Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

I picked up a copy of A History of English Food by Clarissa Dickson Wright from the library last week. The history of food fascinates me, and I enjoyed the way this author told an interesting story instead of throwing facts at me.

Here are thirteen things I found interesting:

1. The Georgians had a huge impact on food, the way it was cooked, served and consumed. They even influenced the times of dining.

2. Advances in the fireplace and accessories made cooking less laborious. Roasting and baking became much easier due to new designs of ovens and flues.

3. Some of the poorer families didn’t own ovens and sent their pies, stamped with their initials, to their local baker.

4. The English started making porcelain from which to drink tea.

5. Tea became a very common drink for all classes. Tea was drunk weak and sweetened without milk. It’s assumed that they drank their tea black because the milk was often sour, had nasty additives or was thinned down.

6. The introduction of more lighting was one of the reasons meals became later and taken at times more familiar to us in 2011. In Medieval times people would go to bed when it became dark, but now people stayed up much later.

7. Seating was done according to station, although gradually this changed to alternative seating with men and women. They say behavior improved on the introduction of this new seating method. The women obviously kept the men in line!

8. Turtle soup wasn’t actually a soup but more a stew. It contained chunky bits of turtle. Turtle soup was so popular that people who couldn’t afford turtles made mock turtle soup out of calves’ heads. Personally, I say yuck!

9. It was deemed vulgar to sniff the meat on your fork or plate because the activity implies the meat was tainted. People didn’t take their own cutlery with them any longer. Instead the host provided it.

10. The ice house was another new innovation. A small stone outbuilding containing a deep pit for ice helped keep food fresh. Blocks of ice were sawn from rivers to provide the necessary ice.

11. In 1762 John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich sent for two slices of bread and some meat, inventing the sandwich. Job well done since I like sandwiches for lunch.

12. Viscount Townshend, known as Turnip Townshend, introduced a system of four-field crop rotation. This involved a strict order of plantings and improved the fertility of soil and crop production.

13. The staples of the English diet – meat, bread, and vegetables were readily available and affordable during the first half of the century. Toward the end of the century with the industrial revolution taking hold and growing populations, the laboring classes started to suffer.

It’s interesting to note that around this time England started sending convicts to Australia. One of my ancestors was sentenced for receiving stolen goods in 1801 and sent to Australia. His wife and two children went with him.

The last time I visited my local library a book called Haunted Inns of Britain & Ireland by Richard Jones caught my eye. It’s full of info about ghosts and haunting, and I found it fascinating. I’ve even visited a couple of the pubs.

A list of Thirteen Haunted Pubs

1. The Mermaid Inn, Mermaid Street, Rye, East Sussex
The Mermaid has several ghosts, including a gray lady. Early one morning a resident woke to find a pair of phantom duelists, dressed in doublet and hose. They thrust and parried with their rapiers until one received a fatal wound.

2. The Chequers Inn, Smarden, Kent
In room 6, the staff sometimes see a clear impression of a person on the bed even though the room is empty. Dogs dislike the room with one dog requiring a tranquillizer to calm him. A female guest was woken by something scratching her back. Another woman woke to find a man standing in the open doorway. She shouted at him and he vanished.

3. The Spaniards Inn, Hampstead, London
Dick Turpin is one of the pub’s ex-customers and he stabled his mount Black Bess here. People hear Black Bess’ ghostly hoof beats gallop across the car park in the dead of the night.

4. The Ostrich Inn, Slough, Berkshire
A landlord used to ply his rich guests with drink, and once they were asleep in his best room, he’d unbolt a special trapdoor and tip them from their beds into a vat of boiling oil below. Then, he’d sell their horse and belongings. He did very nicely until a guest saw his bed tilt and shouted for help. Staff at the pub complain about a sinister atmosphere while loud noises wake the landlords. It’s said one of the victims causes the noises.

