowly.  Mix the cornflour and custard powder to a smooth paste with the remaining cold milk. Pour the boiling milk on to the mixed cornflour, stirring well.  Return to the saucepan over a low flame, and boil, stirring continuously for a few minutes – until it thickens.  Pour into a lightly oiled mould.  When set, turn out on to a table dish and serve when ready.

My strawberry blancmange with a vintage twist.

My crème de menthe blancmange.

Orange Sauce for Blancmange

(Brown and Polson’s Recipe Book, c.1920, p.12)

Ingredients: 1/4 oz cornflour; 1 orange – juiced and zested; 2 ozs loaf sugar; juice of half a lemon; 1/2 pint water.

Method: Rub the sugar on the orange to absorb the zest.  Put sugar and zest into a saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil slowly and boil for three minutes. Strain through muslin, return to the saucepan, and add the lemon and orange juice. Blend the cornflour with a little cold water, and add it to the liquid when boiling.  Boil for three minutes. When cold, pour round the blancmange.

My crème de menthe blancmange gilded with antique gold (edible) cake decoration.

How to turn-out a blancmange from its mould.

Marrow Chutney

(Practical Cookery for All  by Anding B. et al, c.1950, p.480)

Ingredients: 3lb Marrow; salt; 12 peppercorns; 1/4 oz bruised ginger; cinnamon and allspice; 1/2 lb shallots; 1/2 lb green apples; 1/2 lb sultanas; 1 1/2 pints vinegar; 8 0zs sugar.

Method: Cut up the marrow and put it into a basin.  Sprinkle two teaspoonfuls of salt over it and leave for twelve hours.  Drain well and rinse. Tie the peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon and allspice in a muslin bag. Peel the shallots and apples and chop them finely.  Place all the ingredients except sugar in a saucepan and bring them slowly to the boil.  Allow to simmer gently until almost cooked, add the sugar and boil until a syrupy consistency. Remove the bag of spices. Pour the mixture into a [sterilised] jar and cover.

Redcurrant and Cherry Jam

(French Country Cooking by Elizabeth David, 1963 [1951], p. 189)

Put 4lb of redcurrants into a pan without any water and stir them over a gentle flame until the juice comes out.  Strain through a muslin without pressing the fruit so that the juice is clear.  There should be about 2lb of juice.  For this amount stone 4lb of cherries, and make a syrup with 6 lb of sugar and 3 glasses of water; put the cherries into the syrup and let it boil gently until the syrup sets, when put on to a cold plate.  Now add the redcurrant juice, let the whole mixture boil again, and the jam is ready to put into [sterilised] pots. These jams made of mixed fruits are very much liked in France, and are often served, with fresh cream, as a dessert.

Mary Berry preparing her pineapple ice-cream in 1972.

Pineapple Ice Cream – 1970s style

(Popular Freezer Cookery by Mary Berry, 1972, p. 94)

Ingredients: 1 medium-size fresh pineapple; juice of 1 and 1/2 lemons; 1/4 pint water; 6 0zs castor sugar; 1/2 pint double cream, lightly whipped.

Method: Cut the pineapple in half lengthways, and cut out the hard-core down the centre of each side.  Keep the pineapple shells. With a grapefruit knife or a sharply pointed spoon, scoop out all flesh and chop finely, saving the juice.  Mix the chopped pineapple, juice, and lemon juice together.  Dissolve the sugar with the water in a pan over low heat, then cool.  Add the sugar syrup to the pineapple and pour into a rigid container. To Freeze: cover and freeze until almost set then turn mixture into a bowl and whisk until broken up and light. Fold in the cream and return to container.  Cover, label and freeze until required. To Thaw: thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes. To Serve: scoop out ice-cream with a metal spoon that has been dipped in boiling water. Serve in pineapple shells. Note: a blender speeds up this recipe. Put the pineapple flesh, any juice and lemon juice in a blender, switch on for 2 minutes, then add cooled sugar syrup. (Serves 6).

Russian Gingerbread

(More Everyday Dishes by Elizabeth Craig (Ed.), for Tate & Lyle, c. 1935 p. 47)

Ingredients:  1/2 lb flour; 2 ozs castor sugar; 1 oz blanched almonds; 1 egg (well beaten); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves; 3 ozs melted butter; 2 tablespoons golden syrup; 2 ozs crystallized ginger; pinch of salt; 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice; 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger; milk.

Method: Grease a shallow baking tin. Sift flour into a basin with spice, salt and soda.  Stir in other dry ingredients and ginger finely minced.  Add syrup, egg, butter and enough milk to make a running batter. Beat till smooth. Pour into tin, dredged with flour.  Decorate with split blanched almonds.  Bake in a slow oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Raisinet – A Preserve For Winter

(A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes by Charles E. Francatelli, 1861, pp.54 – 55)

Ingredients: 12 lbs of fruit, consisting of peeled apples, pears, plums, and blackberries, in equal proportion; 6 lbs of raw sugar; one quart of water.

Method: Bake three hours in a slack or slow oven; First, prepare the fruit, and put it in mixed layers of plums, pears, berries, apples, alternating each other, in stone jars.  Next, put the 6 lbs of sugar in a clean saucepan, with the quart of water, and stir it with a spoon on the fire till it comes to a gentle boil; remove the dirty scum from the surface of the sugar; and, after allowing it to boil for ten minutes, pour it in equal proportions into the jar or jars containing the fruits, and place them in a moderate heat to bake slowly for three hours at least.  When boiling the sugar for this purpose, remember that it is most prudent to use a saucepan capable of containing double the quantity, as sugar is very liable to boil over and waste.  When the fruit is nearly dissolved, the raisinet will be done; it must then be removed to a cool place until it has become thoroughly cold and partially set firm; the jars should then be tied down with thick paper and kept in the cellar for winter use, either for making puddings or tarts, or for spreading on bread for the children.

Good Woman’s Soup

(Mrs Beeton’s Everyday Cookery, 1936, p.129)

Ingredients: 1 quart of white stock, 1 white-heart lettuce, 1 thick slice of cucumber (the length of which must equal the breadth, so that a square block may be cut), a little tarragon and chervil (these may be omitted when not procurable), 1 oz of butter or good dripping, the yolks of 2 eggs, 1/4 of a pint of cream or milk, salt and pepper.

Method: Wash and shred the lettuce finely, cut the block of cucumber lengthwise into thin slices, and the slices into match-like strips.  Melt the butter or dripping, and fry the vegetables for about 5 or 6 minutes, then add the stock, salt and pepper, and boil slowly until the lettuce is tender (10 to 15 minutes).  Beat the yolks of the eggs, add to them the cream or milk.  Let the soup cool slightly, then pour in the yolks and cream, and stir until the soup thickens, but it must not boil or the eggs will curdle. Take 40 minutes to prepare and is sufficient for 4 persons.

Simnel Cake

(Mrs Beeton’s Everyday Cookery, 1936, p.575)

Ingredients: 1/2 lb of castor sugar, 6 ozs of butter, 1/2 lb of eggs (weighed in the shells), 1/2 lb of flour, 6 ozs of currants (cleaned), 2 ozs of peel - shredded; for the almond paste: 6 ozs of castor sugar, 3 ozs of ground almonds, 1 egg.

Method: Beat the butter and sugar to a cream, add each egg separately, stir in as lightly as possible the candied peel, currants and flour.  Work the sugar, ground almonds, and egg to a stiff paste, and roll out to the size of the cake-tin.  Put half the cake mixture into a lined cake-tin, add the almond paste, and lastly a second layer of cake.  Bake in a moderate oven from 1 to 1  1/4 hours.  If preferred the cake mixture can be divided into three layers and the almond paste into two. Takes 2 hours to make and bake.

Aunt Betsey’s Cake

(Mrs Beeton’s Everyday Cookery, 1936, p. 565)

Ingredients: 5 teacupfuls of flour, 2 teacupfuls of sugar, 1/2 a cup of butter, 1 cup of golden syrup, 1 cup of water, 2 eggs, 1/2 lb of chopped raisins, 1 teaspoonful (each) of bicarbonate of soda, cloves, cinnamon, and mace.

Method: Beat the butter and sugar together; add the eggs, dissolve the soda in the water, then add the golden syrup, flour, spices and fruit, and work the mixture in the bowl.  Turn it into a greased flat square tin baking-dish and bake in a moderate oven, or if preferred in small crinkled patty-pans. Takes 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours to make and bake.

Baroness Pudding

(Mrs Beeton’s Everyday Cookery, 1936, pp. 436-437)

Ingredients: 6 ozs of finely chopped suet, 6 ozs of flour, 6 ozs of raisins (stoned), 1/4 pint of milk, 1/2 saltspoonful of salt.

