Did you say it?????
We all know the well-known sayings 'pinch punch first day of the month' and 'white rabbits, white rabbits'. They are said to bring people luck if you say them on the first day of the month before midday, but where did they come from?
The theories:
- It originates from Medieval times when people believed in witches. Salt was believed to make witches weak, so the pinch part of the saying is the pinching of the salt and the punch part was to banish the witch once she was weakened by the salt.
- According to some, president George Washington met local Indian tribes on the first day of each month and at the meeting he would supply fruit punch with an added pinch of salt. This tradition became known as 'pinch and punch on the first of the month'.
- 'White rabbits, white rabbits' was written in the 'Notes and Queries' book from 1909. It reads "My two daughters are in the habit of saying 'Rabbits!' on the first day of each month. The word must be spoken aloud, and be the first word said in the month. It brings luck for that month. Other children, I find, use the same formula."
- Apparently it was a common belief among RAF bomber aircrew during WW2 that saying "white rabbits" the very first thing upon waking would protect oneself.
- According to playground rules, your pinch and punch has to be followed immediately with the words, "White rabbits, no return". By saying so, it means you can't be pinched back.
- In the West Country, the retaliation is 'A flick and a kick for being so quick'.
All these are, of course, theories.
After breakfast I packed up got on my hiking shoes and away to here..
The mill’s origins
Skidby Mill was built in 1821 by millwrights Norman and Smithson of Hull and replaced an earlier post mill on the same site. From 1854 until 1962 the mill was owned by the Thompson family, who also owned a steam roller mill in Hull and a water mill at Welton.
Many mills went out of business at the end of the 19th century during the Great Agricultural Depression. However, the Thompsons had their profitable roller mills in Hull, and Benjamin Thompson loved to see himself as ‘The Miller of Skidby’. Skidby was therefore converted to the production of animal foodstuffs by raising the mill tower, building additional outbuildings and installing new animal feed machines. These changes allowed Skidby Mill to survive.
In 1954 the sails were disconnected and electric machinery installed. In 1962 the Thompsons finally had to sell their business to Allied Mills, but Joseph Thompson persuaded the company to sell the mill to Beverley Rural District Council for use as a museum. In 1974 the mill was restored to full working order using wind power.
This Grade II* listed building is now the last working windmill in East Yorkshire.
It was a very pleasant flat walk to the mill..
Then I took a footpath by the side of the mill
Which was a circular route back to the village and then across the main road and back into..
This is an interesting sign and this is taken from the web about these nomadic people..
Nomadic way
The term traveller refers to anyone who has a nomadic way of life. It can not only refer to Irish Travellers or Romany Gypsies, but also those who live on the road for economic reasons such as New Travellers or Showmen.
Having said that, about half of all Gypsies and travellers nowadays live in houses, the other half live in caravans on private caravan sites, public caravan sites and on unauthorised encampments, says Mr Bowers.
Many Gypsy sites have been built near rubbish dumps, sewer works or industrial sites.
"There isn't one Gypsy and traveller culture, just as there isn't one single Gypsy and traveller community," says Mr Bowers.
However, the way of life of living on the road means that there are "certain cultural things in common", he added.
Irish Travellers share some of the same cultural values as Romany Gypsies, such as a preference for self-employment, but there are also big differences - for example most Irish Travellers are Catholic whereas Romany Gypsies are Church of England, says Joseph G Jones from the Gypsy Council.
Irish Travellers speak a language called Gammon or Cant, a language which mixes Gaelic words with English.
"Broadly speaking it's basically the same community," says Ms O'Malley.
"There are different groups, but there are no huge defining differences other than accent and religion. They live together on council sites."
Big costs
Gypsy culture is built on strict codes of cleanliness, says Mr Bowers. Concepts such as mokadi and mahrime place strict guidelines on what objects can be washed in what bowls.
Image caption
A Gypsy caravan at an encampment near Notting Hill, London, circa 1877
Gypsies view gorgias (non-Gypsies) as unclean because of the way they live. For example, Gypsies and travellers rarely let animals inside their homes because they believe them to be carriers of disease, according to Mr Bowers.
They often value visible signs of wealth.
"Travellers having big cars can be summarised by the fact that they don't have mortgages, so they don't have the same cash outlay month by month (as the settled community)," says O'Malley.
"They don't have the same costs, and big costs (such as cars) are normally hire purchases."
Ms O'Malley added that communities also lent money amongst themselves, so people who appeared poor could spend a lot of money on a wedding because the community had given it to them.
'Settled base'
The term traveller can also be misleading.