5. Jamaica Inn, Launceston, Cornwall
Made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s novel Jamaica Inn. Several ghosts wander the old hostelry. A ghost stands outside near a particular wall. He doesn’t answer greetings, but will slowly dissolve and vanish.

6. The Knife and Cleaver, Bedfordshire
A male and a female ghost reside here. One day a barman watched the pages of the booking diary turn by themselves. Then a ghostly hand appeared over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure which ghost it was and didn’t wait to find out.

7. The Bull Hotel, Suffolk
Doors open and close by themselves. Objects fly across the room and chairs move during the night. It’s said Richard Everard, who was stabbed to death, is the cause of this activity.

8. The Lifeboat Inn, Thornham, Norfolk
The landlady decided the pub was missing a resident ghost and made one up. The staff were shocked when they actually started seeing a tall, dark stranger as described by the landlady in her pub brochure.

9. The Scole Inn, Scole Diss, Norfolk
A husband suspected his wife of having an affair. He murdered his wife in a fit of rage. Fast forward in time and visitors to the inn have reported sightings of a sad lady in room 2.

10. The Fleece Inn, Evesham, Worcestershire
It’s said the ghost of Lola Taplin, a previous landlady, haunts the inn. She always banned food and only served alcohol. Customers have watched their sandwiches tossed in the air and thrown across the room. Ghostly footsteps are also heard.

11. Ye Old Black Bear, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
A headless figure has been seen walking across creaking floors and dragging his chains behind him. It’s thought he is one of the Lancastrians defeated by a group of Yorkists at the Battle of Tewkesbury.

12. The Puesdown Inn, Compton Abdale, Cheltenham
This used to be a coaching inn frequented by highwaymen. One of the ghosts is said to be a highwayman who was shot. He returned to the inn and knocked loudly on the door, demanding entrance. Ghostly knocking is often heard while one landlord saw a ghostly coach pulling into the yard.

13. The West Arms Hotel, Llangollen, Denbighshire
The hotel is haunted by a blue lady. It’s said a woman was killed in a fire that broke out in the pub. If a fire is lit in the front lounge, the blue lady appears.

Have you visited any haunted places? Have you seen a ghost?

My World War Two romance, A Discreet Affair is due out on 17 Jan from Liquid Silver Books. My story is set during the year 1940 and takes place in Biggin Hill, which isn’t far from London. Today for my TT I’m mentioning things that happened in 1940.

Thirteen Things About 1940

1. Britain started to ration butter, sugar, bacon and ham.

2. Britain starts an anti-gossip campaign.

3. Gone With The Wind featuring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh was big with movie-goers.

4. The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland was also very popular.

5. Winston Churchill took over as Prime Minister of Britain.

6. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Finnegans Wake by James Joyce and How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn were big among readers.

7. You Are My Sunshine and A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square were popular songs.

8. The first nylon stockings go on sale in the USA (May 15)

9. The British Government order the removal of signposts and street names.

10. The London Blitz begins on September 7.

11. People had to queue to purchase restricted goods. They had to hand over their ration books before they could purchase these goods, once they got to the front of the queue–if the goods weren’t already sold out.

12. Blackout was a fact of life. Motor vehicle accidents were very common during the blackout.

13. A Discreet Affair is due out on Monday 17 from Liquid Silver Books. The cover is just beautiful. I love it.

Blurb:

Summer, 1940. Britain is at war, and her brave fighter pilots attempt to keep the enemy at bay.

The last thing Pamela Allison wants is another man, especially one like her brutal, now deceased husband. Her managing mother wants her to live with her in London, but Pamela accepts a job from her aunt, working in the family store in the village near Biggin Hill.

Enter Michael Stedman, a Spitfire pilot based at the Biggin Hill airbase. Depressed and a little drunk after the death of his friend, he doesn’t expect to meet a beautiful woman during a night out at the local pub. He’s not looking for anything permanent since a pilot’s life is fraught with danger. All he wants is a little feminine company to take his mind off the war.

