Taste Derbyshire – The Spice Sisters
When it comes to curry, I adopt a relaxed ‘Jamie Oliver’ approach and simply chop, chuck, dice and drizzle the contents of my entire store cupboard into a pot until I have something runny enough to stick on some rice. I draw the line at using the nine-year-old tin of fruit cocktail. I stopped putting fruit in curry after realising tangerine was no substitute for lemon and that banana curry does not appear on your average takeaway menu for a reason. My husband still goes the colour of an unripe banana at the thought of it, 35 years on. Veena Gost and her spice sister Nilam Wright are behind the Curry on Cooking spice kit – formulated to give British ex-pats their curry fix. They promise that just one masterclass will banish my ‘throw it in and pray’ approach to Indian cooking for good. It was Veena and Nilam’s flair for cooking – and sense of fun – which made them such popular guests at BBQs in the Murcia region of Spain where Nilam and her family now live. Veena and Nilam would take along things like pakoras and bhajis and curry-starved ex-pats would grill them about where to buy the spices. One ‘light bulb’ moment later and sisters came up with the idea for the ‘curry kit’ – a spice mix with ‘no hidden nasties’ (chemicals or colours) which comes stapled to a recipe card. “It was funny we ended up launching a food business as Nilam and I didn’t want to learn anything about cooking as children,” laughs Veena. “My mum is one of the best cooks I have ever come across. The house was always full of people and mum would spend hours preparing a feast inspired by her Northern Indian heritage. Friends and family were always asking mum for recipes but Nilam and I were focussed on education and careers. From the age of nine, I wanted to become a journalist – not a housewife.” Veena says she and Nilam sometimes felt self-conscious about eating different food from their schoolfriends. “Nilam and I were only talking the other day about our trips to Skegness when we’d often be the only Asian family on the beach,” she recalls. “Mum would be up at 5am to make the most amazing picnics. She’d make things like spicy pickles and stuffed parathas but Nilam and I wanted to eat fish and chips like everyone else. Now we appreciate how hard she worked. Spices and other Indian staples were so hard to get in Derby in the 70s – we’d often go to Birmingham or London to stock-up. If anyone offered to bring something from India, mum would ask for something ‘exotic’ like a mango.” Mum’s cooking was the first thing Veena missed after starting work in Southampton; “I lived on Derby Road which is fitting because I was always running to the phone box on the corner to ring home,” she recalls. “If I wanted a make a tarka – which is a mixture of spices fried in ghee or oil – I’d have to ring my mum and she’d talk me through the processes. Mum couldn’t read me a recipe because she has never written anything down. There’s no teaspoon or tablespoons, just a case of a ‘sprinkle of this, a sprinkle of that’.” Whatever she says, an instinct for cooking is in Veena’s DNA. As I begin my chicken curry, Veena whips up ‘the best and quickest’ vegetable side-dish of courgette fried in spices. It’s made before I have time to chop a pepper. But what’s truly fascinating is watching Veena ‘fine-tuning’ the flavour. There’s no recipe or measuring; Veena simply stands over the dish holding her spice tray like an artist’s palette – adding the odd pinch or two – until the masterpiece is complete. Small wonder Veena’s cooking skills were often required when her sister Nilam, husband Darren and son Josh (14), emigrated to Spain in 2009. “After a short time living in Malaysia, they finally settled in Murcia,” Veena explained. “I was working for the BBC at the time but would visit them a few times a year. As spices are hard to get in Spain, I’d have to pack a load in my suitcase. For years, all my holiday clothes smelled of curry. We’d cook Indian food for our ex-pat friends and they’d tell us how much they really missed it. People started asking us to cook dishes for them.” Although the number of Indian restaurants in Spain has increased in the last five years, Veena says they are often too expensive for ex-pats. As for home-cooking, while the Spanish supermarkets and shops stock saffron, paprika and cinnamon; things like coriander, cumin and fenugreek are much harder to get because they are not traditionally used in Spanish dishes. “Inspiration struck while house-sitting for someone who had the most fabulous kitchen. Nilam and I don’t travel anywhere without our spice trays and we couldn’t resist the urge to cook” recalls Veena. “As we started cooking we decided to create a spice mix which could be used by ex-pats to make dishes like Balti and Aloo Gobi. We did little packs of spice, wrote the recipes out in long-hand on a A4 pad and gave them out to our friends for feed-back.” The feed-back was so encouraging, the sisters started to approach traders. “I don’t think the irony hit us at the time but we were Indian girls from Derby looking for ‘English’ corner shops in Spain,” she laughs. “We also gave a korma curry kit and our instructions to all the foodie friends of ours and said we wanted totally honest feedback. One of the most useful comments came from my nephew Josh, who was ten at the time. He did our ‘Bombay potato’ blend and the chunks of potato were far too big and he didn’t wash them. Quite rightly, he said there was nothing about preparing the potatoes in the instructions. We
Product Test – Weleda
Try the Natural Approach with Weleda Almond Sensitive Skin Body Lotion 200ml £16.95 The range is specifically formulated to soothe very sensitive skin, calm skin prone to irritation, provide long-lasting moisturisation and reduce that uncomfortable feeling of tightness. Plant oils from seeds and kernels are precious gifts from nature. The fine almost transparent oil absorbs fast, leaving no feeling of greasiness. Almond oil is renowned for being well tolerated by all skin types, and has a calming, healing effect on skin. The high content of unsaturated fatty acids improves the skin’s barrier function and protects skin against moisture loss. Soothe, protect and nourish your skin with Weleda’s new bodycare trio: Almond Sensitive Skin Body Lotion (rrp £16.95 200ml) Vegetarian. NATRUE-certified Organic. This fast-absorbing lotion calms skin prone to irritation and helps reduce redness. It provides long lasting moisturisation. Protective organic beeswax sourced from Africa helps strengthen the skin’s own natural barrier, leaving skin with a beautiful soft sheen.The range is free from synthetic ingredients of any kind, mineral oils, artificial additives, preservatives, parabens. Citrus Hydrating Body Lotion 200ml £16.95 The genuinely natural cleansing agents are made from sugar and coconut, quickly and entirely biodegradable and ecologically-sound even for aquatic life. Free from artificial preservatives or additives of any kind. This refreshes and hydrates skin with organic aloe vera, coconut oil and sesame oil. This cooling lotion is bursting with freshness and moisturisation for supple, beautiful skin, whilst the zesty fragrance of sun-ripened lemons awakens the senses and invigorates the spirit. The warmth of the Mediterranean sun and the nutrient-rich volcanic Sicilian soil produces a truly top quality citrus oil for a top quality lotion. Evening Primrose Age Revitalising Body Lotion 200ml £24.95 (92% organic Vegan) – evening primrose oil helps smooth and nourish skin, while organic olive and sesame oils protect, and replenishing shea butter helps soften skin. Centella asiatica extract boosts cell regeneration. Age Revitalising Body Lotion. This is rich but not oily, and I liked the hint of sandalwood fragrance which diminished the shea butter. A great pump applicator which is very user friendly. Made my skin feel soft and hydrated especially after being outside in the garden. JP Almond Body Lotion This glides on easily and absorbs quickly. It left my skin feeling pretty much hydrated for all day which is great. The scent is subtle. I really like this. VP Citrus Hydrating Body Lotion Weleda Citrus Hydrating Body Lotion has a beautiful fresh scent perfect for spring and summer. It quickly absorbs and is great as a cooling after sun moisturizer. CB 00
Yorkshire’s Dangerous Coast
Most of the visitors who flock to Yorkshire’s coast every summer, do so without realising that it has a history of marine tragedy reaching back over the centuries and it is hard to realise that an average of two shipwrecks a week have taken place along the North East coast since records began in the 1500s. Brian Spencer investigates the sinking of just a few of these ships, ranging from a First World War hospital ship, to the wholesale sinking of a fleet of colliers, whose wrecking led to a major safety device designed by a Derby M.P. Nature has decreed that Yorkshire’s coast will provide few, if any natural harbours, lining it instead with jagged rocks waiting for unwary craft. Bridlington, Scarborough and Whitby are the only places where it has been possible to build safe anchorage. In other places, only small inshore craft can be used and they must be drawn up on to local beaches, well above the high tide mark. Robin Hood’s Bay is unique, because here fishing boats, the traditionally designed cobbles, rest at the bottom of the village street. The best known wreck was fictional and featured the way novelist Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula came ashore at Whitby, in the shape of a huge black dog. As the story goes, Dracula reached England from Eastern Europe on the ship Demeter that foundered on rocks outside Whitby harbour, which only Dracula survived. Due to stormy weather or engine failure, many ships have failed to gain the safety of Whitby’s harbour. One of them was the Rohila, a WW1 hospital ship that was on its way south to collect wounded. Due to engine failure it missed the entrance to the harbour and drifted on to the rocks at Saltwick Nab below the abbey. Even though it was a matter of yards from the harbour, violent seas prevented the Whitby lifeboat rescuing more than a handful of survivors. Due to the strength of the gale, many of the rockets fired from the tantalisingly close beach, failed to reach their mark, but eventually rescue from the land did take place once the tide had dropped sufficiently. More recently, in 1976 a trawler, the Admiral von Tromp ran aground in a thick fog and heavy seas not all that far from where the Rohila foundered. Here again the Whitby lifeboat tried to rescue its crew and in fact came within touching distance of the vessel, but the rescue proved too difficult and two men drowned. At low tide the jagged remains of the once proud ship are exposed like some futuristic artwork. St Mary’s church stands against the elements high above Whitby harbour and within its walls there is a memorial to a lifeboat tragedy in 1861. During a severe storm, and after saving many lives in full view of a crowd watching from the pier, the Whitby lifeboat was flipped over and 12 men were drowned. Henry Freeman, the only crew member to survive did so because he was the only one wearing the then experimental cork life jacket. Moving northwards away from Whitby, the coast is littered with the poignant remains of shipping that never reached safe harbour. A little way off the shore at Kettleness, between Whitby and Runswick Bay, the boiler of the Wolfhound a Humber trawler that ran aground in 1896 can still be seen, kelp covered and colonised by limpets and mussels. Another wreck is of the 1932 sinking of the Belgian trawler Jeanne, and it is commemorated in the clifftop churchyard at Lythe, where three of its crew are buried. Southwards from Whitby along Yorkshire’s all too frequently tragic coast, Robin Hood’s Bay and its street-end beached cobles, high ended like Viking ships to cope with rough waves, marks the start of a line of high cliffs with limited sea access. It was around here that in early geological times, rocky strata was twisted throughout ninety degrees, leaving long jagged fang like dykes that run far out into the bay. The parent rocks of these dykes are rich in alum, a chemical used to ‘fix’ red dyes once popular in Tudor times. Small coasters laden with barrels of human urine would carefully thread their way between the dykes, using them as a ready-made natural harbour, to unload on what passes as a beach. The urine was used as a chemical in the process of separating the alum from its parent rock which would be carried back to London dyeworks. As navigation was a rather hit-and-miss affair, it is quite likely that