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First published 2024 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP
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WelcometotheNovemberMagazine
Hello, and welcome to this month’s magazine.
The countdown to Christmas is well and truly underway now, and even the less organised (such as myself) are beginning to sit up and take note! This month we have a number of seasonal projects, including one of my favourites, the little Piglet in Blanket decoration. (Pigs in blankets, or sausages wrapped in bacon, are a traditional accompaniment to family Christmas lunch here in the UK).
Of all our features this month, I think I most enjoyed writing about Flora Thompson - an English Countrywoman. Though I’ve been familiar with her writing for many years, first reading her books when I was at school, I’m sorry to say I hadn’t realised just how hard her life had been in very many ways, and what difficulties she overcame to publish her most famous work, the Lark Rise to Candleford trilogy.
There’s lots more between the covers as well of course and I do hope you’ll enjoy this month’s issue.
The December edition will be published on Thursday 28 November, in four weeks time. Until then…
Very best wishes
November
This is the month when autumn slowly but surely begins to give way to winter as the last leaves flutter from the trees and hibernating animals begin their long winter sleep. But, as the chilly weather begins to take hold there are still plenty of seasonal pleasures to enjoy - long muddy walks, lighting the fire and hearty casseroles in the oven. And Christmas too is just around the corner now….
November is the month for fog and frosts, that will bring the last few leaves tumbling to the ground. There’s still colour along the more sheltered lanes where, in the hedgerows, bracken and bramble offer shades of gold and a rich purplish-brown whilst the seed heads of wild clematis - known as Old Man’s Beard - festoons the hedges on either side.
In village gardens there are still a few ragged looking roses defying the worsening weather and fireworks of winter jasmine have begun to burst out on house and cottage walls. The churchyard hollies are packed with colour, berries clustering amongst their dark green shiny leaves, for all the world like swarms of scarlet bees or ladybirds. As the month progresses the colour across the countryside will begin to give way to a palette of more muted greys, browns and mauves, highlighted by
the brilliant white of frost on those wonderful clear cold days. But these more subtle colours are beautiful too and the old splash of vivid red or orange from the remaining hips, haws and one or two late blooming flowers is all the more welcome for its scarcity.
The first of the month brings All Saints’ Day and the second is All Souls’ Day. Both these days were concerned with remembering the dead in one way or another. The custom of making and giving soul cakes which brought benefits to both the giver and the recipient. Giving the cake was seen as an act of charity that helped the giver’s soul, and at the same time, by commemorating the dead, consumption of the cake helped other people’s souls to get out of purgatory and into Heaven. The custom of souling involved visiting houses and asking for money, food
or drink in exchange for a song. Again, giving alms to these “soulers” would ensure the release from purgatory of the souls of loved ones.
“Soul! soul! for a soul cake! I pray, good missus, a soul cake! An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry, Any good thing to make us merry.
I hope you’ll prove kind with your apples and beer And we’ll come no more a-souling until this time next year.
One for Peter, one for Paul Three for Him as made us all.”
Traditional
The fifth brings Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night here in England. This commemorates the unsuccessful attempt of one Guido Fawkes and his associates to blow up the King and Parliament in November 1605.
Approachingwinterbidsvegetationprepareforarest.Inthekitchengardenthecrops willmakelittleprogressforthefourmonthsfollowingthis. Duringthattimewillbe apparenttheamountofforethoughtdisplayedinsummerandautumncropping. Ifa fairamountofBrusselssprouts,savoys,andotherwintervegetableshavebeen provided,thisisthemainpoint;andsupposingherbs,salading,andminorcrops,have beenattendedto,then,ifanygroundisunoccupied,layitupinridges,having trencheditordugitdeeply,supposingthegroundtobelight.
From the “Beeton Book of Garden Management” 1862, Samuel Orchart Beeton
Stirup,OLord….
The exact origins of Christmas pudding are lost in the mists of time, though he pudding we know today began life as a pottage. This was a kind of broth, including raisins and other dried fruit, spices and wine. It was thickened with breadcrumbs or ground almonds and often included meat or at least meat stock. That original ‘figgy pudding’ was almost unrecognisable from today’s Christmas pudding. For example, this medieval recipe was published in 1392:
“Take almaundes blanched, grynde hem and draw hem up with water and wyne: quarter fygur, hole raisouns. cast perto powdour gyngur and hony clarified, seeth it well & salt it, and serue forth”Fygey from the Form of Cury (1392)
This plum pottage would be served at the start of the meal rather than at the end as we do today. It wasn’t until the end of the 17th century that the pottage took on a more solid appearance. It was served like a porridge or cooked inside a skin, like a sausage. Even then, it was more likely to have been sliced and cooked under a roasting joint and served alongside the main meal or as a starter – not a dessert.
