Agincourt or Gunpowder Plot? Old Style vs. New Style Dates

Today my dear (but habitually rude) friend set his Facebook status to read:

598 years ago today we gave the French a right shoeing at Agincourt. It was one of a series of bootings that we routinely gave the French back in the day. We should remember that next time that ponce Hollande gets uppity or some French farmer starts burning our sheep.

Leaving the French and the sheep aside, he is quite correct in memorising the date of the battle of Agincourt  as 25^th October 1415, but he is not, in fact, right to state that it was 598 years ago today. Actually he’s missed the anniversary by nine days, due to the change from Julian to Gregorian calendar.

Why did dates change?

The ancient Egyptians adopted a 365-day calendar sometime between 4000 and 3000 B.C. The first major improvement to that 365-day calendar was made by Julius Caesar (100–44 B.C. ) in 46 B.C. With the help of Greek astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar developed a new calendar divided into 12 months of 30 and 31 days, with the exception of 28 days in February. This new Julian calendar (named after Caesar) built-in an extra day, or leap day, every fourth year to account for the 365.25-day solar year.

The Julian calendar, however, was still off by 11 minutes and 14 seconds each year. Over 300 years, this difference added up to just over 3 days. By the mid-1500s, the Julian calendar was 10 days ahead of Earth's natural yearly cycle.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII installed a new calendar, designed to deal with this problem of solar years being slightly longer than 364 days for which reason festivities originally set by solar dates (namely the equinoxes and solstices) had drifted 10 days in the solar calendar. The Gregorian calendar shifted the entire year ten days forward in order to fix the discrepancy, so that ten days were “skipped”.

However, this being during the Reformation and the Pope being a Catholic, England didn’t play ball until 1752, leaving two different calendars in place in Europe for 170 years.

Historical-trivia geeks (such as myself) revel in the knowledge that Shakespeare and Cervantes both died on 23 April 1616 but Cervantes predeceased Shakespeare by 10 days! For dating these events Spain used the ‘New Style’ Gregorian calendar, but Britain used the ‘Old Style’ Julian calendar. Astronomers avoid this ambiguity by the use of the Julian day number.

By the time Great Britain, Ireland and the colonies changed over, the discrepancy between calendars had increased, so that Wednesday 2nd September 1752 was followed by Thursday 14th September 1752, 11 days later

This anomaly is of little importance to most people, but to writers of historical fiction it can be useful to realign dates with the seasons using what is called the ‘proleptic Gregorian calendar’. The following conversion ready-reckoner is a handy guide.

Conversion from Gregorian to Julian 

Time period (from 1 March of first year to 28 February of last year)	Сorrection, days
1–100	+2
100–200	+1
200–300	0
300–500	-1
500–600	-2
600–700	-3
700–900	-4
900–1000	-5
1000–1100	-6
1100–1300	-7
1300–1400	-8
1400–1500	-9
1500–1700	-10
1700–1800	-11
1800–1900	-12
1900–2100	-13

So by subtracting 9 correction days, the anniversary of 25^th October 1415  is (or was) 16^th October in 2013. 

To perform a reverse calculation, add 10 correction days to calculate that 25^th October of 2013 was the 4^th November of 1605. 

And what is the significance of 4^th November 1605? It is the date of the initial search of the cellars of the Houses of Parliament that discovered Fawkes and the wood and coal that Percy had provided to cover the kegs of powder. A thorough search of the cellars by Sir Thomas Knyvett at midnight found the gunpowder.  Fawkes was arrested and taken before Cecil (Secretary of State) and King James in the early hours of 5^th November 1605, the anniversary of which is tomorrow 26^th October 2013.

So, while my friend is remembering an old victory over the French, he could today be commemorating an event that took place much closer to home.

Saxon's Bane by Geoffrey Gudgion

Yesterday, on a hot summer night, I went to the launch of Geoffrey Gudgion’s fabulous debut novel, Saxon’s Bane at Forbidden Planet on Shaftsbury Avenue in London.  

Walking in, I felt I had surely found the UK spiritual home of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj from the Big Bang Theory! Upstairs was stocked with comic books and sci-fi merchandise goodies. Downstairs I found a regular bookstore and a warm book launch – actually the welcome (and the room) were very warm indeed - but the wine was chilled!

I should declare that I was given an advance copy of this book by the author, who I know through the Historical Novel Society. Jenny Barden, (author of Mistress of the Sea and doyenne of the HNS) and I were greeted by a charming woman, as "Ah! You'll be the HistFict massive then?" Gosh!  Best to admit it then!