many of the chemical-carrying coasters foundered amongst the maze of sharp rocks running out to sea from the foot of places like Ravenscar where alum processing was a major industry. The remains of a modern vessel which came to grief on these fangs still lie out to sea about half way along the rocky shoreline between Robin Hood’s Bay and Ravenscar. This was the Sarb-J, a Grimsby trawler that ran aground in 1994 after its propeller got tangled with a rope. The successful rescue of all its crew became a major operation involving a helicopter. The hulk now sits forlornly upright on its keel hard beneath the cliffs. Scarborough has an all-weather harbour. It stands at the foot of the castle and probably owes much of its origins to the time when the castle and the expanding town was the major port on this part of the coast. While the harbour has offered safe refuge to both inshore and small coastal traffic, the town, along with Hartlepool and Whitby was severely damaged by bombardment from the sea during the Great War. On 16th December 1914 a battle-cruiser squadron under the command of Rear Admiral von Hipper systematically shelled the totally unprepared North East coastal towns, causing great loss of civilian life and extensive damage to property. For many years after the end of that war, a German cruiser, held as part of post war reparations, became a tourist attraction while
Restaurant Review – The Sanam Tandoori Restaurant
Cooking in a traditional way has always been the priority at the Sanam on King Street Alfreton, and for the past 25 years they have stuck to that premise. Over that period of time they have seen restaurants come and go, some change hands. Their philosophy of providing quality food at a fair price has stood the test of time and they are immensely proud of their track record. The chef was trained in the art of blending spices by a leading international chef which explains the extensive and mouthwatering menu on offer at the Sanam. There’s everything on the menu you’d expect but straying onto the ‘chef’s specials’ section if you fancy something a little more exciting will really excite your taste buds. The sauces at the Sanam are rich in flavour and there’s plenty of substance to them. The Mirch Masala dish is full of strips of stir fried chicken with peppers, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and a subtle tweek from the chef to add that special zing. The ginger is delicate in flavour and doesn’t overpower the meal. The blend of spices ensures a very balanced flavour. We always feel that you get what you pay for where food is concerned and the Sanam has that fine balance of quality food at a very reasonable price. Having dined regularly and had numerous takeaways from the Sanam it can be difficult to pick something new from the menu and not default to old favourites and so it was good to be able to chat to a chap who had come to fetch his takeaway and find out what he enjoyed. It was annoying to find that he had ordered the same as me! So no help there. I’m not a fish fan but the fish dishes at the Sanam are very popular and having taken the grandchildren along for an evening meal one the chef prepared a delightful salmon dish which they polished off with aplomb. Oh, they did have some fries too! The starters at the Sanam include regular favourites such as: Chicken Pakora, Daryayi Bazran served with a delicate mixed nut chat, fresh salmon marinated in fresh dill yoghurt, garlic and chefs special spices and roasted in a tandoor. Adraki lamb chops, juicy slices of lamb chops, marinated in garlic and spices, cooked in a tandoor and served with salad and sauce. Mains include:Jalfrezi Chicken a firm favourite of mine, the characteristic of this dish is the puree made of tomatoes, green peppers and onions which is then poured over the curry. Perfect. I’ve said this before in write ups on Indian restaurants that proper naan bread makes a lot of difference to a meal, and the Sanam specialise in them. They are cooked in a proper oven and are head and shoulders above the anaemic ones that are often passed off as naan. So we go to the Sanam confident in the knowledge that we will get what we enjoy and it will be well cooked, nicely presented, quality food. All in all a cracking night out is assured. Advanced booking is always a good idea. Call 01773 830690 00
Derbyshire Antiques & Collectibles – Beswick Pottery Figures
John Beswick Ltd, formerly J. W. Beswick, was a pottery manufacturer, founded in 1892 by James Wright Beswick and his sons John and Gilbert, in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. The firm survived until in 1969 when it was sold to Doulton & Co. Ltd. They closed the factory in 2002 and the brand name John Beswick was sold on in 2004 to Dartington Crystal, which outfit resumed production. The pottery was chiefly known for producing high-quality porcelain figurines such as farm animals and Beatrix Potter characters and have become highly sought in the collectables market. The Dartington owned brand will still sell you items from a range of their classic pottery animals at prices ranging from around £16 for a seated piglet to £65, which sum will buy you an impressive-looking red stag. Based at the Gold Street works in Longton (Stoke-on-Trent), Beswick originally produced tablewares and ornaments such as Staffordshire cats and dogs. Yet when James Wright Beswick died in 1921, the company continued to expand under his grandson, John Ewart Beswick. In 1934 the introduction of high fired bone china meant they could produce high-quality figurines, such as famous race horses and champion dogs. The company was made a limited company, John Beswick Ltd, in 1936. An important change came in 1939, when Wolstanton-born Arthur Gredington (1906-1976) was appointed chief modeller and the firm began producing farm animal figurines which quickly became widely collected. Gredington’s range of no less than 190 rearing horsemen is one of the largest (and most popular amongst collectors) ever produced by the company. Not that the number 190 is anything but a notional one, for it is made up of minor variants of the basic 150 or so of Gredington’s horse figures. There were, for instance two versions of model 868 (a racehorse, jockey up), one with the jockey in an orange or scarlet jacket cut away at the waist sitting bolt upright. In