November 2009

Your letters

The best teacakes

‘Baking for a living’ in the September edition brought back memories of a bakery called Dempster Lister, with shops in and around Dewsbury. Perkins in the Market Place at Ossett were agents for their confectionery and so their produce was regularly purchased by us.

Their basic currant teacake, when you bit into it, did not collapse into a sliver like today’s version. A dough a little more substantial was produced for long buns, those items that featured in Sunday school feast teas of my early days. Obviously they contained a little more fruit, sugar and perhaps fat. But a completely different item was their Yorkshire teacakes. Yes, plate sized, and over an inch thick so they could be sliced and buttered. Extra fruit, particularly currants, gave them a wonderful flavour and the texture was more solid. I have tried many times to produce this Yorkshire teacake, without success.

Is less yeast required than for a normal teacake? Do you make a lighter dough? Do you bake at a lower temperature? Perhaps there is a baker who used to work for Dempster Lister still living in the Dewsbury area, who could explain the secrets of their Yorkshire teacakes.

Ruth Nettleton, Ossett

Dentdale dialect

I was interested to read about Dent Station (August) and Dennis Sanderson’s letter. Like Dennis, I was a girl in Dent in the 1940s. I was wondering if anyone could give me any information about the book he mentions, The Dialect of Dentdale, written by professor Berth Hedevind. Is the book still available,
and where might I purchase it from?

Mrs Rosemary Walker, Selby

A great place to explore

I recall completing the Dales Way from Ilkley with my father in 1957 and staying at the youth hostels of Linton, Kettlewell, Deeside House in Dentdale, Stonecross in Kendal, Damson Dene at Crosthwaite, Hawkshead and Elterwater. It was so wet in Langdale as we walked to Dungeon Ghyll, with every gully sending foaming white streaks of water running down the hillsides, that we wore our capes back to front to keep out the rain.

I continued to complete many walks, winning the forty-mile Dalesman Hike in 1958 in nine hours, and helped to survey sections of the Pennine Way for the National Park service as Voluntary Warden before it was officially opened on Malham Moor.

The Yorkshire Dales offer the walker some of the most varied and interesting walks in England, and the articles in your magazine provide many people with the details they need to explore this wonderful area.

A D Walbank, Ilkley

The logic of children

A long time ago, my aunt was taken to hospital, and as her husband was a POW in Japan, there was no one to look after the boys: Christopher, aged six, and Godfrey, aged four. So of course my mum, her sister, had them to stay. All went well, they slept in my bedroom and woke in the night asking for a drink of Milo (who remembers that?) but the best bit came in the morning after washing, when mum was brushing their hair… “Which side do you part your hair?” she asked. Christopher replied: “I part mine to the window and Godfrey parts his to the door.”

Nicky Frear, Wrenthorpe, Wakefield

A sweet treat

I refer to the article ‘Living off the Land’ (September) when Martin Baker said the only downside of their way of living, was when there was a glut of strawberries, he had to keep going to the shops for more cream.

I have a gadget that fixes onto the front of my Kenwood food mixer. I use 4oz good quality unsalted butter and 4 fl oz of semi-skimmed milk.

Put both ingredients in the saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted (do not let the milk boil). Pour into the gadget, set at three, and simple as that, out comes cream which you can use for pouring or whipping.

The device works on the same principle as the old Bell Cream Maker but without the fuss of having to pump the handle up and down. My family think it has a much better flavour than shop-bought cream. I am sure some of your readers will remember the Bell Cream Maker and may still be using it.

Mrs L H Hoggart, Gravesend, Kent

In the eye of the beholder

Gazing longingly at new flats for sale on the sea front at Filey recently, I was aghast to hear the dismissive comment of a man nearby: “Who the ’eck would want to live in one of them and wake up to that borin’ view every mornin’?”

I wish I had asked him what his idea of a desirable, non-boring view would be. Perhaps not one I would appreciate!

Mrs R Beyer, Chapeltown, Sheffield

Artist inspired

I read with interest the September article on E Charles Simpson. On one of our cycling holidays in the Dales, in 1987, we stayed at a B&B in Carlton-in-Coverdale and visited Mr Simpson’s studio. Being on bicycles, and having to travel back to America, it was not practical for us to purchase any artwork. Nonetheless, Mr Simpson graciously conversed with us at length about art, watercolour technique, etc.

My husband did some small watercolour paintings along our route, purely for his own enjoyment as souvenirs; as a result of the discussion with Mr Simpson, my husband subsequently changed the colours on his watercolour palette.

It was a very special visit, and I think of Mr Simpson when I look at some of those souvenir watercolours on our wall today.

Regina Tauke, Bath, USA

Spoilt for choice

As a keen hiker it was good that you featured several articles about walking in the June issue. I have recently completed both the Yorkshire Wolds Way and the Abbey Trail. I must say that the 116-mile-long (187 km) Abbey Trail starting from Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds and finishing at Whitby Abbey and passing Fountains, Byland, Rievaulx and Rosedale en route, was absolutely first class in terms of both historical interest and scenery. It is not waymarked as a long distance walking route but details can be found in The Abbey Trail by Clive Newsome and published by Sigma Leisure in 2003.

Richard Thorpe, by email

Remembering a gamekeeper

A few weeks ago we visited Queen Street Mill in Burnley where we were surprised to see a piece of furniture with the inscription ‘In memory of Walter Flesher’. Walter Flesher was a gamekeeper on Rombald’s Moor above Ilkley. He was also a great lover of nature and used to give lectures about his career and nature.

I once rode my bike to Ilkley to listen to some of his talks, they were a truly fascinating experience. One of his props was a bird’s nest from Ilkley churchyard, it was very colourfully woven with confetti.

What I would like to know is how did this item of furniture end up so ignominiously in a furniture warehouse? Perhaps a reader can enlighten me.

Francis Forrest, Earby

Stone mystery solved

Regarding the monument query (July), I was one of the few people to erect this stone which L M Cooke refers to as a monument. It is in fact situated in the small hamlet of Angram which is about a mile up the dale from Thwaite. Angram has never had a roadside nameplate so when the millennium year was approaching we decided to erect a stone.

The chief architect of this venture was Keith Moseley who is a man of many talents. He is a commercial artist by trade and worked for the Walt Disney Corporation in America for some time. He obtained the stone from a quarry in the Dales and carved the inscription of Angram down the centre, a Celtic cross at the top, and with other figures at each side. The date, BC 807, after some research, refers to when Angram was first established.

We erected the stone in time for the millennium and celebrated that new year with fireworks and a supper in one of the houses of Angram.

A Butters, by email

We welcome readers' letters, which should be sent to:
Dalesman, The Water Mill, Broughton Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 3AG
Or email: paul@dalesman.co.uk

The editor reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity.