Talking while walking

Food Nostalgia -While out for a walk we discussed the merits of the Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie. We all agreed the need for a top class tin opener to get the top off . In our youth as students this was a fine meal for very little cash . We all commented on the puff pastry which was light and delicious and Tony fondly remembered the soggy pastry on the bottom which he saw as the highlight. Steve said it was a staple in his cupboard because it did not go off . I mentioned the fact that with a tin of garden peas and some tinned new potatoes you had a banquet fit for a king!

The Leeds Dripping Riots of 1865

Stephen and Tony were born and brought up in Leeds .

I had to spend 15 minutes of my life listening to them discussing the Leeds dripping riots until my eyes glazed over. For those of you who are unfamiliar with dripping it is the fat collected from roasting beef which is then spread on bread and largely consumed by the working class.  

When Eliza Stafford left Armley Prison by a back door on Wednesday 22^nd February 1865 she was unaware of the crowd that was starting to form at the main entrance. Eliza had been in prison for a month for stealing 2lb of dripping from her employer, local surgeon and magistrate Mr. Henry Chroley of 8 Park Square. Her case had gained widespread sympathy and her offence was considered by many to be trivial and her punishment too harsh.
Eliza, due to coverage by the Leeds Mercury and Leeds Express, had become a heroine to the poor and underprivileged of Leeds. Even though it was a bitterly cold morning, with deep snow on the ground, by 9am the crowd outside the prison had swelled to between 10,000 and 12,000 ready to cheer her release.
When the crowd found out that Eliza was long gone there was uproar. Not at all pleased and feeling that they had been cheated out of the opportunity to celebrate Eliza’s release a large portion of the crowd decided to march to Leeds and make their feelings known to Mr. Chorley.
As the they arrived at Park Square the crowd were good natured and were chanting ‘Dripping, Dripping’ and ‘How’s thee fat lad’ but they soon became rowdy and some windows were broken. The local Chief Constable, Bell, witnessing things becoming more heated sent for police re-enforcements from Bradford and the army from York. By lunch time the crowd had grown to a large number, swelled by workers taking their lunch. Stones and bricks were thrown at the police. In response the police began to charge the crowd, beating them with batons to try to regain some order. It was during one of these charges that George Hodgson, a local potter, was knocked to the ground and trampled on. He was carried to the infirmary by members of the crowd, suspected to have internal injuries. Hodgson died a few days later from his injuries.
By the time the Hussars arrived from York, later that afternoon, the crowd had calmed down and these battle hardened soldiers were cheered by the masses.
Even though the disturbances had lasted most of the day only four people were arrested, with one, Samuel Taylor, being imprisoned for 7 days.
A local committee organised a sizeable public collection for Eliza Stafford and she announced that she was going to open a public house called the ‘Dripping Pan’.
A gripping story about dripping!

Merry Christmas 2017

On our way back from a walk in Bromhope in north Leeds we passed a cemetery which according to Tony and Steve is famous for its lavish headstones and monuments. They nattered on about one monument to a women called Agnes who has a marble monument showing her standing at the entrance to her house with the door ajar waiting for the return of her husband.

Roger says that you should always take what the Leeds boys say with a pinch of salt because she is  called Ethel Preston. She died at the young age of 50 and her husband Walter built this monument to her in 1911 which would have cost £130000 today! However there is a rumour that her husband was a womaniser and she died of a broken heart its said he had this monument built to cover up his guilt.

On a walk along the Trans Pennine Trail we discussed the relative merits of eating insects. After all they are packed with protein and can be sustainably sourced. After trying one Cricket each we decided to go back to Jelly Babies.

27th July is the very first NORFOLK DAY
While on a delightful walk on Marsden Moor this fact was used to goad Roger who is in fact from Norfolk. The usual stuff was trundled out like famous people from Norfolk ( Alan Partridge ,Delia Smith and the singing postman) followed by comments about inbreeding and mustard.

We were battling our way through snow on the 10th March 2018 when Stephen realised he had dropped his house key half a mile back in the snow. So back we all went ,the discussion centred on him losing his key in the worst possible place and our frozen bodies only being found when the snow melted.

Here we are grappling with the mini beast from the east on March 17th 2018. We were actually enjoying it and discussed the ability of walking in all weathers especially in extremes . We agreed  that it makes you feel alive and Stephen even got a bit spiritual on me when the wind died down and the sun came out.

Sheltering on Blackstone edge

The discussion was about this picture. Stephen on the far right appears short and skinny compared to the others. He blamed Roger for never taking a favourable picture of him and making him look like a GENETIC CUL-DE-SAC. Roger could not stop laughing for a couple of days because he was reading a book called Sapiens at the time. He thought of the demise of Homo Erectus, the Neanderthals and the Hobbits of Flores in Indonesia .Could this be the end of Homo Stephenus!