the second version introduced in 1952 horse and rider have greater animation, the rider flung back by the motion of his steed. The commonest model of version two with a brown horse can be found for around £175. Yet these have fallen in price from around £250 a few years ago, although colour does make a difference, for a version two 868 in grey can sell for £650, whilst one in chestnut with damage to an ear sold for £2,124 in January, and yet a third, in rocking horse grey, the most sought-after colour, sold for £2,588. Version one is harder to come by, but the price for one with a brown horse rarely exceeds £500. The rarest of all Beswick wares is Spirit of Whitfield, a pony, modelled after the pit pony Kruger. An example of this item sold for £9,500 in London fifteen years ago. Under decorating manager Jim Hayward, there was a shift towards lifelike animal pieces, including cats, dogs, farm animals, fish and wild animals. Continued expansion enabled the acquisition of the adjoining factory in 1945 to accommodate offices, warehousing and new potting and firing facilities. In 1947, Lucy Beswick suggested bringing to life the illustrations in the Beatrix Potter books. In 1948, John Beswick secured the right to reproduce a range of 10 Beatrix Potter earthenware characters, the first of which was Jemima Puddle-Duck, modelled by Arthur Gredington. In 1952, Beswick began manufacturing a range of Disney characters, including Snow White, Mickey Mouse and Bambi. Along with the designs of James Hayward, the high-quality pieces they produced have become quite desirable. A Beswick model of a running hare, 5 inches high, model no. 1024, issued 1945-1963 was sold by us at Bamfords for an impressive £330 a decade ago now. Arthur Gredington retired in 1968 and the following year the company was sold to Royal Doulton and although animal figures continued to be produced, by 1989, the Beswick backstamp was dropped in favour of the Royal Doulton Royal Albert DA one. The popularity of the Beatrix Potter characters was a factor in re-introducing the range in 1998, specifically for the collectors’ market. But by the end of 2002, Royal Doulton ceased production of all Beswick products and in 2003 the Gold Street works were sold. In 2004 the Beswick name and product design rights were also again sold. The John Beswick name is now owned by Dartington Crystal, which continue to produce animal figurines using some original production moulds from the Gold Street works; they also produce vases under the John Beswick name. The Snowman and the Gruffalo figures are just some of the nursery figures still being produced. Yet if you want to collect, you should ideally be looking to buy items from the Gredington era (1939-1968) and the earlier the better. As usual, check for damage and wear. There is also a published price guide by Harvey May (no relation!) last republished in 2014, which gives some idea of current prices (which appear pretty stable at present) and mould numbering. Buying new is best avoided, as it will take decades before your purchase reaches the sum you paid, and there is always the danger that the manufacturer will over-produce, which always hobbles future prices. 00
Lost Houses of Derbyshire – Melbourne Castle
Some castles grew from purely Norman military motte-and-bailey castles, constructed by William the Conqueror’s knights to keep a firm hold on England. Others are later affairs, fortified houses built later in the middle ages or even in the Tudor Age more as symbolic castles than effective defensive buildings. Later still, houses like Elvaston or Bretby had ‘castle’ added in lieu of ‘hall’ for effect. If one was a member of the medieval elite, with a largish house built around one or even two courtyards, adding defensive works was sometimes felt advisable, as during the barons’ wars in the mid-13th century, or during the wars of the Roses in the mid-fifteenth century. In that case one applied to the King for a licence to crenellate, or to put it simply, to adapt one’s house to make it to some extent defensible. Such houses are usually termed defended manor houses rather than pure castles, and locally included Codnor, Bretby and Melbourne. There never was a Norman castle at Melbourne. The King had granted Melbourne to the Bishops of Carlisle, a place often made too hot for comfort by marauding Scots, hence the epic scale of the Norman church there. Yet it was not until 1246/1248 that we have evidence for a manor house at Melbourne. In the very beginning of the fourteenth century Sir Robert de Holand, held a manor house there under the ambitious Thomas, Duke of Lancaster of whom he was a leading confidant. He duly obtained a licence to crenellate in 1311 and in 1314 the mason Peter de Bagworth is recorded and undertaking extensive works there, ‘there’ being the area on the SE side of Castle Square at Melbourne, although this work was being done for Lancaster, not Holand himself, that year created a peer by writ of summons. Indeed, whatever arrangement there was between Lord Holand and the Duke, it was clearly intended to enable the former to reap the fiscal benefits of ownership whilst his master retained control of the site. Indeed, this was the year of the disaster at Bannockburn and for the next four years Lancaster was effectively in control of the government. In 1322, however, the King had his revenge, defeating the Duke at Boroughbridge, although, strangely enough, Holand had deserted to the King just prior to the encounter, thus saving his neck. What Holand created was a fortified manor house and he was later confirmed in his possession of the manor of Melbourne, held this time from his former mentor’s younger brother, Henry, Earl of Lancaster, again raised to a dukedom in 1351. The Castle is specifically referred to as such in the documentation generated by his death ten years later. The manor and castle passed by marriage to John of Gaunt, also created Duke of Lancaster, and when his son became Henry IV, his possessions were made into a separate principality, called the Duchy of Lancaster which still owns much land in England and especially in Derbyshire. By this time there was an extensive park, now attached to the Melbourne Hall estate, surrounded by a pale – an earthen bank designed to stop the deer jumping out – still extant in several sections, and equipped with