yorkshire – The Vanninis' Manoeuvres

It’s that time of the year

I’m organised this year and have got myself into gear. I wasn’t sorted last year at all mainly because we were in the UK until November and then time just got away on me and before we knew it, it was too late. What am I up to? I’ve made my Christmas Cakes!

After being in Auckland for the weekend spending some time with Antony, on the way back we did the grocery shopping including buying all the ingredients to make the cakes. I make two different kinds, one is a whole fruit and nut cake, sometimes known as a stained glass window or cathedral cake as when you slice it it has the appearance of a stained glass window, pretty obvious really. I tend to use mostly dried fruit rather than glacé fruits only because good glacé fruit is just so difficult to find and especially at the time of the year that I want to bake.

Cakes going into the oven to be cooked. I forgot to take an after cooking photo as they are all now wrapped up tightly ready for consumption later.

The other cake I make is my grandmothers recipe and one that mum (Hilda) made not only for Christmas every year but also all of our wedding cakes. I have very fond memories of coming home from school to the aroma of fruit cakes being baked and a large note on the oven DONOT OPEN OVEN DOOR.

I still make them the way Mum did by wrapping the cake tin in brown paper and tying with string to protect the edges of the cake from cooking too quickly and drying out, and yes, I leave the cakes in the oven after they have finished cooking until the oven goes cold but I don’t have to leave a note attached to the oven door – someone can be told! Oh and I also measure the brandy the same way Mum did, ie. a good glug!

Cake wrapped up with brown paper, and yes, I save the brown paper to use every year!

This cake keeps exceptionally well, in fact we have only just finished the last little bit of a cake that was made three years ago. It tasted even better after all that time.

And all the cakes baked, cooled and wrapped ready to put away into the tins.

The “Hilda’s Cake” keeps for years, and we always eat it with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese – the Yorkshire way. With cheese? I can hear you ask? Where did this tradition come from? According to t’internet:

Cheese eaten with Christmas cake is a Victorian tradition and the first written reference we’ve found is from Joseph Lucas’s book 1871 ‘Studies in Nidderdale [Yorkshire]’ “On Christmas Eve one Yule Cake is given to each member of the family, along with a piece of Christmas cheese. As a rule, part of it is left for Christmas morning, and eaten at the breakfast.”
It seems certain eating fruitcake and cheese started in Yorkshire before later spreading throughout the other northern counties. The tradition of enjoying fruitcake with cheese was and is strong in the north of England, but seems often frowned upon or ignored elsewhere in the UK.

The true origins of how and why it came about are shrouded in mystery – although Yorkshire is almost certainly the starting point. It may date back to the days when Wensleydale was traditionally a cheese to be eaten in the winter, especially at Christmas. In those days, Wensleydale was only made in the spring and summer, and then collected from the farms in the autumn at the end of the season. Thus the cheese reached full maturity at Christmas – so it was regarded as a special cheese for consumption at that time, not just an ‘everyday’ cheese. Perhaps Wensleydale was the cheese of choice to taste alongside Christmas cake for that very reason.

Whatever the history, it’s how we enjoy Hilda’s fruit cake with a slice of good sharp cheddar cheese, as well, a glass of port washes it all down beautifully. And no, the cakes are not all for us, we do give some away as gifts, and of course they are shared widely with friends and family.

Family reunion

Saturday 10th September: It’s been the first Womersley (my mums maiden name) reunion since Covid raised its ugly head. I can’t remember if we attended the last one when we were here in 2019, but this would be our 3rd or 4th attendance with our first attendance in 2010. Expertly organised by Jackie along with other cousin Peter it’s always a great time seeing so many familiar faces as well as meeting younger members of the extended family.

The get together is held at the Singing Chocker pub in Glasshoughton., Castleford. Now you may be wondering why the pub is called such a strange name? It was originally named after a local miner who sang as he hammered in the pit props (aka chocks) in the local coal mine.