During the eighteenth century, plum porridge would become associated with Christmas. It was the Victorians who raised its prominence at the festive table. The Victorians believed Christmas should be celebrated
(although excessive drinking and frolicking were frowned upon). It was they who established the tradition of making the family’s Christmas pudding on Stir Up Sunday, the fifth Sunday before Christmas.
Inspiration was taken from the Collect for that day in the Book Of Common Prayer:
“Stir up, we beseech thee, oh Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.”
Stir Up Sunday was (and often still is) a family affair. Each family member was supposed to stir the mixture from east to west to honour the journey of the Magi. This ritual was also thought to bring the family luck in the coming year.
Originally the puddings would have been shaped into a sphere and boiled in a cloth. This practice eventually gave way to steaming the dessert in a pudding basin or elaborate mould, particularly in wealthier households. The traditional accompaniment to the Christmas pudding was a sweet custard or a hard sauce (nowadays known as brandy butter).
It was customary to hide a number of small trinkets in the mixture, a bit like the twelfth night cake. These charms often included a silver coin which signified
“In half a minute Mrs Cratchit entered – flushed, but smiling proudly – with the pudding, like a speckled cannon ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half a half a quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas Holly stuck into the top. Oh, what a wonderful pudding!”
From “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens 1843
wealth, and a ring to represent a future marriage. Woe betide the guest who stumbled across a thimble in their serving as this meant certain spinsterhood for the recipient.
You are meant to stir a Christmas pudding from East to West (ie you should stir your Christmas pudding mix clockwise) as this is supposed to signify the way the Three Wise Men travelled to meet Jesus.
There are numerous theories for why we stir clockwise and not anti-clockwise - some believe that stirring anti-clockwise invokes the devil, whilst others claim that the act of stirring clockwise was supposed to mirror the way that people thought the sun orbited the earth at the time. There are also some that claim the pudding should be stirred anti-clockwise, so it's a rather confusing tradition!
Traditionally there are thirteen ingredients in a Christmas pudding, which represent Jesus and his twelve disciples. These include dried fruit like raisins and currants, as well as sugar, suet, breadcrumbs, citrus juice and peel, flour, mixed spices, eggs, milk and the all-important brandy.
Today’s puddings stray from tradition by including a variety of ingredients, though there is often discussion on whether to serve brandy butter, flavoured cream or (my preference!) custard with your Christmas Day pudding!
November … the last month of autumn before we slip and slide into the winter months. Here in the UK the clocks go back an hour on the last Sunday in October, and even if the weather is still mild, we can no longer convince ourselves that it’s still summer when it’s dark by four. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as the magic and sparkle of Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s cosy and warm inside, a time for warming casseroles, soups and traditional puddings….
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”
Edith Sitwell
In the vegetable patch, even though Hallowe’en is past, there are still a few golden pumpkins brightening the beds. Take them in soon though before the frost comes, their honeyed flesh is high in vitamins and fibre, adding sweetness and a velvety texture to warming soups.
This is is one of the best months for root vegetables, parsnips and celeriac in particular make great additions to your shopping list. The slow cooking process of roasting caramelises the natural sugars of root vegetables, releasing their own sweet flavours. Cabbage
is a staple, coming in many forms - round, oblong and even pointed and in a variety of colours from subtle white to bold dark green and purple. All are highly nutritious, packed with vitamins A, K and C and iron. Such strong flavours can be successfully paired with robustly flavoured meats. Venison, in season now, has an intense gamey flavour and is delicious cooked in red wine.
The countryside may seem drained of colour, but this isn’t a subdued time in the kitchen. Colour comes in many forms and shades. Sweet, juicy clementines bring a golden reminder of sunnier climes, whilst their flavour is a delicious balance of tart and sweetness. They can be used to decorate cakes, flavour puddings, or - next month - be popped into the toe of a Christmas stocking.