Method: Mix all the dry ingredients together, add the milk and stir well.  Put into a well-greased basin, and boil or steam for about 3 hours.  Serve with any suitable sweet sauce, or with a little sugar. Takes about 3 and 3/4 hours to make and is sufficient for 4 persons.

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Milestones – Hampshire’s Living History Museum

Milestones – Hampshire’s Living History Museum, Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Situated on the outskirts of Basingstoke, Milestones is Hampshire’s Living History Museum. I was recently invited to spend a day there, meeting Museum staff. Afterwards, I enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the atmospheric cobbled streets, visiting buildings and shops that have been recreated from a bygone era.

A well-stocked Co-op shop at Milestones. The Co-op were one of the first high-street retailers to pre-package many of the goods they sold.

Milestones is a relatively new Museum and was the vision of curator Gary Wragg. In 1996, a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, of over £6 million, was awarded to build a Museum that celebrated Hampshire’s rich industrial and social heritage.  The new building also enabled some of the vast collection of objects housed in the county’s museum store to be put on display, for the very first time, in one location. Milestones was opened on 1st December 2000 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The Museum has since gone from strength to strength and in 2003 was awarded the National Heritage Museum of the Year Social and Industrial History Award.

A Victorian chemist’s shop window. Milestones.

There are over twenty-one thousand objects on display at Milestones from the Victorian era to the 1940s.  It is a pure delight for anyone with a passion for history, no matter what your age, to be able to enjoy domestic and industrial artefacts in their appropriate context.  In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the county of Hampshire was an extremely important centre for industrial manufacture and Milestones showcases this superbly.

1956 record player in ‘You Must Remember This’. This record player was called ‘Snow White’s Coffin’ due to the fact that the functions are clearly visible through the Perspex cover. Designed by Dieter Rams and made by Braun.

A 1960s kitchen. ‘You Must Remember This’, Milestones.

One of my favourite areas of Milestones was ‘You Must Remember This’. Room settings from the 1930s-1970s designed to encourage the visitor to talk about their own memories. Above image is the 1940s kitchen.

I asked the Commercial Activities Manager at Milestones, Louise Mackay, what exhibits are most popular with visitors?: ‘The steam locomotives are a favourite with all ages but the 1940s exhibits are probably our most popular at the moment. I think that one of the reasons is our older visitors can still identify with this period. Over the last few years, interest in all things vintage has also helped raise awareness of this era. In fact earlier this month we hosted our first Blackout Party. An after hours event for adults, with a 1940s theme. Guests listened to music from the era and many came dressed in Forties clothes. We had about four hundred guests. Next summer we are hoping to host another Vintage Festival here and expect this to be as popular with our visitors as the one we held in June.’

The historic Fire Station at Milestones. Children can dress-up in a Fireman’s outfit and climb on board a Fire Engine.

Milestones is divided into court yards, main streets and back streets which gives the visitor the experience of walking around an established town. In Anna Valley Place, enter Waterloo Ironworks and discover the history of W. Tasker & Sons Ltd, an engineering firm that was based near to Andover, Hampshire. Taskers was established in 1813 and for one hundred and seventy years became the leading manufacturer of a wide range of agricultural implements. In the Thornycroft works shed there is a large collection of vehicles manufactured by this Basingstoke firm. Another important industrial firm was Wallis & Steevens, based in Basingstoke at Station Hill. Founded in 1856 and during its one hundred and twenty-five years of trading they designed steam engines, tractors, wagons and road rollers. They were particularly known for their steam and petrol rollers.

This object caught my eye in the jeweller’s and watchmaker’s shop. It is a bracket clock in a gilt brass case by J. R. Arnold. English, London. c.1843. The clock would once have been covered by a glass dome.

On the main High Street you can take visit a wide range of shops stocked with artefacts from times past. Every type of trade is represented, greengrocer, ironmonger, jeweller and watchmaker, Co-operative Society, Post-Office, milliner, saddlery, sweet shop, cycle shop, gas showroom, garage, a pub, chemist, photographer, toy shop and many more besides.

The streets are filled with vintage vehicles and there is even a railway station which is a replica of the former Chesil Street Station in Winchester complete with a Governess Cart setting-down its passengers for an afternoon departure.

A station porter greets a Governess, her charge and mistress at Chesil Street Station Winchester. Milestones.

A free hand-held audio guide is also available for visitors. This provides additional background information on the exhibits and helps to bring the settings to life.  I must praise the curatorial team who have avoided the common mistake, so often made with this type of museum, of creating a historical ‘theme park’. The costumed interpreters are not intrusive or pushy but extremely knowledgeable about their particular era and most importantly have a genuine passion for bringing the past alive and to as wider audience as possible. It is with this talented group of individuals that I found the heart and soul of Milestones.

The 1940s sweet shop at Milestones.

Armed with my penny and mini ration book sheet, which visitors can obtain from the gift shop, I was escorted to the 1940s sweet shop by Kate, one of the superb costumed interpreters. The delightful young lady explained to me the idea behind this particular exhibit: ‘We would like visitors to experience a traditional sweet shop during World War Two when rationing was in place. They can select one type of sweet from the selection on offer here and for your penny you will get two ounces of sweets. We then mark-off your ration sheet to show you have had your weekly allowance. Two ounces were the weekly sweet ration in the 1940s. There is no chocolate available in this sweetshop either.’

Sweets were rationed in Britain from 26th July 1942 to 5th February 1953. Chocolate was rationed from 1941. The government banned manufacturers from using fresh milk. Consequently, Ration Chocolate was all that was available and this was made using dried skimmed milk powder.

Inside the 1940s sweet shop. Milestones.

Kate told me about the origin of various sweets that we all know and love today.  I didn’t realise that ‘Jelly Babies’ were originally known as ‘Peace Babies’.  Bassett’s created ‘Peace Babies’ in 1918, to mark the end of World War One. During World War Two, production ceased and in 1953 the popular sweet was re-launched as ‘Jelly Babies’.  I chose two ounces of Jelly Babies.

The sweet shop is staffed by a team of dedicated volunteers and open on weekdays 1-3pm and weekends, bank holidays and school holidays 12-4pm.  One of the volunteers told me why she enjoyed working in the shop so much: ‘It is the stories that we are told by some of our older customers who remember similar sweet shops during the War. One particular customer told me that when she was a child, her town was badly bombed one night. The next day she discovered that in addition to the homes that were destroyed in her neighbourhood, the sweet shop had also suffered the same fate. It was the loss of the local sweet shop that she had found particularly upsetting.  Another customer told me that when she got her weekly sweet rations she would choose sweets that she could cut in half so that they lasted longer. I also enjoy seeing grandparents talking to their grandchildren about their memories of Wartime and rationing. It is lovely to see such interactions between the different generations.’

In 1967, famous chocolate manufacturers, Bendicks, moved to premises in Winchester, Hampshire. Bendicks were established in 1930 by Mr Oscar Benson and Colonel ‘Bertie’ Dickson and began production in 1931 from a tiny basement beneath 184 Church Street, Kensington, London. In 1962, Bendicks received the much coveted Royal Warrant.  Bendicks dark English mint batons use Black Mitcham peppermint that is grown at a farm in the foothills of the Hampshire Downs.

Below are a few sweet brands that you might know, together with the year they first went on sale:

1881 – Rowntree’s Crystallised gums (later became Fruit Pastilles)

1887 – Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate

1899-1900 – Seaside rock first produced

1909 – Maynard’s Wine Gums

1911 – Wrigley’s Chewing Gum

1914 – Fry’s Turkish Delight

c.1918 – Fox’s Glacier Mins

1935 – Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisps (became Kit Kat in 1937)

1938 – Cadbury’s Roses

1951 – Bounty (Mars)

1959 – Mars’ Opal Fruits

1967 – Mars’ Twix

(Milestones, Living History Museum)

Inside the 1930s gramophone shop. Milestones.

Kate then accompanied me across the pretty cobble streets to the 1930s gramophone record shop.  This shop really is something special, a stunning interior packed to the rafters with home entertainment objects from a bygone era. Visitors select a record, from a large choice presented in a catalogue, to be played on a 1928 gramophone.  I just couldn’t decide, so asked Kate to choose her favourite, which was ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ (1932).

Costumed interpreter Kate puts a record on the gramophone. Milestones.