With Jenny Barden

So what about the book?

Saxon’s Bane is an action-packed page-turner shaped by elements of horror, fantasy, history, thriller and the ghost story. As debut novels go, Saxon’s Bane is pretty impressive.

The catalyst for the story is the simultaneous discovery of a bog body and a car crash in an unspoilt valley, which brings together a plausible set of characters in an environment of convincing solidity. Just as the landscape visibly preserves the memory of ancient ploughshares, so other fragments of the past colour the lives of the living. Legend, history, memory, folklore, magical practice - ancient and modern - and religion impinge on the present and serve to fuel the interactions between well-drawn characters, all of whom have been touched by the shadow world in different ways. Gudgion deftly uses a well-observed, surprisingly broad spectrum of belief in a quintessentially traditional British rural community, to develop tension and suspense that hold the reader’s engagement without recourse to sensationalism.

Dream interactions and flashbacks allow Gudgion to share a vivid experience of ancient lives and battles, with both character and reader alike. An emotional literacy underpins much of the writing which is further enlivened by tangential but witty observations by the characters - a smug post-coital pigeon or a failed clinch that results in the near-embrace of a rucksack - which diffuse any suggestion of sentimentality. Mythical motifs are woven elegantly into a fast paced split-time story.

Saxon’s Bane reads very well indeed – give me more, Mr Gudgion! Five stars.

Publisher’s Description
Fergus's world changes forever the day his car crashes near the remote village of Allingley. Traumatised by his near-death experience, he stays to work at the local stables as he recovers from his injuries. He will discover a gentler pace of life, fall in love and be targeted for human sacrifice.

Clare Harvey's life will never be the same either. The young archaeologist's dream find the peat-preserved body of a Saxon warrior is giving her nightmares. She can tell that the warrior was ritually murdered, and that the partial skeleton lying nearby is that of a young woman. And their tragic story is unfolding in her head every time she goes to sleep.

Fergus discovers that his crash is linked to the excavation, and that the countryside harbours some dark secrets.

As Clare's investigation reveals the full horror of a Dark Age war crime, Fergus and Clare seem destined to share the Saxon couple's bloody fate.

Saxon’s Bane is published 12 September 2013 by Solaris. 

Available for pre-order via Amazon now.

Blackberry Vodka Liqueur

Blackberry Vodka Liqueur

Driving a desk (or a dining room table) is all very well but I do try to sortie out most days at lunchtime for a break.

Right now it's quite important that I do get out because I'm preparing for a talk at the Springfield Sanctuary Herb Festival and I 'wildcraft' most of the materia medica that I use to illustrate my talks.  That said, by the very nature of 'wildcrafting', it's not like going to a shop, so you don't always get what you were looking for and more often than not, something else absolutely wonderful just presents itself and demands to be harvested and used.

Hops

This afternoon I posted on Facebook that I had happened upon a gorgeous swag of hops on the tow path of the Kennet and Avon canal near my home and my friend Ruth said she'd thought of me while blackberrying on Greenham Common today... As one confidence begs another, I was forced to confess to more than a few hops as today's bounty - I was indeed guilty of bringing home some lovely blackberries again today... The foraging habit is quite addictive and admitting to it is part of the solution!

Blackberries

 While Ruth is presently jamming away, my blackberries sit in a bowl awaiting cream for pudding. However I was reminded that last year I made a blackberry vodka liqueur. I didn't blog it at the time but I did take pictures so here goes... It's a doddle really - weighing it really isn't necessary but some folk like to have an idea of scale.

Basically you are looking at about a cup of sugar to a pound of blackberries, layered into a jar and covered with vodka in the jar. You need enough to keep the fruit beneath the surface which in my case was less than a full 75cl bottle.. so about 50 cl. Or about 500g blackberries to 250g sugar and as much of the vodka as it takes.

Don't mess with caster sugar or any fancy vodka. The blackberries transform granulated sugar and cheap supermarket vodka!

 Then just layer it in, sugar and fruit, right up to the top.

 Pour over the vodka...

Cap the jar and stick it in a dark cupboard for a few weeks. Until Christmas ideally. Then strain it through muslin and bottle.

Fresh and frozen

You can use the sweet boozy fruit in desserts like pavlovas! The weird thing is that the vodka content prevents it from freezing properly. So in the picture above the new fresh fruit picked today is in the left hand tub and some of the fruit that made the dark liqueur last year is in the frozen right hand tub. Some colour extracted, obviously, but the fruit in the frozen tub still has the texture of fresh fruit!