two lodges, one (moated) situated at SK392241 and recorded as in existence from c. 1262 until the late 15th century. There was also a moat and bridge. After Agincourt the castle was developed into a palace-like residence and became the very luxurious PoW camp of the captured Jean, Duc de Bourbon and other notable French prisoners. Poor Duke Jean was there for no less than nineteen years; clearly no one at home was in any hurry to raise his ransom! Their gaoler and the Constable of the Castle was local landed magnate Nicholas Montgomery of Cubley, the younger. It was later granted to Henry V’s French queen after his death in 1422. A drawing of 1602 in the PRO (subsequently rather well engraved in 1733 for the Society of Antiquaries) shows it to have been embowered with something like a dozen round and square section towers, all embattled, the external walls having plentiful slit windows but high up, one or two elaborately traceried Gothic ones too. A pedimented lantern visible in the midst of the pinnacles seems to indicate the position of the great hall and there was an impressive elaborate door with a crocketed ogee moulding above it in the outer wall, compared by Anthony Emery with that at Mackworth (see last month) and presumably the main entrance, reached by the bridge over the moat. Emery also suggests that it must have been built, like Haddon and Wingfield Manor, around two courtyards and points out that the original drawing (rather than the engravings taken from it) clearly suggests this. In its time it must have been most impressive. Yet its apogee was brief and, with the French wars at an end, it swiftly became a white elephant although exactly what it was used for in the later fifteenth and earlier sixteenth centuries is not at all clear, but it was still in good repair when the itinerarist John Leland saw it in the early1540s, writing that it was ‘Prety [pretty] and yn meately [very] good reparation.’ Yet under Elizabeth it appears to have become completely redundant. Hence it was referred to in 1576 when it was reported that the castle was in a fair state of decay though the stonework was good. In 1583, it was recommended by the Privy Council that the queen move her cousin, the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, to Melbourne, and a description of the castle was provided which throws interesting light on its appearance at the time in that it was said to be constructed of lead-covered ashlar, had large spacious rooms that would need to be partitioned, floors of earth and plaster, walls that appear to have needed repointing and rendering since they were described as being too easily scaleable, and no paths or wall about
Celebrity Interview – Stephen Booth
The Peak District’s beauty and charm are undeniable – but the area can also be full of dangers and mystery. Especially if you live in Edendale, a place that has experienced almost as many murders as the picturesque yet doom-filled Midsomer. Never heard of Edendale? It’s where writer Stephen Booth sets his crime novels which sell in impressive quantities. It can be as hazardous living there as in the fictional county of Midsomer where Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby has been solving dastardly crimes on television for more than 20 years. Stephen’s 18th book featuring the double act of detectives Ben Cooper and Diane Fry, Fall Down Dead, will appear on bookshelves in hardback next month. His latest work showcases Stephen’s knowledge of the hidden dangers lurking in the Peak District in general and Kinder Scout in particular. “There are lots of cases where people go out onto those hills totally unprepared, unable to read a map or a compass. They’re putting their lives in danger. “In Fall Down Dead a party of walkers get lost on Kinder Scout in the fog and have to be rescued. One of them doesn’t make it alive. That location, as with many of my books, is absolutely central to the story. The story couldn’t happen anywhere else because the landscape is so specific and influences the way people lead their lives. I think it’s just a fascinating place to write about,” says Stephen who lives in rural Nottinghamshire with his wife Lesley. Stephen ventured into the Peak District’s dark subterranean world for his 17th thriller Dead In The Dark which came out in paperback a couple of months ago. The landscape has always been an integral part of Stephen’s stories, going right back to his first book, Black Dog, in 1998. He was a huge fan of crime fiction but noticed that the central character was nearly always a “world-weary, middle-aged, alcoholic loner”. He wanted to do something different. “I decided to make my characters young and junior police officers. So Ben Cooper and Diane Fry are both in their twenties at the start of the series and they’re both detective constables, giving a different perspective on a police investigation because they’re not in charge. They’re on the bottom rung of the ladder. “I wanted one of them to be a local boy. That’s Ben Cooper who grew up in the Peak District. He’s from a farming family and knows everybody. I wanted the other character to be an outsider from the city. So Diane comes from Birmingham and moves into Derbyshire. That gave me two very different pairs of eyes to explore the setting. “Those two characters see the Peak District in very different ways. Really that was all I knew about them when I started to write the first book. Immediately when I began to write about them they came alive off the page. It was quite an experience that hadn’t happened to me before. “I’d written other novels. But those two characters just seemed to take on a life of their own straight away. Everything else about them, their background, their personalities, their families – I discovered all of that as I was writing about them. “I decided to give those two characters their freedom. They drove the story. I was very lucky that they came to me in that way.” The pair have proved so popular that Stephen has sold two-and-a-half million books all over the world. The novels sell well in the USA and Canada and have been translated into 16 languages including Russian and Japanese. “One of my books sold more copies in Russia than it did here just because it’s such a big market,” says Stephen. “And Scandinavia too. Although the populations are small, they read huge numbers