The playing of this record instantly transported us both back to our respective childhoods, only difference is that our household didn’t have a gramophone in it.  Kate told me: ‘I remember as a child that there was a gramophone in our home. My parents were very interested in history and vintage objects. I think that is one of the reasons why I have such a passion for the bringing the past alive. Nowadays, in these difficult economic times, people are looking back to a time when everything seemed to be more wholesome, better.’

Costumed interpreter Dickon, as a 1920s road repair workman in his ‘living van’. This van is often on display at outside events and Dickon assures me that the cooking range works really well. I would love to have had a go at cooking on it! Milestones.

I also spoke with another costumed interpreter, Dickon.  Dickon has worked at Milestones for seven years and his specialist areas of interest are transport history and industrial heritage.  I asked Dickon whether he had always been interested in living history?: ‘Yes, very much.  I come from an art and design background originally but inherited my love of transport history from my father who has been collecting vintage cars for over thirty years.  I also own a 1929 Austin 7.  I often attend vintage events in my spare time and have a Wing Commanders uniform that I wear when I am driving my Austin 7.’

Steam roller by Wallis & Steevens, 1927, used for road repairs. Milestones.

Dickon has a number of different characters that he interprets at Milestones, including a 1930s car salesman. However, on the day of my visit his persona was a road repair man from the late 1920s.  Dickon explained that during this period, workmen would travel up and down the country with their steam roller and towed ‘living van’.  I asked Dickon what his favourite exhibit at Milestones was?: ‘The 1903 motorcar by Thornycroft of Basingstoke. It is the oldest Thornycroft motorcar in existence.  It is a 10hp, two-cylinder and has had its bodywork completely restored. Luckily, we had the original drawings for the vehicle which helped considerably in the restoration process. The paintwork is not sprayed but all painted by hand. I particularly like the beautiful wooden spokes on the wheels, such attention to detail. The first owner of this car was Reverend H. A. Acheson-Gray. I haven’t driven the car myself but it is one of my dreams to be able to do so.’

Thornycroft of Basingstoke are probably best known for their shipbuilding, marine engineering and commercial vehicle endeavours.  However, between 1903 and 1912 they manufactured high quality motor cars. If you want to find-out more about Thornycroft’s car industry and read a full history of the 1903 car displayed at Milestones, which includes background on the restoration process, then CLICK HERE. 

Reverend H.A. Acheson-Gray takes his 1903, 10hp, Thornycroft motorcar to be repaired at the local blacksmith. For more information on Britain’s first village garages then you might be interested to read my previous article on the subject. CLICK HERE.

The penny arcade was so much fun! I changed a pound coin for some old-fashioned pennies. This private collection of vintage, penny arcade machines and automata is on loan to Milestones until September 2013.

Vintage penny slot machine. Milestones.

I put my penny in the slot and asked Madam Zasha for a reading. Automata, such as this, were very popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

Madam Zasha gives her verdict.

Milestones is such a wonderful day-out for visitors of all ages who are interested in history and vintage or just want a slice of good old-fashioned nostalgia. There is a well-stocked gift shop with a wide range of history books too and a 1950s style café for you to rest your weary legs.  For adults there is even a working Edwardian pub, Baverstock Arms (but do check its opening times upon arrival).  Alton-born James Baverstock (1741-1815) was a Brewer and thought to be the first person to make use of a hydrometer in the brewing process. In 1769 he married Jane Hinton, daughter of the Reverend John Hinton of Chawton, Hampshire with whom he had a large family and plenty of heirs to carry on his brewery business for him.

If you are looking for somewhere to visit over the Christmas period then the good news is Milestones will be open. The Museum is easily accessible by both car and public transport. I can vouch for the latter as this was how I chose to travel there.  Basingstoke is only forty-five minutes by train from London Waterloo. A shuttle bus (by Courtney Buses www.courtneybuses.com) runs at regular intervals from outside Basingstoke Railway Station to Milestones (fare currently costs £2 return). Because Milestones is all undercover, there is no need to worry about the weather spoiling your visit either.  All in all the perfect day out for the whole family. For further visitor, collection and event information, please CLICK HERE. Admission charges do apply.

Christmas Opening Times

• Sat 22 Dec and Sun 23 Dec: Open 11am–4.45pm
• Mon 24 Dec to Weds 26 Dec: CLOSED
• Thurs 27 to Mon 31 Dec: Weekdays open 10am–4.45pm, weekends 11am–4.45pm
• Tues 1 Jan: CLOSED
• Weds 2 to Sun 6 Jan: Weekdays open 10am–4.45pm, weekends 11am–4.45pm

Normal Opening Times

• Tue–Fri, Bank Holidays, 10am–4.45pm
• Sat and Sun, 11am–4.45pm
• Last admission 3.45pm
• Closed Monday.
  

  I spent ages in Collections Corner and fans of vintage will adore this section. It is chock-full of domestic technology objects. Here are some early twentieth century, electric, cookers.

A surviving rare example of a Tempera Permanent Wave Machine – heat clamp method by Wella. c.1946. Collections Corner. Milestones.

Vintage electric mixers. Collections Corner. Milestones.

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The Magic of Christmas Past – UK Events 2012

Carol singers at Blists Hill Victorian Town, Telford, Shropshire.

If you have been looking for a festive activity with a heritage twist, then search no more, I have done all the hard work for you.  Here are my recommendations for the best nostalgia events taking place, throughout the UK, over the next few weeks. All you have to do is choose an era then allow yourself to be transported back in time to celebrate the magic of Christmas past. There are events here to suit all ages and interests.

For information on each event, simply click on the relevant property address.

MEDIEVAL

• Medieval Christmas Market. Lincoln Medieval Bishops’ Palace, Minster Yard, Lincoln, Lincolnshire. Saturday 8th December (10am-9.30pm) and Sunday 9th December (10am-7pm). £1 entry charge for the market.

• Caerphilly Medieval Christmas Fayre. Caerphilly town centre, South Wales. Saturday 8th December (10am-5pm) and Sunday 9th December (10am-4pm). Apart from fifty market stalls there will be a hog roast, mulled wine, Medieval magician, dragon puppeteers, Jack the jester, dragon stilt walker. Father Christmas will be arriving on a horse and cart and travelling through the town centre to Caerphilly Castle.  Free (town centre only).

• The Medieval Christmas. Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens, Belsay, Nr Morpeth, Northumberland. Saturday 8th December and Sunday 9th December. Christmas gifts will be on sale and children can dress-up in Medieval costumes.  Re-enactors, Heuristics, will be giving lively presentations containing facts about Christmas during Medieval times. Presentations each day will take place at 11.15am, 12.30pm, 1.45 and 3pm. Charges apply but English Heritage members are free.

ELIZABETHAN

• Elizabethan Christmas. Plas Mawr, Conwy, Wales. Saturday 8th December (11am- 4pm) and Sunday 9th December (11am-4pm). Plas Mawr is a stunning Elizabethan house built between 1576 and 1585 for wealthy merchant Robert Wynn.  There will be mince pies, mulled wine, music and a range of other activities, plus a visit from a green Father Christmas! Charges apply.

REGENCY

• Jane Austen’s festive birthday. Jane Austen’s House Museum, Chawton, Alton, Hampshire. Come and celebrate Jane Austen’s birthday on Sunday 16th December (10.30am-4.30pm) in the pretty village of Chawton, rural Hampshire. Jane lived in Chawton, with her family, from 1809 until a shortly before her death in 1817. This atmospheric, 17th century house, is the perfect choice if you prefer a quieter slice of Christmas nostalgia.  On the day, visitors can enjoy a complimentary coffee and mince pie.  Free (for Sunday 16th December only).

VICTORIAN

• Victorian Christmas Weekends. Blists Hill Victorian Town,  Legges Way, Madeley, Telford, Shropshire. Saturday 8th December (10am-4pm), Sunday 9th December (10am-4pm), Saturday 15th December (10am-4pm) and Sunday 16th December (10am-4pm). If, like myself, you were riveted by the BBC series Victorian Pharmacy (2010) or simply have a passion for the Victorian era, then you will thoroughly enjoy celebrating Christmas in the atmospheric surroundings of Blists Hill Victorian Town.
  

  Blists Hill Victorian Town.  Christmas Grocers.

  Step back in time and be treated to an array of traditional celebrations from the 1800s, listen to stories of life more than one hundred years ago and do some Christmas present shopping. Gifts on offer around the town will include traditionally made cast-iron paperweights and doorstops, handmade plaster decorations and even rocking horses, all produced in the Gorge by skilled craftsmen and women. There will also be a huge range of unusual items in the museum gift shop.

  

  Victorian Christmas celebrations at Blists Hill Victorian Town. Duke of Sutherland Cottage.