Magic!

Springfield Sanctuary Herb Festival 2013

Speaking at the 2012 Festival.
Photo credit Debs Cook

This year will be the third year that I have been a speaker at the Springfield Sanctuary Herb Festival in the Cotswolds. The 'Celebrating Herbs' festival runs from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th September 2013. The other speakers are all amazing - practising medical herbalists and experts in wildcrafting - there are practical workshops and guided herb walks. Camping is available in the field. The programme is here as a printable pdf.

Camping at the Festival.
Photo credit Chris Head

I generally take an historical and folkloric approach to my talks. Last year I spoke on Herbal Fumigants:"Burning, suffumigation and smudge: using smoke to clear the air" based on the idea that many people believe that the practices of burning herbs and smoking were brought to us from the New World with tobacco. So I took a look (with demonstrations) at the Old World uses of non-tobacco smoke, from the incenses and entheogens of the classical period to Bald's Leechbook which tells us "geréc þone man mid þám wyrtum" (smoke that man with the herbs); through the early modern period and into the 20th century.

Demonstrating a mugwort 'smudge' stick.
Photo credit Debs Cook

At the request of a number of people in the audience, as well as some overseas members of Sarah Head's herb apprenticeship programme who were unable to attend, I did promise to make an extended version of my notes available as an e-book, and it is as I start to prepare this year's offering that I'm prompted to get that out before I actually deliver the next one! I do hope some of my herby friends can be persuaded to review it - let me know and I will gift you a copy.

With my 'pirate's chest' of goodies.
Photo credit Debs Cook

This year the title of my talk is "The historical legacy of blessings, curses, and charms in modern western herbalism." I shall be bringing along my wooden box of goodies with loads of things to demonstrate again, (last year's audience called it my pirate's chest!) I think that interacting with the herbs is so valuable to supplement booklearning - it's one of the main reasons why people choose to attend festivals and join groups.

Sarah Head runs Springfield Sanctuary herbal apprenticeships and I am proud to number myself amongst her alumni. Her blog 'Tales of a Kitchen Herbwife' is here.

Springfield Sanctuary is part of Wynyards Farm, a small arable farm in the Cotswolds belonging to Sarah Head's parents, Pryce and Marjorie Watkins.

Debs Cook's Herbaholic website 'Herbal Haven' is here.

So you've been accused of witchcraft...?

Herewith for your delectation, a flow chart that sets out your options should you be accused of witchcraft, taken from the Summer 2012 edition is Lapham's Quarterly magazine.

Just on a point of interest though, Malleus Malificarum (Hammer of the Witches) is a treatise on the prosecution of witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, a German Catholic clergyman. Here
in England we hanged our witches, we didn't burn them... the Scots did though... You can't say I never post anything useful!

Volunteers needed for Loose Ends soup kitchen, Newbury

Further to my Food Bank post here, I'd just like to add that the charity I referred to in the Morton Hall at the Baptist Church in Newbury is currently seeking volunteers for their Drop In Centre called Loose Ends. They provide a hot meal, groceries to take away, toiletries, showers and clean clothes for homeless or inadequately housed people in the Newbury area.

Newbury Baptist Church, Cheap Street 

"At the moment the doors are open for 4 sessions a week. A home cooked soup is provided on Mondays between 12:30pm and 1:30pm, a freshly cooked breakfast on Wednesdays and Fridays between 9:30am and 11:00am and on Sundays a cooked lunch between 2:00pm and 3:30pm. Volunteers are needed to arrive 45 minutes before the start of their session. 

Another new trend is the number of young people coming through the doors. They are either living rough, or what is known as 'invisible homeless' ie constantly on the move from one 'friends' door to another's. So many of these people are the product of broken homes and failed 'care' systems, and a surprising number are ex-service personnel. Most of them have histories that move one to tears and have suffered terribly either physically or mentally or both. The majority have an alcohol or drug problem, or both, and most of them are known to the police. 

If you are interested in getting involved, but don't feel this role is for you, then there are other equally important ways to support LOOSE ENDS i.e. collecting supplies of food/clothes/ toiletries, doing the regular shopping or fund-raising."

I don't attend this church and I'm not currently a volunteer, but having mentioned this work several weeks ago, it seemed important to help publicise their search for volunteers.