of books in places like Sweden. They love crime fiction and my books do very well over there.” Despite that Stephen still gets a thrill when he sees his work in print. “I think no matter how many books I published it would still feel the same. Every time I pick up a new book it’s wonderful. “The hardback is a rare thing these days. I know a lot of people read ebooks. In America about 95% of my sales are ebooks. But here so many readers say to me ‘I still like the feel of a proper physical book in my hand’. There’s nothing like it really.” Stephen Booth was born in 1952 in Burnley, Lancashire. He wrote his first novel when he was 12 and knew he wanted to be a writer. But first he became a trainee teacher only to leave the profession after a terrifying spell at a big comprehensive school in Manchester. He moved into journalism, working for the Wilmslow Advertiser and other local papers before becoming deputy editor of the Worksop Guardian. Eventually the business changed so much that he wasn’t enjoying the job any more. So he single-mindedly set about achieving his ambition of getting a book published. “I came home every day from work and wrote in the evenings. Every single night, religiously. I was very disciplined about it. When you have a limited amount of time to write in, it’s surprising how well it concentrates the mind. “I produced that first Cooper and Fry novel in about four months, just writing in the evenings and a bit at weekends. It was there waiting to come out, I think. So I actually feel quite embarrassed about the fact that it takes me a year now (to write a book).” Black Dog won an award for best British crime novel in 2001 and the follow-up, Dancing With The Virgins, picked up the same accolade. Stephen was still a working journalist while his writing career was taking off: “I was very lucky that Black Dog did so well and my publishers loved the second book when I delivered it. I was able to give up the day job before the second book
Queen’s Park faithful took stylist Tom to their Hearts
TOM GRAVENEY gave a wry chuckle at the suggestion that our interview should concern, in the main, his matches against Derbyshire. “Ah, Derbyshire,” he said. “Well, I’ve got plenty of good memories, certainly from when I played at Queen’s Park. But it was never easy when I batted against their bowlers.” So let’s set the scene. Thomas William Graveney, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and England. Born Riding Mill, Northumberland, 16 June 1927 but brought up in Bristol. Tall, rosy-cheeked elegant right-hand batsman who made 47,793 first-class runs in his flowing style, average 44.91 with 122 hundreds. In 79 Tests he scored 4,882 runs, averaging 44.48, with 11 hundreds, the highest of which, 258, was made at Trent Bridge in 1957 against the West Indies. Served in Suez with the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1946, achieving the rank of Captain. Became the first former professional cricketer to be elected President of MCC in 2004. Died 3 November 2015, aged 88. Those are the bare facts. What they cannot convey is the majesty of Graveney’s batting, a predominantly front-foot player whose aesthetic qualities belonged in the picturesque setting of grounds like Cheltenham, New Road at Worcester or Chesterfield’s Queen’s Park. He was also a delightful man with phenomenal recollections of matches from long ago, the kind of strokes he played in a certain innings and a memory for statistics that was usually spot on. “Derbyshire always had good bowlers. When I started they had George Pope and Bill Copson along with Les Jackson, Cliff Gladwin and Bert Rhodes, Harold’s dad. Then along came Derek Morgan, Edwin Smith, Harold Rhodes and Brian Jackson. They were always difficult, particularly on some of the green pitches in the county. The problem was that they could get you out at any time. You’d feel set, get to 30 or 40, and then something would happen. If they didn’t get you they could nearly always keep you quiet. Les was an exceptional bowler. I faced the world’s fastest in my time: Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Roy Gilchrist and the South Africans Neil Adcock and Peter Heine. England had Frank Tyson, Fred Trueman and Brian Statham and although Les wasn’t as quick as these, he had a nasty break-back that came at you. Whenever I saw him I used to rub the inside of my thigh in anticipation! They also had good captains, Guy Willatt and Donald Carr and later on Charlie Lee and Morgan. I first came across Donald at an Officers’ Cadet Training Unit in Wrotham, Kent but I really got to know him very well when we toured India, Pakistan and Ceylon in 1951-52. He was vice-captain and skippered the team in the final Test against India at Madras.” Graveney made Derbyshire’s acquaintance early in his career, at Bristol in July 1948. He had been doing just about enough to retain his place, partly because Jack Crapp and George Emmett were sometimes with the England team against Australia. Derbyshire made 207, Gloucestershire being all out on the second morning for 202, Graveney caught Pope bowled Gladwin 0. Derbyshire were then bowled out for 210 and with 15 minutes left the Gloucestershire captain BO Allen sent Graveney in first with the fast bowler George Lambert to preserve his best batsmen. “I wasn’t expecting to go in and I was out first ball, caught Dawkes bowled Jackson 0. It was the only time I bagged a pair – and on the same day, too. Derbyshire won, I was dropped and only got back in again when Emmett was summoned to Headingley for the Test only be made twelfth man.” There was a measure of revenge when his brother Ken took all ten wickets in the second innings at Queen’s Park in 1949 and Tom made 95 at Bristol a year later and 89 at Gloucester in 1951. But these were as nothing when compared to his performance at Queen’s Park on Wednesday and Thursday 4-5 August 1954. By now Graveney was in the England team and would tour Australia under Len Hutton’s captaincy the following winter. During that wet summer, Derbyshire pressed hard for the Championship and Gladwin soon had Gloucestershire’s openers back in the pavilion. When Jackson bowled Arthur Milton three wickets were down for 32. Graveney – who came to the crease at 2-1 – and Emmett added 82 before Emmett was bowled by Jackson for 50. With the score 114-4, the veteran