  Mr Morton’s Christmas Celebrations will once again see the magnificent Iron Rolling Mill transformed into a place for a ‘workers Christmas party’. Here visitors will be able to enjoy festive food and a wide variety of seasonal entertainment, such as Christmas songs, Punch and Judy and even a magic show. You can also sing-a-long with carol singers and listen to brass bands around the town, which will be festooned with traditional Christmas decorations as the townsfolk prepare seasonal goodies and make traditional Victorian presents.Families will have the option of visiting Father Christmas (extra charge in addition to entrance fee). Across on The Green, they will also be able to see and pet Father Christmas’ reindeer before their mammoth journey around the world on Christmas Eve. Charges apply.

  

  Blists Hill Victorian Town. Pet a reindeer at one of this year’s Victorian Christmas Weekends.

• A Victorian Christmas. Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner, London. Saturday 8th December (11am-4pm) and Sunday 9th December (11am-4pm). Home to the Duke of Wellington after his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, located near to Hyde Park and Wellington Arch. See how the dinner table would have been laid for a Victorian Christmas feast and get into the festive spirit with traditional music and dance from the period. Charges apply but English Heritage members are free.

• A Very Victorian Christmas. Tudor House and Garden, Southampton, Hampshire. Saturday 15th December (10am-5pm) and Sunday 16th December (10am-5pm). On both days, in two separate sessions (10.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm), there will be Christmas crafts family workshops where you can make a Victorian-inspired peg doll angel or a reindeer spoon puppet. You can also meet Father Christmas and his helpers in the grotto. Charges apply but if you download a special voucher one child (6-16) goes free when accompanied by a full paying adult.
  

  Osborne House, Isle of Wight.

• Festive Guided Tours – Queen Victoria’s royal retreat. Osborne House, York Avenue, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. Osborne House will be beautifully decorated throughout the Christmas period and festive guided tours are available Wednesdays to Sundays (except 26th December) until Sunday 6th January 2013. The expert guide will tell you how Christmas was celebrated at Osborne when Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their nine children were in residence. It is essential to pre-book your place on the tour by calling 01983 200022 or their bookings mobile 0777 526 5278 (standard mobile rates apply). The House is open at 10am and closes at 4pm, the last tour is at 2.30pm.  Charges apply but English Heritage members are free. Even if you are an English Heritage member you must still book pre-book your place on a tour.

WORLD WAR TWO

• Evacuee Christmas Party. St. Barbe Museum, Lymington, Hampshire. Saturday 22nd December (10.30am-3.30pm). Experience Christmas through the eyes of an Evacuee. There will be free children’s activities and traditional music and games in a community air-raid shelter. After all that excitement there will be an afternoon tea of traditional party food. If you come dressed as an Evacuee you will get free entry to the museum otherwise, normal charges apply.

CHRISTMAS – MULTI-PERIOD

• The Museum at Christmas. Weald & Downland Museum, Chichester, West Sussex. Wednesday 26th December until Tuesday 1st January 2013 (10.30am-4pm).  If you cannot decide on one particular era and have not got time to fit a heritage event in before Christmas Day, then this annual event at Weald & Downland Open Air Museum is the perfect choice.  Experience the traditions of Christmas past and discover how our forebears enjoyed the festive season. The Museum has fifty rescued buildings covering the time period, c.1300 to c.1910 all set in the beautiful Lavant Valley. Many of the houses will be traditionally decorated and have crackling log fires. Charges apply.

Father Christmas reading letters and Christmas lists at Milestones.

THE TRADITIONAL FATHER CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE

• This year, Milestones, a Living History Museum near Basingstoke, Hampshire is bringing back the traditional Father Christmas experience. Not a hint of commercialisation, just lovely, old-fashioned charm where children can meet Farther Christmas in a magical setting.
  

  Father Christmas in his grotto at Milestones.

  

  Following her visit to his grotto, a delighted little girl receives her gift from Father Christmas. Milestones.

  His grotto will be located in the heart of this superb Museum, surrounded by buildings and shops from the Victorian era through to the 1940s. After meeting Father Christmas, you can take a family stroll through the full size, cobbled streets and make a visit to the 1940s sweetshop where you can exchange your penny for 2 0zs of sweets, this was the weekly ration allowed during World War Two. The sweetshop is open from 1pm-3pm weekdays and 12noon-4pm at Weekends, Bank Holidays and during the school holidays. There are also friendly costumed interpreters who will delight and enchant you with tales of days gone by.

  

  Milestones. The 1940s living-room decorated for Christmas.

  

  Milestones Living History Museum, Basingstoke.

  Pre-booking to meet Father Christmas is essential – Telephone: 01256 477766. Each child will receive a gift from Father Christmas.  It costs £3 per child, aged 0-15, to visit Father Christmas plus the normal entry charges. He visits Milestones on the following dates:

Saturday 8 December
Sunday 9 December
Saturday 15 December
Sunday 16 December
Saturday 22 December
Sunday 23 December

Details of opening times at Milestones over the Christmas period can be found here.

Chesil Street Station decorated for Christmas. Milestones Living History Museum.

I wonder who the Christmas parcels are for? Milestones Living History Museum.

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Vintage Mobile Cinema

Regular readers of Come Step Back in Time know that I love to find vintage bygones that are quirky and have a fascinating back story.  When I spotted a Vintage Mobile Cinema parked-up in Southampton’s Guildhall Square, I simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to find-out more. 

The Vintage Mobile Cinema is a true British transport heritage gem, owned by Emma Giffard and Ollie Halls. The unit was built in the late 1960s for the government by The Ministry of Technology.   Originally, there were seven custom mobile cinema units in the fleet but Emma and Ollie’s is thought to be the only one still in existence. These mobile cinemas toured Britain promoting modern production techniques to British industry and were operated by the Production Engineering Research Association (PERA). When the fleet was launched in 1967, it cost the government a staggering £1million.

Arts graduate Ollie purchased the mobile cinema eight years ago when it was in a pretty rundown state. Ollie always wanted to own a mobile cinema and poured his heart, soul and money into renovating this one, bringing it lovingly back to life.  It took him five years of part-time hard graft before restoration was finally complete. Ollie and Emma launched their mobile cinema business in Spring 2010. Ollie is rightly proud of what he has achieved: “I love it and am very glad that I did the restoration.”

The coachwork fitted to the Bedford SB chassis was supplied by Coventry Steel Caravans, a firm set-up by designer Clifford Dawtrey at the end of the 1930s.  Dawtrey previously worked as Chief Designer at Airlite Trailers of Coventry, prior to Airlite he had worked at the car manufacturer Jaguar (formerly SS).  He was a prolific industrial designer whose work contained elements drawn from two popular interwar design styles known as Streamline Moderne and Art Deco.  During World War II, Coventry Steel built trailer ambulances. After the war, further industrial commissions followed, including utilitarian mobile units which were used as clinics (dental and medical) and banks, the latter containing a clerk’s office and waiting-room.  Dawtrey also designed luxury touring caravans for the domestic consumer. One of the most popular caravans he designed was the Coventry Knight 48 and Ollie’s current restoration project is the renovation of a Coventry Knight. Ollie has had the privilege of meeting both Dawtrey’s son and grandson.

In 1967,  the cinema’s interior was masculine, utilitarian and functional, all earthy tones and harsh strip-lighting.  Today, the interior is bright and brimming with nostalgia.  It has seating for twenty-two people, although the original seats have long since been removed.  Ollie purchased the seats you see today from a reclamation yard and they are from the 1930s. This nod to art deco is a fitting tribute to Dawtrey’s early design ethic.  

One original feature that I find particularly intriguing is the streamlined, steel-framed, perspex glazed dome above the cab which once housed the remote-controlled projection equipment. Ollie pointed-out that the dome had been designed to let light in, which is unusual, projection rooms are normally pitch-black spaces from which all light has been banished.  The dome still has its original curtains that would have been pulled to block-out light when the projector was in use and left open to let light in when the cinema was in transit.  It is a striking design feature which certainly caught my eye across the Guildhall Square.

The projector you can now see in the dome is one manufactured by Bell & Howell (16mm), a model original to the 1960s and donated to Ollie by a film enthusiast. Although this projector works, films are now shown on the HD digital projection unit with Dolby 7:1 surround sound.

I asked Ollie what was the most unusual or remotest location that he has been to with the Vintage Mobile Cinema? He said: “A coastal peninsular in Essex as part of a community outreach event organised by Colchester Arts Centre. It was blowing a gale and raining hard but we still got an audience!”

If you want to hire or find-out more about the fabulous Vintage Mobile Cinema then please CLICK HERE.