Newbury Flood Alleviation

Blocked drain in Berkeley Road

 I can't believe the election literature the parties are putting out for the this tiny little ward by-election for Newbury Town Council tomorrow. It is a glorified parish council FFS!

We've seen rather gross "dog whistle politics" in a  town council election leaflet. Immigration? How wrong is that? Purleese!

They're trying to tell us that it's the river that will flood us but we know that it's the blocked drains 'wot dun it' last time in 2007 and they haven't been cleared since. I have a FOI request in, but hey.

It is entirely testament to the point that we are making about the parties failing the people. I certainly don't mean to have a go at the Tories at the expense of the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems are the ones who've been presiding over the Town Council's fiasco - they've had control!

There are 23 seats on the Town Council. It was 12 Lib Dems to 11 Tories, until two Lib Dems couldn't be arsed anymore and caused this election, the Lib Dems had control. Now they're all fighting over it.

The irony is that if you vote for me and Dave Yates, you have a unique opportunity here tomorrow to make a real difference. If we are elected neither of these parties will hold sway unopposed. We can hold them to account on every vote.

Please don't give your vote to any of these numpties! Vote for me and Dave!

Newbury Charter Market

Victoria and Sophie on the Apolitical campaign trail in Newbury

Charter market today with Eilish Cooling.

I wrote the following letter to the Newbury Weekly News on 8^th April, the Editor didn’t publish it for reasons best known herself… but I thought I’d share it here.

Charter Market why wait?

Dear Editor,

The Charter Market is shrinking. Some traders will pack up soon for good and they do not want their children following them into third generation businesses. The supermarkets and on-line shopping have rendered the traditional market obsolete.

However, talking to the traders on Saturday, I was delighted to find that there is a great sense of buzz and hope which is being frustrated by excessive customer parking charges and a lack of acceptance by the Town Council that the dynamic of the town has shifted north away from the Market Square.

I talked to Michelle and Jessie. Michelle makes and sells handcrafted jewellery. She had been allocated a pitch facing the Hatchet. It was her second visit to Newbury and was very downhearted to have taken just £8 that morning.

Jessie has had her cupcake stall for about a year and a half. When her pitch was moved from Nat West to Bartholomew Street her takings doubled, and she was able to buy a shop in Swindon, but her Newbury stall is the powerhouse of her business.

Both enterprising young women are offering unique handmade products which sell themselves - if only the customer can see them! There is footfall at the top end of Bartholomew Street but Northbrook Street was positively awash with shoppers in the sunshine. There is already planning permission for 6 pitches in Northbrook Street – why are they not let?

I went back to tell Michelle of Jessie’s story and Michelle’s going to stick with it in the hopes that we can make Newbury Town Council wake up and make those pitches available – sooner rather than later.

Yours 

Charlie Farrow

Apolitical Candidate for Victoria Ward

Berkeley Road

Newbury

(We like cupcakes!)

Newbury Town Council By-election Election Literature 2

The Market

The Council seem hellbent on getting rid of the market. They seem to want to turn the town into the next Basingstoke. Who has been consulted on this? The people we speak to don't want the town changed, they want us to stay as a nice little market town.

The traders and shopkeepers tell us they are frustrated by excessive customer parking charges and that the Council has shifted the dynamic of the town north away from the Market Square.Traders who have been allowed pitches in Bartholomew Street have doubled their takings. But most are forced to occupy the retail desert that the Market Square has become. There is planning permission already for six pitches in Northbrook Street.

We will:

Activate the 6 Northbrook Street pitches immediately to act as ‘breadcrumbs’ bringing footfall back to the market place.

Produce a proper marketing plan to attract a greater diversity of marketers and generate awareness among shoppers and visitors to ensure the long term prosperity of the Market and the small businesses in the town centre.

Victoria Park

The Coalition monopoly has presided complacently over significant loss of amenity in Victoria Park. The playing field and bowling green are out of action. We have cracked paths and cracks in houses. We have no toilets, no fence around the play park and a £24,000 bill for a report into the damage that we can’t see because it’s commercially sensitive!

We didn't need a hydrogeological report to tell us what's wrong with the park. We know it's the Parkway development that's caused it. For the amount of money they have squandered on reports and prevarication we could have fixed the damage and put up the railings around the toddler play area that parents wanted reinstating.

Charlie was one of the organisers of the 1500 strong petition to put the fence back around the toddler play area in Victoria Park. The petition was presented in October 2011 but rejected because it’s not current thinking in leisure planning. It would be reconsidered only if there were lots of incidents, due to a lack of a fence! So they’ll act only after preventable disaster has struck! Registered childminders tell us they are prohibited from using unfenced spaces for insurance reasons.There was a fence before the council removed it and installed new equipment, so we weren't asking for anything new, just to keep what we had!