Crapp joined Graveney and a tense struggle developed between the past and present England batsmen and the home attack: Jackson, Gladwin, Morgan, Bert Rhodes and Smith. “I had to be careful at the start because we were in a bit of a fix but gradually Jack and I got on top of the bowling. After tea, we were able to open up a bit.” In the last two hours of the day, Graveney increased his score from 94 to 204, he and Crapp adding 205 in 202 minutes before Crapp was caught at the wicket off Arnold Hamer for 95, with two sixes and 11 fours. By the close, Gloucestershire were 366 for six, a big score in a three-day match and next morning they batted until noon, declaring at 399 for nine. Graveney made 222 (four sixes and 26 fours) before being caught by Rhodes off Gladwin. A personal memory might not come amiss. On that Wednesday, I sat in teenage misery, fully appreciative of the majesty of Graveney’s batting but wishing it could have been played in circumstances less damaging to Derbyshire’s Championship hopes. An elderly man nearby noted the dejection. “Never mind, lad,” he said. “The result of this match won’t matter in time (Gloucestershire won) but you’ll never forget Graveney’s innings.” More pertinent are the memories of the then 20-year-old off-spinner Edwin Smith “It was magnificent. I think I went for about 50 in 19 overs and apart from Les and Cliff we were all under the cosh. I remember he hit me back for a
Derbyshire Walk – Elvaston Castle
This walk, around the parkland of Elvaston Castle, is one of my occasional excursions from some of Derbyshire’s grand houses. Unfortunately it could almost be described as from one of Maxwell Craven’s ‘Lost Houses’. Financial constraints on its present owners, Derbyshire County Council, make it impossible to fund the necessary £6.1 million needed to restore the building’s fabric; something that has put it very firmly on the list of ‘Buildings at Risk’ register. As a result of the house being unsafe, it means that it has been closed to the public since 2008, but the 200 acres of parkland around which this walk goes, are still freely accessible. There is also a programme of events in the park throughout the year, ranging from an Easter egg trail, to a night time guided nature walk – for further details check www.derbyshire.gov.uk/countryside events. Until Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, the estate was owned by Shelford Priory, after which it was sold in 1538, to Sir Michael Stanhope of Rampton, Notts. Following his death in 1611, the whole estate, including Elvaston, was inherited by his second son, also called Michael. He became High Sheriff of Derbyshire and died in 1638, but not before he built the Elizabethan-styled house at Elvaston on the outskirts of Derby in 1633. With little change, Elvaston passed steadily through generations of Stanhopes until the 19th century. This was when Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington employed the architect James Wyatt to extend and re-develop the castle in the then popular Gothic Revival style. During this time a new wing and the great hall were added. Further modifications on the Elizabethan-styled south front were carried out in 1836 by the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham, leaving the building very much as we see it today. Vacated by its original owners, Elvaston Castle became a teacher training college until 1950, after which it remained mostly empty, slowly declining through intervening decades right through to the present time. Elvaston Castle Gardens Probably still the only truly cared for section of the estate, the gardens were laid out in 1830 for Charles, 4th Earl of Harrington by the relatively unknown gardener, William Barron. The earl had caused something of a scandal by marrying the actress Maria Foote who was seventeen years his junior. Very much a love-match, the couple kept the gardens for their private retreat while Barron spent the next twenty years building their now Grade 2 listed Gothic paradise. Following the 4th Earl’s death in 1851, his brother Leicester Stanhope became the 5th Earl. It was he who opened the gardens to the public for the first time. Along with the castle and its gardens, the estate covers some 200 acres of parkland, including several cottages and gate houses, along with an ice house plus a boat house. Ideally the property could be owned by the National Trust, but by confining their interest to acting in as a Consultancy Body, even they baulk at the thought of funding the £6.1 million required to restore the fabric of Elvaston Castle. Elavaston Country Park In 1969 following the Countryside Act the previous year, the estate including the castle was sold to Derbyshire County Council by the 11th Earl of Harrington. The council opened the estate to the public in 1970 as a Country Park under the terms of the Act. Since then it was used for country fairs and other major events, but latterly lack of funding has meant that even such things have been abandoned. Nevertheless the park is popular with up to 350,000 visitors a year, offering a wide range of activities alongside self-guided walks and cycle rides, or just for a day out in the popular children’s play park. . The Future Threatened with closure due to lack of funding, the council would like to remove its immediate financial liabilities amounting to around £500,000 a year simply to keep it open. Since closure of the main building to the public in 1990 when it was deemed unsafe, the castle and estate have attracted the interest of golf club developers, but this could well restrict the sort of access currently enjoyed by the public at large. The Walk : From the car park off the Borrowash/Elvaston road, follow the woodland track to the left of the children’s play park. Within sight of the lake, turn right. The huge mound of white rocks, an imaginative adventure playground, is made of tufa (naturally reconstituted Derbyshire limestone). The rock was used extensively throughout the park to decorate William Barron’s garden lay-out. Cross the bridge over a narrow neck of the lake and make your way up to the courtyard at the back of the castle. Bear left from the courtyard and then right into the ornamental gardens. Work your way up to the lodge and boundary wall. Join the tree-lined formal drive for about 50 yards and then angle left away from it and on to a path heading towards modern houses in Thulston. Bear right past the newish housing estate and on to a road passing the Harrington Arms. Turn left to join the Borrowash road for a few yards. Cross the main road and bear right on to a side road, bearing right again where it forks. This is Ambaston Lane, follow it for about a mile into Ambaston village. n.b. although this is a minor side road, it can be busy at times, so walk on the right-hand side, facing oncoming traffic. At the ‘T’ junction turn left on to a side road through Ambaston. At the road end turn left past the last houses and follow a grassy field path over a series of fields and as far as the river. Walk along the river bank until the path reaches the Borrowash road. Climb up to the road and bear left along it for about 100 yards. Drop down a side track on your right and regain the river bank. The path here is part of the Derwent