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A Taste of History – St. Barbe Museum, Lymington.

‘A Taste of History Exhibition’, St. Barbe Museum, Lymington, Hampshire.

St. Barbe Museum‘s recent exhibition, ‘A Taste of History: Local Food and Farming’ (6th October-17th November 2012) took the visitor on a fascinating journey through the history of British food, from pre-historic times to the 1950s.  The exhibition is part of a year-long project organised by the museum’s staff and supported by a team of dedicated volunteers:

We may think that our obsession with celebrity chefs, new ingredients, food imports and diet are a very modern phenomenon, but food developments have been at the heart of our culture since the beginning of farming in the Stone Age.

( A Taste of History, exhibition panel, 2012)

St. Barbe Museum is located in the historic town of Lymington, which nestles on the edge of The New Forest National Park and hugs the Solent shoreline.  The town’s unique dual location has meant that for many centuries its residents have enjoyed both a marine and carnivorous diet.  In 1079, William the Conqueror (c.1028-1087) established the New Forest as a royal hunting ground and the Domesday Book (1086) even had a separate section for it.  (A Taste of History exhibition, 2012).

One of the former salt houses, still standing today, located on the Salterns near Lymington. The salt boiling houses were last used in 1865. Salt would have been transported to the houses by barges which also brought coal for the salt pan fires.

Lymington once had a thriving salt industry. Before the refrigerator, salt was used to preserve food, particularly meat and the exhibition included a section on its uses.  I was interested to discover that as soon as man stopped hunting salt became an important part of our diet. Previously, meat that had been procured by hunting would normally have been roasted thus ensuring that any salt would automatically be retained in the flesh.  When meat was farmed rather than hunted, boiling became the preferred cooking method. Boiling extracts salt, rendering the meat bland, adding salt to meat improves its taste. The demand for salt began to increase.  Salt was also used in the leather industry for tanning hides and in the treatment of wounds.  Edwardians loved salt pork – cured hams hanging in the pantry were a common sight.

Lymington’s salt industry was well-established by the Stuart period in England (1603-1714).  According to historian Jude James:

A visit to Lymington by the indefatigable Celia Fiennes (1662-1741) in the 1690s provides us with a very detailed description of the salt making processes.  In her account she writes of Lymington as having a few small ships but “the greatest trade is by their salterns” and she gives details of the liquor being conveyed through pipes into iron or copper pans situated in buildings [salt houses] where it was evaporated by furnaces blazing beneath to keep them boiling rapidly.  She states that up to 60 quarters of salt could be made in a single pan beneath which the furnace was kept burning day and night.

(James, J., 2006 [1996], The Salt Industry of Lymington and the Solent Coast, published by Lymington Museum Trust)

By the middle of the eighteenth century there were one hundred and forty-nine active salt pans.  Wealthy local businessman Charles St. Barbe (1750-1826) owned fifteen salt works and forty-eight pans, after salt taxes had been paid, he made a profit of £25,000 (£2.2 million in today’s money).  Salt tax was first introduced in England in 1694 and just over one hundred years later had risen to ten shillings per bushel and in 1805 was fifteen shillings per bushel.  The salt industry in Lymington had declined by the mid nineteenth century and by 1865 the boiling houses on the Salterns were forced to close due to the high cost of coal and cheaper rock salt being produced around Liverpool.

‘A Taste of History’ exhibition panels were full of so many fascinating facts about the history of food and here are some of my favourites examples:

• the first recipe book in Britain was introduced by the Romans in the 1st century AD, De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (I have found a translation of the cookbook on-line, CLICK HERE);
• the Romans were the first to introduce Sumptuary Laws which limited the number of dishes allowable at a meal and banned the eating of stuffed dormice;
• a popular Roman delicacy was boiled flamingo with thick sauce made from dates and spices;
• Roman soldiers were paid some of their wages in salt – salt money or a ‘salarium’ from which the word ‘salary’ derives;
• Romans brought to Britain carrots, cabbage, parsnips, turnips, endive, celery, lettuce, cucumbers, marrow, asparagus, onions, leeks, new varieties of plums, apples, damsons, cherries, herbs such as fennel, rocket, parsley, borage, dill, spearmint, aniseed, hyssop, rosemary, sage and sweet marjoram. That is quite an extraordinary list of food imports, we do have quite a lot to thank the Romans for in terms of improving our palate;
• during the Middle Ages (1066-1485) the diet of a Lord included a number of foods that we would find strange today. Beavers were a popular delicacy and because they swam using their tails they were technically thought of as fish, therefore enabling the Lord to eat them but still not fall foul of the strict fasting rules;
• John Bakere was thought to be the first butcher on Lymington High Street in 1391 and he operated from ‘shambles’ or wooden stallsin the market hall;
  

  Topps Butchers c1900, located at No. 20 High Street, Lymington. Topps were known for their pickled tongue. There was also a slaughterhouse behind the shop. The photograph is in the St. Barbe Museum Collection – 1994.78.

• in Lymington in 1726 butchers were forbidden from throwing guts of slaughtered beasts onto the street on pain of a 3s 4d fine.  Such was the dirt and filfth on the unmade High Street (from general waste, mud, and live dead animals) that in the eighteenth century, ladies would wear pattens, special platformed over-shoes, to protect their shoes and clothing;
  

  Drawing (1784) by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) of the kitchen at the inn at Lymington on the road to Pilewell. Rowlandson visited Lymington in 1784. In the trade directory for that year, Lymington had 4 butchers, 1 fruiterer, 6 bakers, 6 grocers, 2 pastry cooks and a wine merchant. The drawing is in the St. Barbe Museum Collection – LMGLM 2012.31.8.

• in the Medieval period a feast could have up to six thousand guests.  Peacocks were a feast favourite, they were plucked, cooked and sewn back into their feathers before serving.  Layered jellies were made, flowers such as violets and primroses were also used;
• in the seventeenth century mushrooms and runner-beans were introduced from Central America and grown ornamentally, along with bananas from Bermuda and grapefruits (called shaddocks) from the West Indies;
• in 1944, Sway (village close to Lymington) Women’s Institute reported that their Jam Centre that year they had made 193 lbs of A-Standard jam and jelly. Sway WI were obviously a most enterprising group and in 1944 The Rural Meat-Pie Scheme was set-up by one of their members. During its first year of existence Scheme records show that an incredible 28,318 pies were made and sold. This really is a remarkable feat considering food rationingwas in force;
  

  From the Dig for Victory display in the Wartime section of the exhibition.

• after the Second World War farming began to decline. By the end of the 1950s, tractors outnumbered horses by a ratio of two to one and approximately sixty farm workers per day were leaving agricultural employment.

A reversible linen smock which is the same front and back, so it could be turned inside-out when one side became dirty. Smocks fell-out of fashion amongst agricultural workers from the 1850s onwards. This smock is in the St. Barbe Museum Collection.

Throughout this year the Museum organised a large number of educational activities, in particular historical food days, eras and topics included: The Romans; jams and chutney; bread; wartime and the Tudors.  If you regularly follow my blog, then you will have already read my articles on Prehistoric Cooking with Jacqui Wood and An Invitation to a Stuart Banquet. Both of this days were part of this programme of events.

The Victorian farmhouse kitchen exhibit.

I also attended their Victorian food history day.  I took along my great, great grandmother’s copy of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management as well as my china tea set from 1845, some Victorian table linen and a late nineteenth century copper jelly mould.

Victorian kitchenalia, including my tea-set, linen, copper jelly mould and copy of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management.

I loved this object, a ‘memory tickler’, which was part of the Victorian farmhouse display. I think that this old-fashioned style shopping list would still prove popular if it were reproduced today. I’d definitely buy it. I also note that blancmange powder was considered a store cupboard staple then, most interesting.

There were plenty of activities to participate in and a local cook, who specialises in baking historical food, made some very tasty cakes based on original Victorian recipes -  a fill belly cake and a pound cake (see below for recipes).

Costumed museum guide at St. Barbe Museum’s Victorian day.

There were costumed museum guides, lots of vintage recipe books to browse through and an opportunity to make chocolate bon bons as well as a little gift box to take them away in.

The chocolate bon bons and little gift box that I made.