For a winter’s evening treat, a traditionally roasted chestnut is perfect. If you have an open fireplace, get a good fire going and throw a handful of chestnuts into a roasting pan. Be sure to cut a small cross in the top of each nut first to prevent any alarming explosions - and burning fragments from scorching holes in your rug. After about ten minutes, depending upon the fierceness of your fire, your nuts should be beautifully roasted and easy to peel. If you don’t have a fire, then you can just as easily roast them in the oven at 200C for around twenty minutes - again don’t forget to cut your cross first.
Tomato Risotto
Ingredients
● 2 tbsp olive oil
● 1 onion, very finely chopped
● 1 large garlic clove, crushed
● 175g risotto rice
● 400g can cherry tomatoes
● 600ml hot vegetable stock
● 30g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, grated
● 30g mascarpone, or cream cheese
● ½ small bunch of basil, chopped
Method
● Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion along with a pinch of salt, and fry for 10 mins or until beginning to soften and turn translucent, then add the garlic and fry for 1 min. Stir in the rice and cook for 2 mins.
● Tip in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add half the stock, cooking and stirring until absorbed. Add the remaining stock, a ladleful at a time, and cook until the rice is al dente, stirring constantly for around 20 mins.
● Stir through the parmesan, mascarpone or cream cheese, and basil, then season to taste. Spoon into bowls to serve.
● Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment.
● Melt butter, sugar and maple syrup in a pan over gentle heat, then cool slightly. Whisk the eggs into this mixture, then stir in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice, followed by the grated parsnip, apple, chopped pecans, orange zest and juice.
● Divide between the tins, then bake for 25-30 mins until the tops spring back when pressed lightly.
● Cool the cakes slightly in the tins before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.
● Just before serving, mix together the mascarpone and maple syrup. Spread over one cake and sandwich with the other. Dust with icing sugar.
Flora Thompson, whose writing we have been enjoying in the Bustle & Sew Magazine for some time now, died in 1947 at the age of seventy, a writer who had produced a minor classic - the trilogy Lark Rise to Candleford - in the last years of her life. This trilogy is semi-autobiographical, a simple yet incredibly detailed, record of the life of the poor as it was lived in rural Oxfordshire.
Flora Thompson was born Flora Jane Timms on 5 December 1876 and was the eldest child in the large family of a stonemason who had settled in the hamlet of Juniper Hill, near Brackley during the early 1870’s. He was the only man in the hamlet, besides the publican, who wasn’t a farm labourer, and he earned a little more than the standard farming wage of ten shillings a week; but not much more, and to the end of her life Flora remembered that it had been her mother’s dearest dream to have “thirty shillings a week, paid regular and to be depended upon.” Her mother, Emma, was a local girl, daughter of a smallholder who followed the trade of “eggler” round the farms and villages, collecting with a pony and cart and selling his eggs in the nearby market town.
In later years Flora herself described her childhood as “somewhat harsh and restricted,” but she bore no grudge for the harshness and restriction were part of their poverty and were common to them all. She was a down-to-earth country child, but with an unusual and unaccountable poetic streak in her nature which somehow transformed her commonplace experiences into precious moments to be enjoyed and treasured by her future readers.
Flora was educated in the village school, walking three miles backwards and forwards each day from the age of five until she left at twelve years old. She was a competent learner, but not outstanding and there was much local astonishment when, more than half a
century later, her books appeared. It stood to reason, people said, that they couldn’t have been written by Timms the stonemason’s girl!
It was taken for granted at that time that when a girl reached the age of twelve or thirteen she would leave home to go into service. Flora’s mother had planned to get her a place under one of the nurses she knew from her own days in service. But her daughter’s unusual enthusiasm for reading, and her frequent, and regarded as frankly rather peculiar, requests for scraps of paper to write on, made her mother doubtful of her suitability as a nursemaid. So she decided to place her with another old acquaintance, the postmistress of Fringford, who was willing to take her on as a junior assistant. So Flora, as she described in , was driven by her father in the innkeeper’s cart over the eight miles of country roads to the neighbouring village where she began her adult life as a post office clerk.
When she was nearly twenty Flora moved to a new post as assistant postmistress in the village of Grayshott. At first she lived with the postmaster’s family, but soon moved into lodgings. This was fortunate for both Flora and for us, her later readers, as the postmaster was in fact a dangerous psychopath who later murdered his wife and child with a carving knife and was declared insane!
