6th April - Flitting Day

I was talking to my Dad and he was reminding that the 6th April was knowing as Flitting Day. For those who havent heard of it here is the explanation. As a year-end and quarter day that conveniently did not fall within or between the seasons for ploughing and harvesting, Lady Day was a traditional day on which year-long contracts between landowners and tenant farmers would begin and end in England and nearby lands (although there were regional variations). Farmers' time of "entry" into new farms and onto new fields was often this day. As a result, farming families who were changing farms would travel from the old farm to the new one on Lady Day. My Grandparents moved from the Creiff. A farm 2 miles away or a miles through the fields and woods from here, which is now where Stanbrook Abbey stands. They would have moved with horses and cart similar

to the one in the photo. My dad is a fountain of stories and really I know, I should bottle them up. My Grandparents came to live at the farm in 1902 even though they had farmed the land for a lot longer. My Dad sadly said "They moved in on 6th April1902 and they carried him out him [meaning his Dad] was carried out on the 6th April 1957. I was only 10 months old so that was 64 year ago...crikey I am getting old. Grandad had died on the 2nd. I have wondered many times how old a child is when they start remembering their childhood. Believe me or not I distinctly remember him as I recall him holding on to my leg when my dad was changing me on the kitchen table as I was quite a "wriggly bottom" /Maybe this is why I cant stop still for long now. He was 80 and a tall slight man who always wore a jacket. He was quite formal and had a moustache which was quite spikey. He seemed to be quite amused by me as he had had 3 sons the youngest being my father. My Granny had died when my dad was 18 and the typical farmers wife making butter and cheese. I have made a lot of butter too in my days and icecream - 4pints of cream and 16 eggs that was when I used to serve evening meals and the visitors had ice cream with their apple pies. When we had milking cows we had a good supply of milk but sadly I never got round to making cheese. Although we still have the old butter churns and pats on the shelf in the diary. It is lovely to hear that people are embracing the old traditionas and no more so when there was a programme on television lately as cheese makers in North Yorkshire. It filmed Andy and Cathy who supports these cheesemakers and sell their cheese at Courtyard Dairy near Settle . i have met these folk and they are very knowlegdeable and even sell cheese on line so maybe if you are looking to treat someone or even yourself this is the place to go.

Sunday would be Sunday without ..

Yorkshire Puddings.
The original purpose of serving the batter pudding was not as part of a main meal, in the way that it’s served with traditional roast dinners now, but instead served before, with gravy, as an appetiser course. This is because, when meat was expensive the Yorkshire pudding could act to fill the consumer, meeting the appetites of working men and allowing the meat to stretch further: “Them ‘at eats t’most pudding gets t’most meat”, as the saying goes.

For those of you who are not familiar with Yorkshire Puddings Elaine Lemm, a local lass and columnist, has written a book  just on Yorkshire `Puddings. I have often bought it to give it to friends in different parts of the world.  

My granddaughters have had Yorkshire pudding matches to see who can eat the most . We used to have fun as I would let them have another and another when their Daddy wasn't looking   as he felt they should fill up with meat and vegetables. We always have Yorkshire Puddings as a starter course. 
One of my little treasures say GranAnna =that is me , makes the best Yorkshire puddings in the world.
I think Marthas record is seven but she will probably say eight  . .They are all good little trenchers but have their own ideas of what they like best. Martha likes raw carrot and prefers fruit to sweets, Rubi when she was very small amazed us by loving olives and Emmy likes quite plain things .Her potatoes left in pieces with butter rather than mashed.

Jack likes gravy with his Yorkshire puddings while I dont really like gravy and when my uncle was living we both used to have our Yorkshire puddings with treacle..well golden syrup .Yes and that was to begin with and we never washed our plates before stacking it up with roast beef and vegetables .Maybe this was the sweet and savoury which is a Yorkshire things.

We have Christmas cake with cheese, apple pie with cheese . And Jacks Dad would say either of these was like a kiss without a squeeze if there was no cheese served . And it needs to be Wensleydale for the ultimate effect.
When Lockdown is lifted and guests are coming again ,a nice ride into the Dales to Wensleydale Creamery is recommended. It would be classed as Micky Mouses's favourite destination with eye watering displays.

of cheeses and to suit all palates as long as you like cheese even Cheese with Champagne

New top class chef on the block - ADAM JACKSON at The FEVERSHAM ARMS

Delighted to say there is now another place we can suggest to guests to go to eat. It is in the Weathervane Restaurant at the Feversham Arms in Helmsley. Adam Jackson is now head chef there and his food is amazing.
I have know Adam a long long time .Firstly when he was head chef at the Black Swan in Oldstead where he got a Michelin star for his food.  More recently he has returned from the bright lights of York to take the Feversham Arms to another level .
I was very honoured when he made time to attend the Ryedale Business Awards last week when I announced this great talent was in the area had arrived. It had all been very secretive up until only a few days before.

I went along last night with two friends, Mary who drink Prosecco, Tracy who has a liking for Vodka and Cranberry ..I must try that it was a new one to me and as I was driving I stuck to tap water.
A 2 or 3 course a la carte menu . Chef Jackson certainly worked incredibly hard to keep all 36 diners happy. Nearly a full restaurant  on a freezing evening yes it was 0 degrees when we later ventured out into the late night air.  Please note it was only freezing outside and I had a prime view of everyone cooing and oohhing over their food as I was sat with my back to the wall with a good view of the room.
To start not just bread homemade of course with my favourite of favourites marmite butter and a sea salted version too but a cup of the finest lightest french onion soup I have ever drank . would be pot washer for a week to learn how to make this. I have ever drank . It also came with little balls the finest of choux filled with whipped goats cheese

There is a very detailed version of this blog written up on our FACEBOOK PAGE - JACK PECKITT/ANNA LUPTON if you wish to read it more deeply . I will say what I choose I couldn't have bettered .Sea Trout with hispi, wasabi and apple to start -that was my favourite , my main course was Cod, loveage, ratte potatoes and potted shrimps with the latter catching my eye to make the difficult decision a little easier to know which course to chose. Topped off with Chocolate ,blood orange and pecan.
Mary and Tracy had the beef which they said they had never tasted beef like it .
 We were given extra surprises in store along the way as nice places do . You know it is a "nice "place when you finish with a cheese board with not only has orchard chutneys, crackers and walnut and treacle bread but honey and walnut on one of  cheese as well .