One of the highlights was a reading, by local actor Bruce Clitherow, of extracts from William Charles Retford’s (1875-1970) Memoirs of Growing-up in Ashley.  Retford’s Memoirs provide a wonderful glimpse of rural life in late Victorian Ashley and Burley, two villages not too far from Lymington.  Retford moved to London in 1982 to take-up an apprenticeship as a bow-maker for cellos and violins:

All good things come to an end.  In 1892 Arthur Hill, the violin maker, spent the weekend at the Old House and offered me a job.  By the end of March I was in a third floor back in New Bond Street cleaning fiddles and fitting pegs.  Unhappy and hard up.  After the first week I was taught nothing more for a year. “Thereby hangs a tale,” written but quite unprintable.  Cleaning fiddles was kids play to me.

(For a transcript of Retford’s Memoirs together with a more detailed biography of his extraordinary life, CLICK HERE.)

Local actor Bruce Clitherow reading from William Retford’s Memoirs of Growing-up in Ashley.

To accompany A Taste of History a lovely little book has been produced by staff and volunteers at the museum.  It contains recipes and notes from the exhibition, here is one entry in particular that caught my eye, a recipe for Saffron Bread:

Saffron Bread (A pre-Reformation Lenten bread)

For 1 loaf:

3/4 cups of milk; 12.5mg saffron; 1 packet of dried yeast; 60 ml lukewarm water; 450g strong white bread flour; 10mg salt; 2 eggs, lightly beaten.

Scald the milk with the saffron.  Let it cool.  Dissolve yeast in water. Sift together 300g of flour with the salt, spoon in eggs, milk and yeast mixture and blend.  Add enough flour to prevent it becoming sticky.  Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed.  Put in a greased bowl in a warmish place, leave to rise until it has doubled in bulk.  Punch down, shape in a round loaf.  Place on a greased baking sheet, leave to rise until it has again doubled in size.  Bake at 170C (375F) for 25-30 mins. then cool on a rack.

(A Taste of History: Celebrating food and farming throughout the ages, 2012,  St. Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, Lymington)

At the Victorian food history day there were lots of historical recipes to take away and try for yourself which was such a lovely touch. Another nice idea was an opportunity for a recipe swap, you could pin your handwritten family recipes on a noticeboard for others to see. Here a few of my favourite recipes that I discovered:

Eggless Sponge

150g self-raising flour; 5ml baking powder; 65g margarine; 50g sugar; 15ml golden syrup; 125ml milk or milk and water; jam for filling.

Sift the flour and baking powder.  Mix the margarine, sugar and golden syrup until light and soft.  Add a little flour and then a little milk or milk and water and mix it in.  Continue adding the flour and liquid like this until the mixture is smooth.  Grease two 18cm cake tins and sprinkle them lightly with flour.  Divide the mixture between them and bake at 200C, for about 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.  Tip out the tins carefully and spread one cake with jam.  Cover with the other cake.

Fill Belly Cake

2lbs stale bread; 0.5 lbs shredded suet; 1 lb granulated or brown sugar; 1lb mixed dried fruit; 3 eggs; 2 0z butter or margarine; 1 teaspoon mixed spice.

Soak the bread in water then drain and squeeze-out the excess water.  Flake with a fork and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well together and spread the mixture into a greased baking tin.  Dot with butter and bake in a moderate oven for about 2 hours or until nicely browned.  A variation is to make a pastry base, spread it with jam and then cover with the bread pudding mixture.  Bake as before.

Victorian Pound Cake

10 eggs, separated (or 1lb in weight); 1lb sugar; 1lb flour; 1lb currants and candied peel; 1 glass of brandy (optional).

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Mix in the egg yolks. Stir in the egg whites lightly.  Add the currants and peel, then mix in the flour a little at a time and the brandy if you are using it.  Bake for about 2 hours (or one hour if using half quantities).

Vinegar Cake

6oz self-raising flour; 3oz margarine; 3oz sugar; 1/4pt milk; 1tbsp vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda; 3-4oz mixed dried fruit.

Sift the flour. Cream the margarine and sugar.  Pour the milk into a large basin, add the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda; the mixture will rise and froth in the basin.  Blend the flour and vinegar liquid into the creamed margarine and sugar then add the dried fruit.  Put into a greased and flour 7″ tin, bake in a moderate oven for 1 hour.

Seed Cake

3/4 lb flour; 1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 2oz lard; 2 oz butter or margarine; 60z brown sugar; 1 egg; 10z candied peel; 1/2 oz caraway seeds; a little grated nutmeg; pinch of salt; about 1/4 pt milk.

Pass the flour and baking powder through a sieve, rub into it the butter and lard, and add all the dry ingredients.  Beat up the egg with the milk, pour this into the cake mixture and mix thoroughly.  Turn into a 6″ x 3″ tin lined with a greased paper (7  1/2″ x 3  1/2″ tin if making double quantities).  Bake for 1  1/2 hours at gas mark 4 (or 2 hrs  30 at gas mark 3 for a double quantity cake).

For more information about visiting St. Barbe Museum, CLICK HERE.

St. Barbe’s next exhibition is ‘Randolph Schwabe: A Life in Art’ which opens on 24th November and runs until 16th February 2013.  Randolph Schwabe (1885-1948) was employed as an official War Artist in both the First and Second World Wars.  He is known for his portrait series ‘Women on the Land’ depicting the Women’s Land Army at work during the First World War. During the Second World War he produced drawings of bomb damage. The exhibition, curated by Dr Gill Clarke MBE, contains a number of works by Schwabe previously unseen.  Schwabe was born in Barton Lancashire in 1885.  He entered the Royal Academy of Art aged fourteen and in 1900 went to Slade School of Fine Art.  He married Gwendolen Rosamund on 19th April 1913 and they had one daughter.

This was my favourite photograph from the exhibition, ladies inspecting one of the new, Creda, electric cookers in the 1920s. This photograph is in the St. Barbe Museum collection.

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An Invitation To The Oldest Bowling Green In The World

Southampton (Old) Bowling Green (S.O.B.G) is thought be the oldest bowling green in the world. Established in 1299, on a site where the game of bowls had already been played for a number of years.  The Green is located adjacent to the old Southampton City Walls.

Last month I spent a wonderful, sunny Saturday afternoon attending an Open Day at The Green which had been arranged by Southampton Tudor Revels, as part of their ongoing programme of events. A warm welcome was given by current Master of The Green, ‘sir’ Graham Hart (pictured below in the green jacket) together with fellow Knights, ‘sir’ John Pheasant, ‘sir’ Michael Moore and ‘sir’ David Winney.

From left to right: ‘sir’ John Pheasant; ‘sir’ Michael Moore; ‘sir’ Graham Hart and ‘sir’ David Winney.

The beautifully preserved S.O.B.G archives were put on display for the purposes of our visit. The archives are packed full of artefacts and documents charting the extraordinary story of S.O.B.G. According to S.O.B.G’s official book on its history, The First 700 Years: Southampton (Old) Bowling Green, written by Baker, B., Fisher, L., Rixon, T. et al:

This Old Green was in existence when Edward I was on the throne…..The Green is situated in the oldest part of the ancient town, on a site which was originally a part of what was termed in mediaeval times the Saltmarsh.  This comprised the land bounded on the South and East by the sea, on the North by Marsh Lane, and on the West by some gardens, which were known as “Three Fields”, and belonged to the Warden of the Hospital…The Green itself has been cared for since 1187, in the reign of Richard I, when the lawns were laid as a close for the Warden of God’s House Hospital.  The “Domus Dei” infirmary was founded in that year by Gervaise Le Riche, a wealthy Anglo-Norman Merchant.  It is doubtful whether the game of bowls itself was played during the early years but it is thought that by 1220 a game using large wooden balls was occasionally played by Hospital officials and their guests…..Edward II, 1343, granted custody of God’s House with all its possessions to the newly founded Queen’s College, Oxford in whose care it has been ever since.

In 1541, “inferior people” were prohibited from playing of bowls at this time. The Act under which the townsman was brought to book was passed in 1541, and under it “no manner of Artificer or Craftsman of any Handicraft or occupation, Husbandman, Apprentice, Labourer, Servant at Husbandry, Journeyman or Servant of Artificer, Mariners, Fishermen, Watermen or any Servingman” were allowed to play bowls out of Christmas under the pain of 20 shillings to be forfeit for every time; and in Christmas to play at any of the said games (others were prohibited) in their Master’s Houses or in their Masters Presence….It was recorded in 1550, in which year a townsman, the lessee of the King’s Orchard, was presented for Keeping ‘common playinge with bowles, tabylles and other unlawfull games agaynst the Kings statute.’

(The First 700 Years: Southampton (Old) Bowling Green, 1999, Baker, B., Fisher, L., Rixon, T. et al, pp. 1-2)

Copy of a 1611 plan of Southampton. The Old Bowling Green can be seen on the plan marked ‘E’ ‘Gods house grene’. Also note location of Gods House Hospital ‘C’.