It as a great afternoon and we really enjoyed catching up with many of the family. But to start off the first picture is a family group photo of my grandmother, mother and siblings taken probably around 1936/37 after grandad had died. Although there are 14 children in the photo, there were 19 in total.

**Back row L-R:** George, Fred , Doris, John, Maud, Tom, Alice, Bill
**Front row L-R:** Betty, Alec, Mary, Alice (Grandma), Ella, Hilda (Bernice’s mum), Edna

The group photo of some of the descendants.

The following selection of photos have the name in brackets whom they are descended from. There were also some descendants from Uncle William, my grandads brother, who had 15 children. I haven’t counted how many descendants there would be in total but as you can imagine the family tree (as seen in the above photo) covers a few tables over both sides.

**Top**: Martin, Molly, Sayle, Eli, Colleen and Sue (Uncle William-Sydney). **Bottom**: Derek, Hayley, Brenda, Bryan (all Mary)

**Top L-R:** Allan, Ian, Jeanette, Wendy, Sylvia (all Ella) **Middle Left**: Joan (George), Gill (Bill), Gillian W ( Nigel’s wife), Nigel (Bill) **Middle Right L-R**: Peter (Maud), Bryan (Mary) **Bottom L-R:** David (Ella), Geoff ( Uncle William), Sue (David’s partner), Barrie (Mary), Denis (Alec)

**Clockwise from top left**: Pauline (Maud) & Pat, Peter (Maud) & Janet. Mildred (Ella) & Sylvia (Ella), Joan (George) & Sylvia (Ella)

We had made our computer available which we were able to show everyone some of the movies that Dad had taken in 1962/3 before we emigrated to NZ of us visiting many of the family, including Grandma Alice, to say our farewells. For some of those present it was very emotional seeing either themselves or their parents and grandparents and brought many memories to the fore. We heard lots of tales that were triggered by watching the movie and subsequently many copies were sent out to those who requested one.

It was a wonderful day catching up with family although as usual with these events you never really get to talk to any one person for a great length of time but its great to keep in touch. We look forward to the next time we are able to attend.

Pontefract

Saturday 10th September: We had a couple to hours to spare after breakfast before we were due at the reunion so with the ever patient Martin at the wheel we were back into Pontefract to search for yet another flag. You see I had messaged John to say we had been successful on our search as we had the blue flags with the white Yorkshire rose on them, and he messaged back to say could I find him as West Yorkshire flag!

Top: Yorkshire flag, Bottom: West Riding Yorkshire flag

I know what you are thinking, what a sucker you are Bernice! He even told me the shop to go to that sells them. Just as well I like to take on a challenge. We headed into Pontefract but unfortunately the shop he directed us to is no longer in existence but not to be put off, we went on a mission into the main market square to see what we could find.

After an extensive search I had no luck finding flags, however I did find Pontefract cakes. Pontefract cakes (also known as Pomfret cakes and Pomfrey cakes) are a type of small, roughly circular liquorice sweet stamped with an image of Pontefract Castle. These sweets are a family favourite, we all enjoy a bit of liquorice, the said brother in particular likes them a LOT! I may have also purchased a quantity of them but I will make sure I ration them and give him just a few at a time! Liquorice Root was grown all around this region for many centuries however over the years most of the farms have disappeared although I understand one farmer is growing it again to reintroduce the farming of liquorice back into the region.

Whilst wandering the town trying to find out where we could find a flag or two, visiting the museum, town council, and numerous shops before deciding I would forget this mission, we came across Pontefract flags being flown. Apparently they were made by the local chamber of commerce but were not for sale.

Salter Row in Pontefract, first recorded as a street in 1368.

There is plenty of history in this area but with a reunion to get to, there wasn’t any time to dilly dally. Back to the hotel where we bade fond farewells to Sue & Martin with promises made to plan another Yorkshire trip on our next visit to the UK.