• We will get started on remedying the damage to the Park without waiting to apportion blame or further prevarication.
  

We think it’s about time someone starts demanding answers for the people of Newbury:

• Investigating why the Town Council has been paying £50,000 annually to West Berks Council for market cleansing which is now being done at virtually no cost through self-cleansing.
• Looking at why the market hasn’t been managed and marketed more efficiently.

As Apoliticals we have no party political baggage to prevent us from demanding full and honest disclosure to the people regarding the fiasco in Victoria Park, the politically motivated offloading of services from West Berks onto Newbury Town Council to keep the headline Council Tax rate down, and the poor management of services.

Information on reverse of leaflet

Newbury Town Council By-election Election Literature 1

Charlie Farrow

I am married to Dave Yates, have lived in Newbury for twenty five years and raised four children here. The two elder ones have good degrees and jobs, the third is still at Newbury College and the youngest at St Barts.

I’ve been a Marketing Manager in a school and a university and for some of the biggest brands. I’ve been a Governor of Park House and for several years I’ve been an active volunteer member of the Sustainable Newbury Group on Newbury Town Council.

I was asked by a group of young mums to help them campaign to get the fence put back round the toddler play area in Victoria Park. But we were refused - all 1500 of us!

I was among the first cohort of Chartered Marketers in the UK and if I can’t get the market thriving again, then nobody can.

I have a love of the history of Newbury and I’m concerned that its heritage is being squandered with the ever greater needs of 'vanity projects.

*******

Apolitical means ‘politically neutral, unbiased, non-aligned’.

'Apolitical' describes a convention of impartiality amongst people active in politics, like the Speaker of the Commons, the Cross-Benchers in the Lords or most parish councillors, who are not subject to the party 'whip' or told what to think by a political party.

Being Apolitical doesn't mean apathy or lack of interest in democracy or local affairs.

We believe we should be guided by our electors' wishes, considered evidence, our real world experience and expertise, and our consciences. 

In that order.

We don’t believe any of the main parties has OUR best interests at heart.

*******

Dave Yates

I joined the army age 16 and my role as a Military Surveyor brought me to the School of Military Survey at Hermitage in the early 1980's. I have been in Newbury ever since, first in York Road, and then Berkeley Road where I have lived for over twenty five years. A surveyor by profession and a builder by choice, I am a detail man with an eye for numbers.

I worked for many years in the piling industry, and have been involved on many
projects which utilised de-watering systems, similar to that used by Costains, in the construction of the Parkway Development. I, like many others, believe that the damage done to Victoria Park and the buildings around, is entirely the fault of Costains.

If Charlie and I are elected to the Town Council, I will not consider myself to be bound by the gagging order placed on the Lib-Dems and Conservatives by their masters at West Berkshire Council. I will make known the details of the report commissioned by the Town Council, which has been paid for by you.

Reverse of leaflet here.

Suspended Coffee & Food Banks

This is a story that appeared in my news feed on Facebook and appears to be going viral. I thought it was rather heart warming but wondered whether it was for real.

"We enter a little coffeehouse with a friend of mine and give our order. While we're approaching our table two people come in and they go to the counter.

'Five coffees, please. Two of them for us and three suspended'

They pay for their order, take the two and leave. I ask my friend, 'What are those 'suspended' coffees?'

'Wait for it and you will see'

Some more people enter. Two girls ask for one coffee each, pay and go. The next order was for seven coffees and it was made by three lawyers - three for them and four 'suspended'. While I still wonder what's the deal with those 'suspended' coffees I enjoy the sunny weather and the beautiful view towards the square in front of the café.

Suddenly a man dressed in shabby clothes who looks like a beggar comes in through the door and kindly asks

'Do you have a suspended coffee ?'

It's simple - people pay in advance for a coffee meant for someone who can not afford a warm beverage. The tradition with the suspended coffees started in Naples, but it has spread all over the world and in some places you can order not only a suspended coffee, but also a sandwich or a whole meal."

It seems that it is an Italian tradition that has been around for some time. This blogger witnessed it in Naples in 2011 and identified it as a form of dignified charity, giving this explanation:

“Right after the war, many gentlemen had lost everything they had, and couldn’t even afford coffee. Now, being that black hot liquid pleasure not considered a treat, but rather a basic human right in the life of any Neapolitan, those gentlemen who could still afford to have one, took a habit of paying for two: one they drank, the other was credited, to be had by the first less fortunate peer who would casually walk in the bar. The bartender would then say: “would you like a coffee, sir?”