Oil painting of John Dymot (1857), gardener of The Green for fifty years.

On the walls of the Clubhouse there is a selection of memorabilia and images depicting some of the colourful characters who have helped shape The Green’s long history.  One item in particular caught my eye, a mid-Victorian portrait of former gardener John Dymot. The inscription underneath the painting reads: ‘This oil painting of John Dymot was presented by Members’ Subscriptions to the Old Southampton Bowling Green in 1857 as a memento of his 50 years faithful service as gardener and attendant of The green.’

Letter to S.O.B.G from cricketer W. G. Grace (1848-1915), dated 1905.

S.O.B.G suffered damage as a result of Nazi German Luftwaffe bombing during World War II.  On August 13th, 1940, The Green received a direct hit in the top left-hand corner.  The crater was two metres deep and five and a half metres across. (ibid. p. 6)  Despite hostilities and numerous air-raids, the famous Annual Knighthood Competition still managed to carry on regardless.

Masters of the Green and Tenants from 1185-1899.

The inaugurator of The Knighthood Competition was local man and past Master of The Green, Samuel Miller.  The first competition took place on 1st August, 1776 and has continued each year ever since. All Club members who have not previously won the competition are eligible to take part and the Knights of The Green are the official organisers of the event. The competition is a mix of ancient and modern traditions some of which include: Knights of The Green having to wear top hats, frock coats and a medal on their chest denoting their current rank; all Knights are entitled to be addressed as “sir” when on The Green and their partner as “Lady”; the competition winner is awarded a silver medal which has the inscription ‘Win it and Wear it’ and on the reverse there is an engraving of a key national or international event that has happened during the previous year.  S.O.B.G’s archives include a magnificent collection of these silver medals dating as far back as 1784.  Tradition states that at the end of the Knight’s life, his medal is handed back to the Club by friends or relatives and retained as part of the archive collection.

Silver Medal No. 128 from 1902 awarded to ‘sir’ C. B. Thornback. The event from the preceding year commemorated is the Coronation of King Edward VII.

Silver medal No. 195, from 1969. Awarded to ‘sir’ William Charles. The event commemorated from the previous year is the 1st Man on the Moon.

S.O.B.G is open to the public when a function or match is not taking place and you will be welcome to have a look around the Clubhouse and view The Green.  When visiting, if you find the side door open then you are welcome to enter, if the door is shut then you will have to come back another time.  If in doubt best to first make contact with the Club and check whether they are open on the day you are hoping to visit. Contact details for this can be found on their website. CLICK HERE.

For more information about Tudor Revels, CLICK HERE.

Members of S.O.B.G in 1910.

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1960s Cookery Treasures – Fanny Cradock & Belling Cookers

Foraging for vintage cookery treasures is one of my favourite pastimes.  I simply cannot resist a quirky cookbook or kitchenalia pamphlet.  Featured below are two of my recent acquisitions: Problem Cooking with Fanny Cradock BBC TV (1967) and Belling:electric heating and cooking (1960/61).

I don’t wish to focus on Fanny’s complex private life here, a quick Google search will furnish you with enough biographical information to satisfy your curiosity.  Fanny was born Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey in Leytonstone, London during the height of the Edwardian era, 1909.  She formed an enduring personal and professional relationship with Major John Whitby Cradock (‘Johnnie’) (1904-1987). Johnnie became Fanny’s third husband. Although she changed her surname by deed poll to ‘Cradock’ in 1942, they didn’t actually marry until 1977.

I love Fanny Cradock. Now there is lady who really knows how to work the camera, baby! She was the first celebrity TV chef, making her debut on the small screen in 1955. Always appearing in full make-up, string of pearls and glamorous gowns. She instructed Britain’s housewives on how to improve their kitchen prowess whilst urging them to keep a watchful eye on the pennies in their purse. Fanny has been credited with bringing fun back into the kitchen following years of uninspiring ration cooking in post-war Britain.

Some of Fanny’s cooking techniques were less than orthodox.  She loved to add food colouring to a whole range of recipes. Green-coloured, duchess potato anyone? Poultry also got a raw deal. Watching Fanny stab the skin of a goose, to ensure it is tenderised, is a mesmerizing spectacle. She asks housewives to ‘think of somebody you have never really liked’ whilst embarking upon a frenzied attack of your bird. Fanny’s actions are so forceful, the poor goose bounces violently up and down on its wire rack, responding to her culinary CPR.  One might be forgiven for thinking that, at any moment, the poor creature should surely come back to life and turn on its attacker!

Her style of delivery was confident and at times dictatorial. The poor home ec. assistants dodging her waspish outbursts and having to adopt a Teflon-coated demeanour.  Husband Johnnie didn’t fare much better but that was all part of their on-screen act.  However they came across on-screen, Fanny and Johnnie enjoyed a long relationship which lasted until his death in 1987.  Fanny died in 1994, aged eighty-five.

Fanny’s cookbook, The Practical Cook (1949), was the first step in her long career as a food writer. She went on to publish no less than one hundred cookbooks. She was not an advocate of cooking with electricity and preferred gas.  In fact the Cradocks had a lifelong association with the British Gas Council and gave demonstrations on how to cook with gas.  I don’t expect she ever owned a Belling oven!

In Problem Cooking with Fanny Cradock, there are recipes for: angel food cake; cheese cake; close-textured sponge; saucepan cake; corned beef hash; pitt-y-panna; sandwich supper; fish puffs; bee skeps; egg yolk sponge; sabayon; poor man’s Florentines; rice croquettes; crown roast; stuffed lamb cutlets; cutlet stuffing; fondue bourguignonne; mustard sauce; sauce remoulade; lamb steaks; the use of gelatine; fruit jellies; jelly, aspic or bavarois cream, mixtures a la zizi; bavarois cream puddings; chocolate bavarois; a modest classic aspic and humble emergency aspic.

My favourite recipe in Problem Cooking is the ‘humble emergency aspic’.  Here is the recipe:

Humble Emergency Aspic

Ingredients: one 10 1/2 oz tin of consommé; 14 1/2 fl oz and 1 fl oz of cold water; 4 tablespoons of sherry; strained juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 generous oz powdered gelatine.

Method: Soften gelatine in 1 fl oz water.  Mix all remaining ingredients together.  Stir in gelatine and stir over ice until syrupy when using as a coating or masking agent or for locking in tops or top and sides of special savoury decorative mixtures.

Individual Vegetable Aspics Set in Dariole Moulds: Oil moulds lightly.  Pour in sufficient syrupy aspic to cover base thoroughly. Leave until set.  Arrange cooked peas and/or tiny fancy shapes in cooked carrot over set aspic.  Spoon sufficiently syrupy aspic over to lock in vegetable pattern without disarranging it. Leave until set.  Fill up with syrupy aspic. Unmould when set. Neatly cut scraps of cooked French beans, overlapping unskinned slices of cucumber, and sections of tomato etc. may also be used.

Here are a few examples of Fanny’s cooking demonstrations on TV:

• Fanny and Johnnie, in full evening wear, give a cookery demonstration, ‘Bon Viveur’, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1956. If I ever get the opportunity to cook on TV, dressed in a 1950s evening gown would be my preferred outfit but for now I will simply following that other twentieth century culinary heroine, Julia Child (1912-2004) and settle for wearing a string of pearls! CLICK HERE;
• Adventurous in Cooking with Fanny Cradock – Fish, 1966. CLICK HERE;
• Fanny Cradock invites you to a cheese and wine party, 1970. CLICK HERE;
• Fanny making a mincemeat omelette. Broadcast Christmas 1975. CLICK HERE;
• Fanny Cooks for Christmas – Your Christmas Cake, 1975. CLICK HERE;
• Fanny Cooks for Christmas – Christmas Puddings, 1975.  Fanny gives a twist to brandy butter – a splash of bright green food colouring. CLICK HERE.

Belling is a British company which this year celebrates its centenary.  In 1912, Charles Reginald Belling and an assistant began making electric fires in a shed in Enfield, Essex with a start-up capital of £150. 

In 1919 Belling launched its first complete domestic cooker called the ‘Modernette‘.  In 1929, they produced the first Baby Belling, ‘No. 2. Baby Belling’.

Belling Table Cooker 1960-1. Brochure states: ‘All types of scones can be cooked perfectly direct on top of the grill-boiler…Ideal in flats, shops, offices and holiday homes, and as an auxiliary where solid fuel cookers are used.  Particularly useful too in snack bars and hotels for quick appetizing grills, hot snacks and coffee.’ (p.61)

Baby Belling Model No. 45A, 1960-1. Brochure states: ‘The Baby Belling is designed for small houses or flats with two or three people…It is so economical, in fact, soup, a large mixed grill and sweet for the whole family can all be cooked with ease for a penny or two.’ (p.64).