Yorkshire Homes

Friday 9th September. We arrived in Glasshoughton late afternoon, settled into our hotel before heading off to visit two places that are etched into my memory banks. The first being in Pontefract to the house that my parents built just before I was born and where we lived until we left to emigrate to New Zealand when I was 4years old.

We quickly found our way to the house, it was easy to pick as it’s one of the only detached houses in the street. We got out of the car to take some pictures and I immediately noticed that the house still had the original name on the side. The house was named Hil-Burn, a contraction of my parents names Hilda and Burnard, my eldest brother apparently dipped his finger into some paint and wrote the name on the brick work. Obviously they made good paint in those days as it’s still there. What then caught my eye was the number at the front of the house with Hil-Burn engraved underneath.

What’s that I spy written on the side of the brickwork between the down pipe and the narrow window? P

Top: The writing on the wall and below: the number plaque

I decided to knock on the door and introduce myself and ask if they knew why the house was named as such. A young lady answered the door, I introduced myself and explained why I was there. She called out for her mum, they listened to my tale and then invited us in for a look around.

Well, that was the start of a wonderful half an hour spent with total strangers. We were warmly welcomed into their home and shown around. I can remember as a little one sitting at the bow fronted window in the lounge patiently waiting for Dad to come home from work. I was delighted to see that it looks just as I remember albeit with blinds rather than curtains.

This picture was taken in front of that same window in 1962, back row L-R: Bernice, Steve, John, Hilary. front row L-R: Mike, Sue, Mum & Dad.

They have extended out from the kitchen at the back of the house and they’ve done a great job, making it very functional and comfortable.

The renovated and extended kitchen and family room

It was rather a emotional being there, being in the kitchen where Mum would have spent a lot of her time cooking & baking for the family and realising what a huge deal it would have been to pack up everything and everyone to move to the other side of the world. And it was so lovely to see that these owners not only love the house but they too love cooking and entertaining. It felt like the house was a still much loved family home.

I gathered myself together, wiped away the happy tears, said fond farewells with a promise to send them any pictures I could find of the house on our return to NZ. We were back into the car to go to my Grandpop’s house in Glasshoughton where we lived for 6-7 months before moving to New Zealand.

Grandpop was the Manager of the Glasshoughton Brickyard and he lived in the house next door to the yard. Now, the brickyard has long gone and is now a large ASDA supermarket and car park, new housing is all around as well but Grandpop’s house, named The Mount, is still standing. The house was built by Castleford Brick Co. before they were bought by Yorkshire Brick Co. whose headquarters were in Doncaster. It was accommodation for management. Grandpop was in the front house, the foreman was in the back and the two on the left were occupied by Glasshoughton Colliery managers. The colliery was straight opposite the brickyard and in later years the Brickyard got the slag from them to make bricks. Before that, they dug a huge pit at the back of the brickworks and got their raw material from there – until they couldn’t get any more.

We stood outside taking a couple of photos and trying to orient ourselves when a young couple came wandering up the driveway. They asked if they could help us, we explained why we were there and ended up chatting to them for some time. It turns out they had recently moved into the back house (the foreman’s house) and had been trying to find out a bit of history of the property as they were new to the area. So we swapped contact details and I will send them pictures and any further info I can glean once we return to NZ. I also have movie footage of us playing in the snow in the front garden and scenes of the area around so I will sort out some footage for them once we return.

After a wonderful time spent talking with them it was time for us to end another amazing day and return to our hotel. I cannot get over how welcoming and friendly folk from T’North are, without exception everyone was so warm, encompassing and patient with these folk from NZ. We thank you all for making us feel at home.

Filey, Flamborough Head and Market Weighton 4/4

Friday 9th September. We booked out of the B&B and were about to set off down the coast but first we had one more mission to complete as we had been told about a place in Scarborough to see if we could find Yorkshire flags. Finally we had success! What size flag would you like John? How many would you like? Shall I get you a selection? Be careful what you wish for you may just get a surprise or two, but surely I have now earned the accolade of being your favourite sister!!! You’re welcome.

Our first stop along the coast road was Filey, a lovely little seaside fishing village which has a long stretch of sandy beach making it a popular holiday destination. We had a good wander around the main street, and I may have even purchased another flag(s)!

The road down the the beach…sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the beachfront.

Enjoying toasted Yorkshire tea cakes and coffee. Mum used to make these. Yorkshire curd tart was on the menu later in the day.

We then continued on our journey to Flamborough Head where we took a walk out from the lighthouse to the heads.

And to prove that I was there!! And yes, it was very windy.

From here we drove through Bridlington where we heard the muffled church bells ring for Her Majesty. We learnt all about the etiquette and protocols around bell ringing as Martin is a bell ringer. From here we turned inland to head toward Market Weighton.

This little village has a couple of claims to fame, one being the home of the tallest man in Britain. There is a life size statue in the centre of town carved from a large oak log.

Secondly it was the Home to Anne Lister (explanation below).

Next it was on to Glasshoughton as tomorrow is a family reunion for the Womersley side of the family, Womersley is Mum’s maiden name. We booked into our hotel and met up again to go on another wee trip down memory lane. That trip will be the subject of the next blog. Afterwards, it was time for dinner, there is not much choice in this area, especially within walking distance from the hotel. But we spied this (picture below) across the road…time to break our Wetherspoons no-go.

A blurry shot of the said establishment.

For a start, I think we were the oldest people there, it was huge establishment and very busy with lots of younger folk. We sat down and perused the rather large menu for our choices. I can’t remember what I had now, a curry I think from the photo, just shows you how memorable it was (not).

View across to the other side of the table

After another wonderful day we retired for the night. A huge thank you to Sue & Martin for taking us on an epic road trip, we ticked off so many things off our list of places to see and so much more. Your company was outstanding, we had a few good laughs along the way, solved the worlds problems and basically had a damn good time. Cheers, until next time.

Robin Hood Bay, Staithes & Whitby – part 3/4

Thursday September 8th We left Scarborough and chasing relatives addresses behind for some sightseeing and headed northwards to Robin Hood Bay. This picturesque old fishing village is on the Heritage coast of the North Yorkshire Moors. It was a glorious drive over the North Moors, with flowering heather blanketing the moors.

The Bay has a fascinating history that you can read about here. There is no visitor traffic allowed down into the village via the very steep and narrow road so it was a walk down the vertiginous hill. The vertigo suffering member of the touring party aka Roy, didn’t venture too far down, he waited for us to explore. We didn’t venture all the way down…going down is fine, it’s the coming back up that would be problem!!!….but we did venture part way down and out to a lookout via some very narrow cobbled paths.

After a wander around, taking in the views and reading the information boards brushing up on our historical knowledge, it was back to the car and on to Staithes. This is another wonderful fishing village on the coast, this time we managed to drive down to the village and find a park, it was after 5pm by now.

A traditional fishing boat called a coble, a vessel with a high bow and a flat bottom which enabled the fishermen to easily land and launch from shallow, sandy beaches. They had a rudder which could be ‘unshipped’ easily before landing.

There is another tradition from this area that I was hoping to glean some knowledge and information about and that is the traditional knitted fisherman’s jumper called a Gansy or Guernsey. These sweaters were knitted by the wives and mothers of fishermen with individual patterns of various stitches pertaining to villages, families, and individuals. So what makes a Gansey? The Gansey is a unique type of jumper traditionally worn by fishermen. They are knitted with 5 ply worsted wool in one piece with no seams. Five small double ended needles or wires are used to knit in the round creating a really tight knit (or close knit) which creates a wind and somewhat waterproof protection against the elements. The intricate patterns often concentrate towards the upper part of the garment around the shoulders, arms and chest and are often made reversible so they can be worn either way around prolonging the wear of the Gansey before it needs repair. On a darker note, the jerseys individual patterns were also used to identify a fisherman’s body if they happened fall overboard and succumb to the elements.