London is under siege by the enemy. Bombs drop every night and the danger increases for everyone. Michael and Pamela’s relationship changes and they become lovers. They are happy with their secret liaison until gossip and the past intrude and threaten to destroy everything, including her good reputation.

I took this photo of a labyrinth at The Village Green Resort in Cottage Grove, Oregon. It’s a simple turf labyrinth and is a replica of one from 9th century Aachen in Germany.

I didn’t realize there was a difference between a maze and a labyrinth and learned differently during my visit. A labyrinth has one entrance and one exit. It doesn’t have any dead ends. A maze has a high hedge (or corn in modern mazes) and is actually a puzzle because it contains lots of twists and turns and dead ends. Mazes are used for entertainment such as the one at Hampton Court near London. I’ve explored the Hampton Court one and managed to get lost but finally made the center with hubby’s help. Labyrinths are used as a compliment to meditation or prayer. I walked this one and found it very soothing. I think it would make a good spot for plotting a book or for pondering plot problems.

Have you ever explored a maze or walked a labyrinth?

The theme for this week is birthday celebrations. I’ve picked an excerpt from one of my Samhain Publishing contemporaries, Tea For Two. It’s the heroine’s birthday. She had intended to stay at home, but her friend persuades her to go to a party. At the party Hayley meets the hero, Sam.

Tea For Two by Shelley Munro

On the dance floor, he swept her into his arms, their lower limbs brushing with exquisite slowness. Hayley swallowed, trying to control her excitement. She’d made her decision when she’d given him a false name. A one-night stand. Dare she? With a determined playboy? At least that’s what the papers reported. Sam Norville was a dedicated playboy.

And she was considering…oh, dear. She was bad. Even thinking about a one-night stand. Hayley pressed her cheek against his leather jacket and smiled dreamily. Could a secretary be a bad girl during her off-duty hours? Maybe, maybe not. Well, she’d see how the night progressed. She ignored her conscience screaming about impulsiveness and consequences. The memories of her parents’ lectures… Couldn’t a girl have a little fun on her birthday? Maybe he didn’t feel the same sexual currents she did. Perhaps she was making a huge fool of herself, providing a little entertainment for the playboy.

Their bodies swayed. Barely moving, their limbs brushed and bumped together when they collided with other laughing dancers. His nearness, his intoxicating citrus scent overwhelmed her, kept adding to the daring thoughts already dancing through her head. She tingled all over, the heat from his touch pulling her nipples to tight beads beneath the cups of her silky bra.

They continued to dance, holding each other close, hands wandering and lazily exploring. She felt the hard ridge of his erection brushing against her stomach. Gradually she let herself believe that this attraction, this thing between them went both ways.

“What would you do if I danced you into a dark corner and kissed you?” he asked during a break in the music.

“I’m not sure.” Liar, her subconscious taunted. Her body warmed and her limbs became heavy, her pulse skittering alarmingly out of control. She glanced up at him and winked. “Why don’t you try it and find out?”

He could do just about anything to her, if he kept talking in that low, husky voice.

He stared at her for a long second, and she swallowed, her nerves doing a real number on her knees. His sudden smile sent her pulse lurching madly and her stomach fluttering. Those margaritas were tricky little suckers, sneaking up on a girl without warning.

“Come on,” he whispered. “I want to see if my imagination is good.”

Hayley’s breath whooshed out in a gusty sigh, her conscience shrieked at her, but she accepted his hand and, after collecting her bag, let him lead her through the crowd of laughing people and downstairs to the main pub. It was an old one with lots of small nooks and cozy private areas within the main building.

“How far away is this dark corner you’re talking about?”

He winked. “Later. How about grabbing us a seat while I buy drinks?” His dark gaze caressed her face before settling on her lips. The impression felt almost physical and set tiny starbursts of sensation dancing inside her stomach.