"It's the biggest misconception - you don't have to be a traveller to be a traveller," says Ms O'Malley.
"People are settling - the mother will settle in one place, while the father will travel around Europe working."
And Mr Jones agrees, saying: "They don't travel aimlessly; they go from place to place for a reason."
"Gypsies want a settled base from which to travel and where they can get access to education and healthcare for their families," adds Mr Bowers.
Legal and illegal sites
- There are 18,383 traveller caravans in the UK on both legal and illegal sites
- About 83% of travellers and Gypsy caravans are on legal sites
- Local authorities in London and in the North East of England have the fewest caravans in their areas
- Across England a total of 3,109 Gypsy and traveller caravans were on unauthorised sites, a reduction of 510 from 2010
- Illegal sites can be common land or beside the road
Historically, Gypsies and travellers do not attend schools as they see them as places where children will be bullied for their way of life.
"Gypsy and traveller pupils have the worst school attendance record of any minority ethnic group," says Ms O'Malley.
Girls are often expected to help at home caring for their younger siblings, whereas boys are often expected to be working with their fathers receiving, in effect, an apprenticeship in how to earn a living, says Mr Bowers.
Travellers or Gypsies can have difficulty in Britain doing the jobs they used to do because they have either been replaced by a cheaper alternative, such as eastern Europeans undertaking agricultural work, or machines which have replaced what they used to do, according to Ms O'Malley.
This afternoon Malc, Andy and myself went to a local pool hall where we played for an hour the dignified game of snooker!!!
Tonight I treat them to a dinner at a local pub that specializes in...
THE HISTORY OF THE YORKSHIRE PUDDING
The story begins hundreds of years ago and in true fairy tale fashion we begin with Once Upon a Time…
Robust and lovely wheat flour began to come into common use for making cakes and puddings. Cooks in the North of England devised a plan to change the course of cookery FOREVER! They began making use of the fat from the dripping pan to cook a batter pudding while the meat roasted in the oven. Scandalously genius!
In 1737, the first recipe for “dripping pudding” was published in The Whole Duty of a Woman. This was a guide for the fairer sex with rules, directions, and observations for a lady’s conduct and behaviour. The topic of a lady’s love life was included with tips for married, single, and even divorced women! Talk about scandalously genius. Where can we get our hands on a copy??
The book was surely a huge success, right? The important thing here though is that recipe for “dripping pudding.” It was fairly simple – make a good batter as for pancakes, put in a hot toss-pan over the fire, add a bit of butter to fry the bottom a little, then put the pan instead of a dripping pan and under a shoulder of mutton, shake it frequently and it will be light and savoury. When the mutton is done, turn it in a dish and serve hot.
In 1747, Hannah Glasse shook up the recipe with her own version in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple. Forget Nigella, Glasse was the original domestic goddess! Glasse re-invented and re-named the dripping pudding, which had been cooked in England for centuries although the puddings were much flatter than the puffy versions known today.
Then in 2008, the Royal Society of Chemistry got involved when it declared that “A Yorkshire pudding isn’t a Yorkshire pudding if it is less than four inches tall.” This came about when Ian Layness, an Englishman living in the Rockies experienced a series of Yorkshire pudding “flops” in the high country despite huge successes in the low country. It is no myth – the rise is just not the same at certain altitudes! Pretty crazy when you can quite obviously cook perfect pudds atop the Pennines .
That aside, Yorkshire Pudding is still a staple of the British Sunday lunch and in some cases is eaten as a separate course prior to the main meat dish. This is the traditional way to eat the pudding and is still common in parts of Yorkshire today. There is a reason for this too.
Because the rich gravy from the roast meat drippings was used up with the first course, the main meat and vegetable course was often served with a parsley or white sauce. This was a cheap way to fill diners, thus stretching the use of more expensive ingredients since the Yorkshire pudding was served first. Should you wish to tighten those purse strings, this is one way to do it. If you’re anything like us though, you like to load your plate with all the trimmings – Yorkshire included, so forget the other two courses! If, after all of that, you are ready for dessert, do like we do in some areas of Yorkshire and fill the pudding with jam, or as a “pudding” in the true sense, try jam and ice cream.
As a final note, Chemical scientist and author John Emsley, of Yorkshire, believes that the ability to make good pudds is “in the blood and instinct of people born and raised [in Yorkshire].” In the next post, Chris is sharing his award winning recipe so don’t be disheartened. Even if you don’t hail from Yorkshire, you still have half a chance at making a four inch Yorkie Pudd!
I was the only one brave enough to have my whole meal served inside a pudd!!!!
Yashi Kochi!!!
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