Which meant: there is a coffee paid for you, if you can’t afford one. The donor and the recipient would remain anonymous to each other, to protect generosity, pride, and the pleasure of coffee beyond hardships. 

Although I think food rather than coffee is the priority; a hot drink can be a wonderful boost.

At a time when so many people are struggling, it seems to me to be helpful, to publicise ways that those of us who are fortunate enough not to have to rely on benefits can help others - without compromising their dignity.

My local newspaper the Newbury Weekly News reported the official opening of a food bank this week. The occasion was graced by a former archbishop to 'open' it, but the Baptist Church in Cheap St has been doing a wonderful job for some time. I am made slightly anxious about the mention in the news report of people being 'referrred' to the Food Bank now that it's under the management of the Trussell Trust. The Baptist Church used to give it to anyone who turned up twice a week for a hot meal. I hope people can 'self refer' and won't have to be in the system in order to get help. The new distribution points are the Salvation Army in Northcroft Lane, Newbury, The Baptist Church in Thatcham and the Methodist Church in Hungerford.

I'm glad the Food Bank is getting publicity and good people will donate, but the irony is that food brand owners have mountains of unwanted stocks, that are surplus for so many reasons (short codes, packaging redesign, a promotion that has expired but not the shelf life etc) but they don't want to release this perfectly good stock into their regular distribution channels at discounted rates because it erodes brand values. So the brand owner has basically got 4 options.. They can:

• destroy the stock; 
• export; 
• sell to a discount channel -
  OR 
• redistribute the food in a charitable way that doesn't dissipate brand values.

It breaks my heart that fourth one, the model set by Second Harvest and Fare Share, is not universal and the most obvious route for a brand owner that cares about their corporate reputation.

It's something I researched and had quite a bit published on a few years back, and it still astonishes me that it is primarily individuals that contribute the actual food, not companies and that it is churches organising the distribution points.

The link given in the paper for cash donations to the Food Bank doesn't appear to be linkable to directly (what genius designed that?) but if you go here http://www.findmeagrant.org/wberks/browse.aspx and search for the keyword WB10419 you should arrive at a page where you can donate with Gift Aid.

Donations in cash or cheque payable to CTNA and tinned food donations can be left at the West Berkshire Food Bank, 4-8 The Broadway, Northbrook Street, tel 01635 760540, email info@westberks.foodbank.org.uk. and I imagine you can still take tinned food and donations to the Baptist Church in Cheap St as before.

There's a Suspended Coffee Facebook page which is campaigning to get people to urge their nearest coffee  shop to get on board. 

Hip, Hip Hooray!

I slipped out in the glorious sunshine on a day back in mid-October to do a swift forage while the weather held. There is nothing lovelier than a beautiful, blowy sunny Autumn day in England's season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, spent harvesting the fruits of the hedgerow.

And bountiful such fruits are! Curiously the abundance available these days is the fruit of our lives of plenty. In wartime, the children would have stripped the hedgerows of the rosehips, hawthorn berries, and blackberries, before such as I came along with bucket and basket to browse for the last pickings that they couldn't have reached.

These days it seems very few people are interested enough in the magic, mystery and myth of the hedgerow to gather this bounty, but during the Second World War the collection of rosehips was organised on a national scale as a patriotic duty. The collection was organised by schools, voluntary groups and the Women's Institute. The scale of the crop during the war years was huge - some 2,000 tons - all gathered for syrup manufacture. Collectors were paid 3d a pound and the commercially produced syrup was rationed.

Rosehips are the fruit of the 'dog rose' or briar, and are one of the best sources of vitamin C, benefitting the immune and digestive systems, cooling the body and assisting elimination of wastes. Brilliant for colds and 'flu!

The syrup is absolutely delicious but is laborious to make because the juice and flesh must be extracted from the fine hairs surrounding the seed which are irritants. But if you've ever strained anything through a jellybag or muslin it's not rocket science.

Rosehip Syrup

Obviously the forager doesn't collect a specific amount, one just gathers what's there, or a bucketful or there abouts...

What you need to do is boil them up in water. So if you've got a bucketful of rosehips, then you need half a bucketful of water (and a very big pan!). Or scale your quantities according to how many of these gorgeous glossy beauties you have. One measure of water to 2 measures of rosehips - jug, pint or cup it doesn't matter.

