Traditional Autumn Festivities you may need Water for

by Fern Shaw | Nov 9, 2015 | Water

Last year I blogged about Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night as it’s also called. Although the tradition of Guy Fawkes stems from an historical political event, it’s lighting up the darkness, so to speak, and so fits right in with a number of autumn time traditions, some originating hundreds of years ago.

There are men who carry flaming barrels of tar through a Devon village; folk who pour cider over apple tree roots and cross-dressing troupes who perform something called Soul Caking to ward off evil spirits.

Souling is a centuries-old tradition in Cheshire where actors known as ‘mummers’ perform a play for All Souls Eve on 1 November.

The tradition of Souling was intended to protect communities against outsiders and dark spirits.

Souling plays were fairly widespread until the 19th Century. The most famous ones performed nowadays are at Antrobus, Comberbach and Warburton.

The tradition is also known as soul caking – due to mummers traditionally handing out confectionery known as ‘soul cakes’ to the audience at the end of the play. In an example of how tradition piles upon tradition, this is itself believed to be based on the even older medieval practice of handing out cakes to beggars in remembrance of the dead.

The Ottery St Mary Tar Barrel Festival, in Devon, on 5 November is also believed to have started after the Gunpowder Plot.

The tradition sees competitors – who have to have been born in the town – running with burning barrels on their backs until the heat becomes too unbearable or the barrel breaks down.

At some stage through the ages Ottery St Mary decided rolling and kicking lighted barrels through the streets was a little tame so they were picked up and carried through the streets on the shoulders of the participants,”

However, this is one tradition in danger of being snuffed out, because of increasing public liability insurance costs. At last year’s event, 16 people suffered minor burns. Refer to my notes on water later on in this blog.

Then there’s Punkie Night, only celebrated in Hinton St George, Somerset, which has traditions of pumpkin carving and night-time walks that are remarkably similar to the Halloween rituals we all know.

The village’s Punkie Night takes place on the last Thursday in October. Children carry ‘punkies’ – lanterns traditionally made from a large turnip known as a mangel-wurzel – and stop at key locations to sing the Punkie Song.

Far from courting the dead, like Halloween, the tradition allegedly stemmed from a bunch of inebriated villagers.

“The men folk of the village went to Chiselborough Fair about four miles away and they had too much to drink,” says local historian Charles Bird.

“The women folk went to fetch them and, because it was so dark and windy, carved mangels and put a candle inside it”.

There’s even a Punkie Song (origins of the Punk Movement? Nah, probably not!):

It’s Punkie Night tonight!

It’s Punkie Night tonight!

Adam and Eve would not believe

It’s Punkie Night tonight!

Give me a candle

Give me a light

If you haven’t got a candle

A penny’s all right

On the whole however, English autumn traditions are concerned with marking the end of the harvest and respecting the dead.

In case you’re wondering about the title, think about it in these terms – there seems to be a lot of tomfoolery; imbibing of alcohol and fire involved in carrying out these traditions, therefore perhaps best if you’re of a mind to participate in any of these Autumn time traditions that you carry a lot of water with you;

• For drinking because you’re revelling;
• For drinking (again) because you’re imbibing and need to keep hydrated or;
• To pour over yourself in case you catch alight.

Right, off you go then, make merry and enjoy the Autumn festivities!

The Culture Vulture Circles Britain

by Fern Shaw | Nov 9, 2015 | Water

Recently I blogged about various dishes with really bizarre names that originate from different cultures. I also mentioned that we Britons certainly aren’t alone when it comes to naming our scoff weirdly.

I said that at a later date I’d be expounding further on more of these dishes found in Britain, so without further ado, I present these to you.  I’m going to grade these dishes in the following manner – the more unsightly or unpalatable a dish (in my very unprofessional opinion) – the more glasses of water you need to drink while consuming the dish.

Toad in the hole
Perhaps Britain’s least appetisingly-named meal, this dish of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter is said to have gained its unusual moniker because it looks like toads popping their heads from a hole (yes, I know, I can’t really see it either). Can’t stand the dish? At least you’re not eating it in the Victorian period, when it was common to use any available meat, however old or unpleasant. Mrs Beeton suggests rump steak and lamb kidney. ~ ½ a glass of water.

Bubble and squeak
Once upon a time, thrifty Britons with left-over vegetables and potatoes from a roast dinner wouldn’t have even considered throwing them away – they’d have fried the remnants up to make bubble and squeak. The name comes from the sizzling noise the vegetables make in the pan, though it could also adequately describe the horrified sounds your children emit next time you propose to cook it. ~ 0 glasses of water. Delicious meal if cooked right.

Welsh rarebit/rabbit
Tourists in Wales must be regularly disappointed to find that the traditional ‘rabbit’ they’ve ordered is little more than a gourmet version of cheese on toast. The name is said to be something of an English joke, coined in the 18th century when many Welsh were so poor they could not even afford a cheap meat like rabbit. Hilarious. ~ 0 glasses of water. Delicious.

Stargazey pie
Stargazey pie sounds rather quaint, but this Cornish dish of pilchards baked under a pastry crust won’t appeal to everyone – it traditionally has fish heads poking through the crust, so they appear to be gazing up at the sky. Legend has it that the dish originates from the village of Mousehole, where a plucky fisherman called Tom Bawcock once saved his fellow villagers from starvation by braving the stormy seas to catch a record haul. The fish were baked poking out of the pies, to prove to everyone that there was fish inside. ~ 1 glass of water.

Angels on horseback
This traditional Victorian appetizer of oysters wrapped in bacon and grilled is little known today. But the snack’s dastardly cousin, the devil on horseback (prunes or dates wrapped in bacon) is still a common feature of our Christmas dinners.

~ 1 glass of water.

Stinking Bishop

Anyone who’s been within smelling distance of this particular cheese understands the first part of its name: The wheels are said to have an odour that brings to mind dirty socks and wet towels. But the second half is purely coincidental. It’s actually derived from Stinking Bishop pears, whose juice the cheese is immersed in. The pears got their name from their farmer, Mr. Bishop.

~ 2 glasses of water.  And a clothes peg for your nose.

Headcheese

Oddly enough, headcheese isn’t cheese at all. But you’re going to wish it were. The gelatinous meat is made from chopped-up bits of the head of a pig, calf or cow – including the tongue – and sometimes the feet and heart. The origins of its name are unclear, but it’s been suggested the source of the name could be either because the recipe used to contain cheese or because of the connected etymology of the words cheese and moulded (moulds are used to make headcheese).

~ One of our 18.9ℓ bottles of water.  Minimum.