I do recall Dad wearing what he called a Gansey especially when he went fishing, I didn’t find any Ganseys in our travels (not that I was looking too hard!) but it was good to see the environment and fishing vessels in which they were worn. Now, back to our travels.

Dog Loup cut through/alley (snicket or ginnel) is apparently the narrowest in the uk at just 18inches or 45cm wide.

Captain Cooks cottage. Captain Cook worked here as a young man.

By the time we had finished our wander around the village and the waterfront the sun was setting and the evening drawing in so it was back to the car for the short drive back down the coast to Whitby where we were going to have fish and chips for dinner.

We couldn’t get reservations at our first choice of restaurant but this restaurant came highly recommended. We had just sat down and ordered our meal when the news about the death of Queen Elizabeth II broke. We all sat quietly for a while letting the news sink in, we drank a toast to her before continuing with our meal.

Fish & chip dinner, and yes it was very good fresh fish.

After dinner, it was back into the car for the drive back to Scarborough where, at the B&B, we showed Sue & Martin a couple of movies we had on the computer. These were home movies that Dad had taken in 1963 in his cine camera and I had recently had the movies converted to digital format (thank you David & Marilyn). We all laughed loudly when watching the movie it came to Sherwood Street showing the same street signage I had taken a photo of the previous day and the same business in the same premises on the street. In fact the street looked very much the same.

A very big day of memory making, and we will definitely remember where we were when the news broke of Her Majesty’s death. May she Rest In Peace after a lifetime of dedicated service.

A Yorkshire Odyssey (2/4)

8th September Today was destined to be an epic day in more way than one. Hence this day is split into two parts, the morning and the next one will be the afternoon version. We achieved a lot in one day!

After breakfast at the B&B we set off for our tour around Scarborough chasing addresses where my great grandparents, grandparents and great aunts and uncles lived. This is the Coatham side of the family tree that we are following, my maiden name. We had planned our route the previous evening so we knew where we were heading and hopefully in a logical geographical order.

Longwestgate Street: The newer build at the front left was where Great grandad John & great grandma Elizabeth lived with 9 of their children (there was a further 5 children). The coloured terrace houses in the background would have been the style of house that was there.

From here we visited another property where John lived before he married Elizabeth.

St Martin’s Place: John lived here as a lodger. As an aside, we noticed a number of properties around here that had windows bricked up, we presume due to window tax although I feel this tax was imposed much earlier than these houses would have been built.

Hoxton Road: This small terrace property is where Great grandfather John and family shoehorned themselves into. John & Elizabeth and 5 children lived here.

Westbourne Grove: this is the house where my great grandmother Elizabeth lived and worked in service before she married.

This street name is etched into my brain, as it was where grandpop Ernest and three of his sisters lived before we left England and was where I remember addressing many letters to.

We had a good reminisce whilst looking at the street and wandering up and down. We talked to some of the residents and got a good feel of the area. Whilst we were standing in the street chatting away, we happened to glance through this snicket/ginnel (Yorkshire speak for a pass through or walkway between houses) and saw what we thought was a windmill. Shall we walk up the road and see what it’s all about? Sure, why not.

Peek through the snicket, and the Windmill – now a B&B

We ended up going in for a look at the windmill and were warmly welcomed in by the very friendly Irish owner and given a look around. What an amazing place and what a great job they are doing here. We shall definitely be staying here next time we visit Scarborough.

From here it was to visit the Rest Home where Great Uncle George, and two Great Aunties lived toward the end of their lives. It is no longer a Rest Home but a home for single men with mental health issues. Again, we were warmly met by staff and they spent quite a bit of time talking to us and explaining what they had done with the premises and the work they currently do.

We did visit another couple of addresses we had on our list but we are still checking that they are indeed the correct addresses for the right people in the right place at the right time. Our house hunting was over for the day so now time for some sightseeing.

From here it was along to the main south beachfront for a rest stop and to see the views.