Twin Baby Belling. 1960-1. Brochure states ‘An entirely new horizontal cooker, with an oven similar in capacity to the Wee Baby Belling, but independently heated…It roasts, bakes, boils, fries, grills and toasts, and a full-course meal can be cooked to perfection with utmost confidence.’ (p.63)

During World War Two, production of cookers was put on hold and the factory turned over to War work.  Hand grenades, mortar bombs, food cabinets for aircrafts, rocket guns, bomb snuffers and ammunition boxes were all made at the Belling factory. After the War, normal production resumed and one of the company’s first commissions was to produce cookers for pre-fab houses.  The pre-fab cooker was called the ‘Vee’.

The catalogue I have from 1960-1 is such a fantastic snapshot of 1960s living.  The illustrations are bright and all budgets are catered for.  The 1960s was the decade of the bedsit and flat, young people leaving home for the first time to experience independent living.  The Baby Belling is such a brilliant invention.  I remember when I was a student several of my friends had bedsits and cooked using a Baby Belling and that was in the 1990s. Belling still manufacture Baby Belling today. CLICK HERE.

There is an entry regarding the brochure’s photography, an aspect of the brochure that Belling were obviously extremely proud of:

‘No wonder the food looks so real.. It is real. Such is the confidence in the performance of our cookers that we always use real food in all our photographs.  All the food is cooked by our cooking staff in Belling cookers in our colour photographic studios, just before the colour photographs are taken. There is no retouching of any kind in any photographs in this book.  We thought you would be interested to know.’ (p.60).

Belling Model No. 48T. Full size electric cooker costing £51 in 1960-1. This model is marketed as ‘the cooker designed by women.’ Brochure states: ‘When first we decided to design a completely new cooker we asked for ideas from tens of thousands of housewives at exhibitions and demonstrations in showrooms all over the county….You might well have designed it yourself, just look at the marvellous features. If electric cooking is new to you, or if you haven’t even cooked before, this is the cooker for you, the cooker that will give you confidence right from the very first meal. It’s so easy to use, so certain, so safe and clean, and most economical, too.’ (p.80-1)

Belling Classic Seventy cooker. 1960-1. Brochure states: ‘Breaking away completely from the traditional style of cooker, the Belling Classic Seventy is a most luxurious cooker embodying every known advance in cooker design, and offers many advantages over the more expensive American and Continental cookers…..Here is a cooker that is beautiful in appearance and perfect in performance, a cooker that every woman will yearn for!’ (p.92)

Heated Food Trolley, 1960-1. Brochure states: ‘This fine trolley has been designed specifically for use in nursing homes, hospitals, hotels, restaurants and dining rooms.’ (p.59).

• For Belling’s company website, CLICK HERE;
• Belling have produced a fantastic book about the company’s history to celebrate its centenary.  It can be viewed on-line. CLICK HERE;
  

  Belling’s bed warmer. 1960-1. Brochure states: ‘No more cold or damp beds now! You’ve never known such comfort and luxury as a bed warmed (and thoroughly aired too) with a Belling electric Bed Warmer. It really is marvellous. It’s the safest, strongest and most practical Bed Warmer made, costs less than a penny a week to run, and no expensive parts to renew. There’s no work, nothing to fill, nothing to spill – just slip it between the sheets for an hour or two even on the bitterest night and your bed will be so wonderfully warm you’ll sleep like a top!. It’s so economical it costs little more than a penny for 40 hours operation! 2 hours running for the cost of a match.’ The Bed Warmer cost £2. 4 shillings and 5 pence.

  

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The Olympic Games in London 1908, 1948 & Southampton Olympic Torch Relay 2012

Emblem worn by 1908 British Olympian Clarence Brickwood Kingsbury. Clarence won two gold medals in cycling. The emblem was sewn onto the front of his jersey. From a recent display about Clarence at Portsmouth City Museum.

The Opening Ceremony of London 2012 Olympics takes place this Friday, 27th July at 8.12pm (or symbolically 20:12).  London previously hosted the Games in 1908 and again in 1948.  In 1948, competitors had to bring their own food with them as rationing was still in place after the end of World War Two. The 1908 Games of the IV Olympiad should have originally taken place in Rome.  However, on April 7th 1906, Mount Vesuvius erupted and the city of Naples extensively damaged.  Money allocated by the Italian government for the upcoming Games was diverted toward rebuilding the stricken city.  A new venue was needed and London chosen. The 1908 Games took place at several locations in Britain, the main one being White City Stadium in Shepherds Bush, London. 

The Hampshire Record Office, Winchester, is hosting ‘The Olympics in Hampshire’, an exhibition: ’..highlighting Olympians and Paralympians with Hampshire connections, venues and locations in Hampshire used for the 1908 and 1948 London Games and the Olympic torch route through Hampshire in 1948.’  The exhibition is free and runs until the 1st September. For more information, CLICK HERE.

Clarence’s number badge he wore at the 1908 London Olympics. Portsmouth City Museum.

In 1908, Portsmouth track cyclist, Clarence Brickwood Kingsbury (1882-1949) won two of Great Britain’s fifty-six gold medals.  He won the twenty kilometre bicycle and the Team Pursuit races. Clarence was a draper, confectioner and cycle maker who had begun racing aged just twelve years old, winning his first open event prize at the age of sixteen.  In 1910, he had won thirty-three first class scratch races.  He belonged to two cycling clubs, Paddington and The Portsmouth North End Cycling Club (founded in 1900).  Immediately after Clarence won his two gold medals in 1908, he had to leave London for Leipzig to attend the World Championships.  His family collected his medals for him from the royal box.

Embroidered N.C.U. (National Cyclists Union) badge worn by Clarence at the 1908 Olympics. Portsmouth City Museum.

Clarence earned himself a 1948 citation in The Golden Book of Cycling, a publication created by British magazine, Cycling.  Here is an extract from that citation:

..he [Clarence] qualified for the final [1908 Olympics] with three other Englishmen, as the tactics of foreign riders had proved puzzling.  Kingsbury liked a straight-forward race, but despite the visitors riding all over the track, sprinting one lap and crawling the next, he kept going in a determined manner with B. Jones, and the other two Englishmen having punctured.  Kingsbury raced into the lead over the last half-lap, winning by inches from Jones.

British Team cycling cap worn by Clarence at the 1908 London Olympics. Portsmouth City Museum.

I, like a large number of other people in Britain, have not been lucky enough to secure tickets for this year’s Games. I desperately wanted to see the synchronised swimming; dressage and gymnastics but will now have to be content with the television coverage. The only opportunity left for many of the non-ticket holders to witness any part of the spectacle, firsthand, has been the Torch Relay. This goes part of the way to explaining why the Relay has drawn such large crowds at each section en-route, despite some pretty dreadful weather conditions.

Historical sketch of Bugle Street, Southampton looking toward Town Quay. The sketch depicts what the Street may have looked like in the 1840s. The sketch is on display at the Museum and was located right next to the second floor window of Tudor House and Garden where I watched the Torch Relay from on 14th July 2012.

On Saturday the 14th July, day 57 of the Relay, I watched the cavalcade and torch pass through the historic Old Town of Southampton.  The Tudor House and Garden in Bugle Street stayed open until 6.30pm to mark the occasion.

Same view as above historic sketch. I took this image just before the crowds started to gather for the Southampton Torch Relay on the 14th.

I had a superb vantage point on the second floor of the Museum, looking-out of a tiny latticed window directly down Bugle Street toward Town Quay.

View from street level of the window where I watched the Southampton Torch Relay.

The procession passed by at 5.41pm precisely, the weather just about held-off and Bugle Street was buzzing with excitement.

Crowds gather in Bugle Street to watch the Torch Relay, 14th July 2012.

I think the Olympic Torch is an object of beauty, exquisitely designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.  It stands at 80cm high and weighs 800g.  The Torchbearer was Hilary Corrick (68).  For more information on Hilary’s story, please CLICK HERE.

If you are attending the Olympics, I hope that have you a wonderful experience. Don’t forget to make the most of your time in Britain and visit some of our historic landmarks.  I wish all participating athletes, particularly those from Team GB, a great Games and high medal tally.  If Bradley Wiggins’ Tour de France win is anything to go by, it looks like he is in with a strong chance of medal success in the cycling, following in the footsteps of Clarence Kingsbury from one hundred and four years ago.

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