Hayley found herself nodding in agreement. “An orange juice for me please.” She watched him prowl to the bar, her attention shooting to his world-class backside. She licked suddenly dry lips and fought with her chiding conscience.

This. Was. Not. A. Good. Idea.

She had time to flee—if she wanted, before things went too far. That was the crux of the problem. If she wanted. She liked Sam, or what she knew of him so far, despite his playboy reputation. Maybe she’d shove the good angel sitting on her right shoulder off and see where her naughty self took her. Yeah, maybe that’s what she should do. After all, it was her twenty-fifth birthday. If she didn’t celebrate, who would?

Purchase Tea for Two

To read more Snippet Saturday excerpts follow the trail below:

Leah Braemel
Vivian Arend
Shelley Munro
Taige Crenshaw
McKenna Jeffries
Ashley Ladd
Mari Carr
Lissa Matthews

I mentioned earlier this week that I’m doing some research into Regency England. What started me on this path? I picked up a copy of The Amorous Antics of Old England by Nigel Cawthorne when I last visited the library. Reading it sparked a story idea.

I give you thirteen tidbits from The Amorous Antics of Old England.

1. Dating agencies are not a new thing. Matrimonial clubs were set up as early as 1700 where members aided each other to make a good match.

2. Bundling was practiced widely until the 19th century. During the colder months when a household retired early, a young lover would go to bed with his intended. The young couple were expected to keep on their clothes. Sometimes the girl was sewn into a bundling sack so that things wouldn’t progress too far. Of course this bundling procedure didn’t always go according to plan!

3. In old Scotland a couple could get engaged by going to a nearby stream at night, washing their hands in its waters and then joining hands across it. Poet Robert Burns was betrothed to Mary Campbell this way.

4. Originally an engagement ring was three rings held together by a small rivet. Together they were called a gimmal. At the engagement, one part was given to the man, one to the woman and the third to a close friend who witnessed the betrothal. They would wear the three parts until the wedding, where the gimmal was recombined to make the bride’s wedding ring.

5. During Anglo-Saxon times, if a man had many daughters he was deemed rich because there were many women in his household to do the cooking and cleaning, raise crops and tend livestock. When he lost a daughter to marriage, he needed compensation in the form of a mund or purchase price.

6. In the north of England, young men who attended a wedding vied to pluck the garter from the leg of the bride as soon as the ceremony was over. The bride wore special ribbon garters, which were easily detached. She also wore them low on her leg to discourage over familiar hands. As part of the deal the bride was meant to scream and run away. Sometimes the young men knocked the bride over in the melee.

7. In old England, women wore charms around their necks to preserve their virtue. This meant both charm and virtue could be dispensed with easily!

8. If an Englishman was cuckolded, he advertised the fact. A ship’s captain found his wife in a compromising situation with one of his sailors. He had her stripped naked and put astride a mast with her lover on the other side. They were them bedecked with streamers and carried around East London. A band and a crowd of onlookers followed.

9. Wife selling was another way to deal with an adulterous or unsatisfactory wife. They were sold through small ads in newspapers. Sometimes a husband was disposed of in the same manner, although this was rarer.

10. Prostitution was big in London. It wasn’t necessary to pick up a girl on the street. A book called Harris’ List of Convent Garden Ladies was published with around 80 women appearing in each edition. The listings included their name, physical attributes, specialties and charges. Around 8000 copies of the book were sold of each edition.

11. In the 18th Century there were brothels catering to women as well. The owners would often cater to women of a better class who wished to amuse themselves with young male clients.

12. In the late 18th century, it was widely believed that the cure for venereal disease was to have sex with someone unaffected. This led to the rape of a large number of underage girls.

13. When James I came to the throne, he introduced sumptuous new fashions. He also passed an act requiring young women to be seen in public with their breasts exposed to the nipple. This was seen as a sign of their virginity. In the court of Charles II, women who weren’t virgins exposed their necks, shoulders, arms and breasts. This was condemned.

So, who wants to time travel?