Rosehips boiling

Boil them in a pan with the lid on until they are mushy and tender then have a go at them with the potato masher. Then when the contents of your pan looks for all the world like spaghetti sauce (as above) strain it through muslin or a jelly bag.

If you want a really clear syrup, don't squeeze it through - let it drip like making a jelly. Or if you don't mind the pulp (which I don't) push it through the strainer with a spoon and squeeze.

Then stick it all back in a clean pan. Then for every two measures of strained gorgeousness add one measure of sugar. Boil for 10 mins, then pour into hot, sterilised bottles.

Take a teaspoon or two daily throughout the winter season or as needed to relieve colds and sore throats. 

My elder son declared it to taste surprising, but pleasant - a sort of cross between ketchup and strawberries! Win!

Rosehip Syrup, rosehip vinegar and hawthorn berry syrup.

Rosehip Vinegar

Given that I had a surfeit of rosehips I made a rosehip vinegar too. Herbal vinegars are an interesting way of using the extracted herbal principle combined with the medicinal and culinary properties of a cider vinegar. The vinegars are delicious in salad dressings and sauces so one's recalcitrant offspring need not know they are being done good to!

The little jar in the picture above contains 30 rosehips,scored with a knife to help release the juices, then covered in a good cider vinegar and set on a sunny windowsill for six weeks to infuse. Then strained and bottled, it's equally useful in the kitchen or medicine cupboard.

A dessert spoonful in a little warm water, then swallowed, makes a great gargle for a sore throat 
or 
Taken with hot water and honey as a drink for colds.

Other Uses

You can make a wine out of rosehips or use the little hairy seeds as an itching powder.

As it happens the rosehips were an added bonus, discovered on my expedition to forage for hawthorn berries (more of which later), I wasn't looking for them - they kind of found me - which is the way of herbs...

'The Lady's Slipper' from my #HNSLondon12 goodie bag!

The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received a review copy from the http://www.hns-conference.org.uk/ goodie bag and briefly met Deborah Swift at the Conference.

I started it yesterday and I literally couldn't put 'The Lady's Slipper' down!

I finished it today.

Verdict: I loved it!

It's got everything I love; a pacy story; proper plotting and setting. It's got botany and herbalism. It's got cunning folk. It's got art. It's got mystery. It's got romance without the ghastly (but so often obligatory) Elizabeth Bennett conceit of an angry and obviously mistaken heroine. It's even got strong male characterisation and dynamics between the them.

It has the tastes and smells, the look the feel and an interestingly powerful sense of audio running through it and, AND it's got plenty of unobtrusive but beautifully researched period detail underpinning it all.

It's particularly interesting because it subtly references the Civil War, the Restoration, the politics in the wake of the Diggers, the Covenanters, the Quakers and treats them all with elegance and respect using a very light hand, without actually bigging up the Big Issues.

Woo! Impressed!

Can't wait to read The Gilded Lily now...


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Kyphi - Divine Incense

I've been preparing loads of stuff to burn to illustrate my talk on Herbal Fumigants at the Springfield Sanctuary Herb Festival this weekend, including Kyphi, the sacred and medicinal incense of the ancient Egyptians.

There are many recipes for Kyphi, some dating as far back as the inscriptions on Old Kingdom walls which date from around the second millennium BC, others that have come to us later by the records of the first and second century Greeks, like Diorscorides and Galen.

In preparation for my talk, I've made a version of Kyphi that is as historically accurate as I can.

Kyphi is an incense, made by combining many fragrant ingredients, characterised by the masceration of fruits which have been steeped in wine and then pounded together with dried ground resins, most notably frankincense and myrrh, and herbs, before being mixed with honey,  then manipulated into form and dried as pellets.

Gosh is it all that frankincense and myrrh, or is it the mulling of cassia and cinnamon in red wine? ... But by heck, it dun 'arf smell of Christmas! That's not just while mixing (during which it looked and smelled of Christmas pudding) but it's got a merry Christmassy smell when dried and burnt too, which speaks to me of mulled wine and happy holidays. And that surprised me because I had expected a more "bitter perfume":

"Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb."

Obviously we'd love you to join us at the Festival, so more info, historical details or recipes won't follow until after the event! 

Mistress of the Sea by Jenny Barden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In #MistressoftheSea, Jenny Barden has created a highly readable, swashbuckling story of romance and adventure. One's senses are engaged in a visible, tangible, tastable, smellable melange of Elizabethan experience and adventure!