It was time for me to complete my promise of having a Knickerbocker Glory at the Harbour Bar. This has been in operation since 1945, they make their own icecream as well as an array of sundaes and other delights.

Harbour Bar in Scarborough. Mission completed!

And yes, the Icecream delight was delicious and shared between three of us.

We also spent some time trying to find Yorkshire flags for a certain person, this mission looks like it may be a little more difficult than we had anticipated although Sue did find some Pontefract cakes for the said same person – you owe us BIG time John! Many thanx to Martin, the ever patient driver who stopped at every shop that looked as though it was a possible flag selling shop, we will have some luck eventually I am sure.

The afternoons tripping around will be the subject of next blog entry, it was an amazing afternoon so stay tuned.

A Yorkshire Odyssey (Part one of four)

Wednesday 7th September: Alex dropped us off at the train station at Abbey Wood just after 9am on Wednesday 7th September where we were to catch the train. First we had to get to Euston Station which required to first catch the train to Tottenham Court Road, then a tube to Euston. All this takes a little time, 25 minutes on the Elizabeth line train, then a walk to the underground to find the right platform and go down numerous steps, then a 5 minute tube ride and another short walk to Euston National Train Station, time to grab a bite to eat and drink for the train ride.

Departure Board, along with others waiting to see which platform we have to race to

We got on the train heading to Birmingham where we settled into our seats to enjoy the 2hr journey north.

Settled in our seats….trying to work on my selfie skills!

At Birmingham we were met by Susan & Martin, Susan is my cousin on my Dads side of the family, my grandpop Ernest Coatham was her Great Uncle. We have stayed with Sue & Martin on previous visits to the UK and they have also been to NZ, but this time we were off an adventure/odyssey seeking out where Ernest had lived over the years as well as his parents and grandparents.

Roy, along with others, has done on awful lot of work over the years into researching our genealogical lines so we have a lot of information gleaned from census records, birth death & marriage certificates and electoral rolls as well as family records.

After being warmly welcomed we set off with Sue & Martin on our road trip with todays destination being Scarborough. The conversation flowed, the scenery passed us by and before we knew it, we were at our first destination for a cuppa.

Todays drive is about 3 1/2 hrs but with stops it will be a lot longer. It’s all about the journey, not about getting there asap!!

The welcome to Doncaster sign, seen as we drove through. Grandpop lived in Doncaster after he retired but where he lived is now all new housing.

We arrived in the pretty village of Pocklington and quickly found a lovely little cafe for a coffee.

Bernice, Roy, Sue and Martin. Hmmm….selfie skills need more work!

Sue took this photo of me at afternoon tea, a much better selfie!

The café was where we sampled delicious local fare, friendly service, and helpful staff. Afterwards a wander around the streets was in order to unnumb bums! We came across a few lovely shops and was quite enamoured with the village. They even had an Arkwright’s store.

There was also a great bakery where Sue bought us a Yorkshire Curd Tart to try later. It’s all about the Yorkshire you know! We had already checked out a few shops to try and find a Yorkshire flag as I had been sent on a mission by my brother John to purchase one for him. This was the start of another odyssey within an odyssey that would unfold over the coming days. More of that later.

After a wander around the village it was back into the car for the short drive to North Dalton where we were hoping to find the house where my great grandfather John Coatham lived. It was really weird, I had a great sense of coming home, I felt very comfortable, it was quite strange and very difficult to describe the feeling that I had apart from a sense of calm and comfortably at ease in this region of Yorkshire.

We pulled into a car park at the local pub where we got chatting to a couple of very friendly locals after enquiring on directions. Now this village only has a population of around 300 so it’s not very big, we only had to walk a few hundred metres before we found the street and property we were looking for. However, the original house was now replaced by a more recent build, probably post war we thought, but on looking around we found evidence of older properties to give us an idea of what it would have been like.