Hidden Gem of Food & Drink – The Boot, Repton
Turning the corner onto Boot Hill in Repton, the self-proclaimed capital of Mercia, I immediately thought “I should have arrived on a horse!” Everything seemed to be linked to the past and, in all honesty, I love that. The Boot, a 17th Century coaching Inn, is owned, managed and run by people with a fierce passion for what they do… and they’re very good at it. Rewarded for their success with a second AA Rosette in two years is testament to Chef Rob Taylor’s passion for food supported by his highly trained kitchen team who maintain that standard when he isn’t around. At front of house is Manager Rick Graham, who exudes the same enthusiasm for customer care. Drinking a cup of coffee chatting with Rob and Rick I could see that both are keen to keep pushing ‘The Boot’ forward with expansion of the team, more training and menu development. Chef Rob has his own allotment where he grows various things to take home and experiment with, creating new recipes and dishes which he can then introduce to the restaurant when he is satisfied. He is proud to be sourcing food from local suppliers including dry aged beef from Tori and Ben’s Farm Butchery in Melbourne where their sister business ‘Harpurs’ is situated. Rob and Rick have thoroughly enjoyed their three and a half year journey working in tandem and they have a good sense of humour too which I enjoyed. When you book a table it’s yours for the evening should you so wish. They both were quite adamant at this point that those who visit ‘The Boot’ should enjoy the experience from the high quality accommodation to their award -winning food. In for a pint at ‘The Boot’. A highlight too of my visit was to enjoy a pint of beer produced from their own, on site brewery. As creatures of habit, a beer drinker will generally stick to what he knows. When faced with a bar full of pumps with beer names never seen before the mind gets very confused. Various areas of the country sport their own particular ales and tucked behind the ‘The Boot’ is the Boot Micro Brewery from which flows thousands of pints of the finest quality beers which are on sale at ‘The Boot’ Repton, ‘Harpur’s of Melbourne and The Dragon at Willington. Head Brewer Jon Archer took over the brewing just over a year ago. I asked Jon what his background was. He replied “33 years in IT”, I wasn’t expecting that. There’s obviously more to this tale and it transpired that he was an avid home brewer, a skill he developed to replicate brewing at a small commercial level. So, when the offer came from the owners of ‘The Boot’ at Repton, to manage and develop their micro brewery, it was an unmissable opportunity. Home brewing is an art this author never perfected and after two failed attempts and two bouts of illness after drinking it(!) I decided to leave it to the experts and stay firmly on the customer side of the bar. Jon explained the ins and outs of brewing to me and it’s a pretty straightforward process which becomes very complicated when trying to maintain consistency. I was taken aback by the control exercised over brewing a popular beer to maintain consistency and satisfy the regular ‘same pint’ drinker. Asking anyone how they like their beer will elicit numerous replies ‘hoppy, malty, fruity, strong, dark, pale” are among many of the responses, but how do you cater for that on the bar. Much can depend on type of hop, where it comes from, yeast used etc. John selects the finest hops from around the country and from abroad to blend them into great tasting beer. The latest brew ‘Willow’ was launched in April and, as a low alcohol light ale, is harder to brew because low alcohol beers can feel too thin so need building up, but to his credit it has gone really well and is proving extremely popular. I watched as Jon checked the progress of fermentation in stage for the latest batch of ‘Clod Hopper’ which gave me an insight to the accurate records needed to maintain consistency. Ten percent of this, so much of that, this specific temperature and much more. (The exact details are a secret though and not for my eyes!) This is recorded ready for the next batch. Jon shared with me his knowledge of how life works in the Boot brewery, from designing to creating a beer influenced by Jon’s skilled palette which is suitable for production. I smiled as he took me to see and taste a drink in its early stages of creation, of which the base ingredient was rhubarb. I love rhubarb crumble, but I’ve never drunk it! The first taste was quite pleasant and I thought maybe a good drink but then came the next tasting made with a different yeast which took it to a whole different level on the taste buds. And that, as they say is the crux of the matter, the master brewer, in this case Jon, is using his skills and taste buds to create something everyone will love. Some of his great creations haven’t made it to front of house yet as they are still being developed. Passion and creativity rules everywhere at ‘The Boot’. By now it was time for lunch and, having been shown the brewery I needed to sample some of the 13 ales! Obviously, that’s not practical so Jon just let me select one that I fancied from the bar. At this point I wished I had come on a horse because I could just have jumped on and said, “Home Trigger”. It seems to me that whatever your passion, you’re going to be very spoilt at ‘The Boot’, the gastronomic hidden gem capital of Mercia. 00