As designer of http://www.jennybarden.com I must declare an interest, but I can in truth say that it has been a great pleasure to work with Jenny and a joy to read the book.

On the eve of formal publication, I recommend it wholeheartedly!

View all my reviews

Preparing the Old World Fumigants

It dawned on me today (rather suddenly as these things do), that not only should I be publicising it (which I haven't), I should be gathering and preparing the materia medica for my talk on 'Herbal Fumigants' at the Springfield Sanctuary 'Celebrating Herbs Festival' in the Cotswolds on the weekend of the 7th to 9th September 2012.

Many people believe that burning herbs and smoking are something brought to us from the New World with tobacco, but tobacco is just one plant.  It's true that a huge amount of the herbal lore that is current in the UK today has been imported or reimported from America but burning herbs to release their properties has been Old World practice for as long as recorded history has existed, whether we are referencing the Oracle at Delphi or Bald's Leechbook which tells us in Anglo Saxon, "geréc þone man mid þám wyrtum". (Translation: smoke that man with herbs). And that's pretty much the nature of my talk.

So as my daughter didn't fancy Zumba this evening with me, I slipped out to gather some wild stuff, which to be fair is an activity considerably more to my taste on a hot summer's night than the Zumba which is neither new nor old world (but one must show willing), so I popped out specifically looking for certain herbs.

In particular, I was looking for Mugwort.  I thought I might find some in the first field along the tow path out of Newbury going west, a mere two hundred yards from my house. And sure enough, there it was in abundance. I have to assume that this land is the subject of some planning dispute because it is entirely fallow and uncultivated! Beautiful in my eyes but no doubt someone is looking to make a fortune from it but not by cultivating a bit of mugwort and a few butterflies.

Mugwort, artemisia vulgaris named for the moon goddess, has been called the mother of herbs in many Old World cultures. It is the Mucgwyrt of the 10th century 'nine herbs charm', Bald's Leechbook refers to it as 'eldest of worts / Thou hast might for three / And against thirty". In 13th century Wales it was burnt as an insecticide by the Physicians  of Myddfai. The Chinese used burning mugwort to stimulate the acupuncture point. Some folks still smoke the leaves and dried blossoms to promote dreaming. And it's used as a smudge stick to clear negativity and stuck energy, to calm and protect, warm and dry.

There's loads more to be said about this one herb as a fumigant, so I had to get me some of that!

Anyway the talk is about a lot more than Mugwort. I'm addressing fumigants as medicinal, magico-religious & ceremonial, recreational, perfume, flavourings and preservatives, or toxins - so watch this space or come to the Festival!

My talk is called "Burning, fumigation and smudge: using smoke to clear the air" which is quite broad and as I've got far too much material for a little talk, I'm thinking maybe a little e-book supplement might not go amiss... Do let me know if you are interested in having some more information.

'Mistress of the Sea'

I've not been blogging much recently because I've been keeping my head down making a new website. 

So forthwith 'ta dah!' drum roll...

I am mightily proud to unveil the new website that I've made for Jenny Barden to support the launch of her fabulous novel 'Mistress of the Sea'. Jenny's book is a beautifully researched romantic tale of adventure and privateers, and I hope my website shows it off to its full potential.


The book is published by Ebury Press on 30th August 2012 and can pre-ordered on Amazon here.

Portraits

I'm blogging a couple of portraits that I did some time ago because I have just unearthed them from my mother's loft and they are about to wing their way to the sitters. (Better late than never!)

Peter has just moved into a new home and has donated the artwork from his previous home to his ex so it seems good timing.

Peter Lindsey Jones 16" x 20 " oil on board 1981

This painting of Kate was inscribed (in indelible pen) by my daughter whose Graduation we are attending next Tuesday! The daughter has got herself a very creditable First in Art, Event, Performance and was only two at the time of the inscription!  I'm just about to touch it out this evening, so this is the last look at it for posterity! It's quite handy since F has been at uni in Leeds and Kate who is Francesca's godmother lives and works in Yorkshire, so we are combining the outing.

Kate Wright ( neé Standen) 30" x 20" oil on canvas 1991

I need to unearth another one from 2001 to show some continuity in this set but nothing has immediately presented itself so I'll finish by  posting this one of Sherri because I really must get on with it! It doesn't look it but this one is four feet tall.

Sherriann Stephenson  48" x 40" oil on canvas
(Started 2011 WIP)