The newer build that was where my great grandad John had lived

The views over the fields from the property

An older cottage with evidence of many repairs and rebuilds in the stone work over the years

It was getting late in the day by now, so it was back into the car for the drive to Scarborough and our accommodation for the next couple of nights. Once settled into our rooms, we met up to walk into town to an Indian restaurant that had come highly recommended.

We walked past the old Jail on our way into town. A very impressive building.

Martin & Roy enjoying some of the many dishes on offer.

After dinner, it was a saunter back to our accommodation to organise our plan of action for tomorrow, it’s going to be a big day.

Plan B and another little task or two

We had intended to be heading on out of Auckland long before now but sometimes life just throws a curve ball at you. Actually it feels as though the curve balls have been coming at us in a continuous stream over the past year or two, and I can tell you that we are getting pretty good at batting away those balls.

So to plan B, to cut a long story short, Roy had to have a few tests and the like done which meant we had to stay around Auckland at Ardmore for an extra couple of weeks. The upshot is that he is all good and we can soon get back to plan A.

On the positive side it has meant that we’ve spent a bit of time with Antony, well, that really means that we have been heading around to his place most nights for me to cook dinner for us all, not that I mind at all and I’m sure he doesn’t either. And it’s been great to watch the rugby with him as well.

We’ve also managed to catch up with Simon, Anita and Maria and spend some time with them. Maria turned 3 the day after we returned from the UK so it was lovely to catch up and spend some time playing games that only 3 year old girls like to play! She is a delightful young lady and a pleasure to be around.

So to keep busy whilst we wait, there has been another couple of tasks that I’ve managed to get underway whilst at Ardmore.

Many years ago, my lovely sister-in-law Ann made us a beautiful quilt. Ann loved her quilting and over the years made many heirloom keepsakes for family and friends. As well, she was involved with quilting guilds on a local and national level and she loved going off with friends for weekend retreats and workshops.

We love our quilt and had been on our bed just about ever since it was gifted to us. It is made even more special since Ann sadly passed away just over 7 years ago, aged 59, but we remember her every day that we look at the quilt. However, the quilt has started to need some repair as the batting that she used inside the quilt has shrunk with washing and some of the material has started to fray.

The last time I saw my sister Sue (also an expert quilter), she said that if I unpicked all the quilting she would repair, reback, and rebuild it for me. A huge task in itself but the unpicking is not an inconsiderable task either.

Not one to back out of a challenge, I started on the incredibly laborious task of unpicking the tiny machine quilted stitching this week. With quick unpick in hand, I carefully started on one side of the quilt. After many many hours with not much to show except very sore fingers and bits of cotton everywhere, I had managed to unpick one small edge side of quilting. I was quite proud of my efforts.

See all that tiny tiny stitching in the pale coloured material? Yep, I have to unpick a queen sized quilts worth of this!!!

To give you an idea of scale, each one of these little squares is approximately 4cm…that’s an awful lots of stitching to undo

I was sitting in the van doing a bit of unpicking when some fellow motorhomers called in for a cuppa. We’d only met Debbie & Chris the week before but we enjoyed chatting with them so invited them in for morning coffee. Debbie noticed my unpicking and asked what I was doing, she said she was a seamstress/dressmaker (ok, what IS the difference between the two?) and could she show me a quicker way to unpick? Oh yes please, said I. First I needed to go and buy some one sided razor blades and she would show me what to do.

Later that same day, with a pack of razor blades in hand I was knocking on their door asking for a quick lesson in fast unpicking. Debbie showed me the method; cut the stitching with the razor blade between the backing material and batting pulling it apart to expose the stitching and cutting the thread. As we are replacing the backing material there will be no issue if I have a wee oops!

Well, now there is no stopping me. What was going to take me a month of Sunday’s before even making a dent with the unpicking, after three days I have the bulk of it done and another week should see it all finished. Thank you so much Debbie for showing me the way!

Some of the fabric is pretty fragile, I just hope that somehow Sue will be able to work some of her magic on it for us.

During the week I also got another task done, that is making my Christmas Cakes. I went round to Antony’s to utilise his oven, as one of the cakes has a 3 and half hour bake time .

This recipe is the one my mum used to make not only for Christmas but also for our wedding cakes. We love this cake with a slice of cheddar cheese – a Yorkshire way of eating fruit cake. The recipe is actually my grandmothers and contains just sultanas, raisins and currants (1.75kg – nearly 4lbs) and no nuts. It’s supposed to have a dash or two of brandy in it but we didn’t have any but I did find a good alternative.

Found this substitute for brandy in our stash.

We brought this Armagnac back from France some time ago so I thought it is a good swap as it is a style of brandy, and I carefully measured it in exactly the same way Mum did….a good glug or two poured straight from the bottle into the cake mix is a measure isn’t it?

and the end result

Time to wrap them up and put away in the tins for a month or two.

Then it’s onto the next cakes, these ones are a recipe I have developed over the years and is basically all fruit and nuts, some call it a stained glass window cake as when the cake is sliced it resembles a stained glass window. This time Roy sacrificed some of his rum to go into these cakes, rationed nip measures of course.

Ready to go in the oven

Once the cakes were cooked and cooled, I wrapped them tightly in tinfoil and went to put them in the tin, but guess what? each cake was just a little too long to fit into the cake tin so a sliver had to be sacrificed off each end.

Of course we had to sample the trimmed slices, with a cup of tea, as it would have been a waste otherwise 😉. We can report it is delicious!

Family get together

Our train from Carlisle originated in Glasgow, apparently the toilets were not working on the train therefore the train was stopped for 20mins in Carlisle to let passengers disembark to have a rest break. That meant we would have just 3 minutes to then catch our connecting train in Manchester assuming that there would be no other delays.

Of course you know what happened don’t you? We arrived in Manchester a further minute late but at platform 13. We then had to get ourselves to platform 2 in 2 minutes battling with the Friday 5pm commuter traffic and as well having to exit through the ticket turnstile and then re enter further along at the correct platform. As a result we arrived at the barrier to see our train departing without us. Never mind, there’s another train in an hour and we can transfer straight over, or so we are told.

We duly arrived on Selby an hour later than planned and Pat was there waiting to take us to their house. The following morning we all headed off to Castleford and Glashoughton for a family reunion of descendants of my grandmother, ie my mothers mother. We attended the first of these reunions 9 years ago so I already knew a handful of people mainly cousins and second and third cousins as Mum was the 17th of 19th children born to my grandma and grandad. A lot has changed in the subsequent 9 years with all of the remaining children, including Mum, having since died. There were not only descendants from that particular line of the family but also other branches, all with a Womersley connection. Grandads brother had 15 children so the family tree for just a couple of generations before I appear is rather large, in fact cousins Jackie & Dawn had one together, running to in excess of 48 pages!!

Jackie & Hossein

Womsersley family circa 1936, with my Grandma front centre and my mum Hilda second right in the front.

It was a very successful get together, meeting new faces and seeing familiar ones as well.

Once we had finished reminiscing Pauline & Pat took us to see Bourne House where grandma and the family lived,

This is how Bourne House looks today. I didn’t realise that a number of family members had also lived there under Grandmas wing, including some of her adult children once they had married as well as grandchildren. Pauline (cousin) told me that she lived there with her parents and brother Peter when they were young for a few years, and then she also lived there when she was newly married before getting their own house.

I have an essay that my mum (Hilda) wrote of her recollections of her early life at Bourne House as a young girl, I am now endeavouring to get a few more of my cousins perspectives with their recollections which I will put together so these memories are available for future generations.

We returned to Selby with Pauline & Pat for the evening then returned to London on Sunday afternoon on the train whilst avidly trying to keep up to date with what was happening in the cricket. Alex picked us up from the train station to return to her place to watch the end of THAT riveting cricket match! Enough said on that matter.

This week will be a week of avid netball watching, GO Silver Ferns, you can do it!

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