Feeling Festive

[anyanka_eg]

I went to the farmer's market today and I'm finally starting to feel a little festive. It's not like it was all full of lights or anything but I feel a bit more Christmasy now. Possibly because I bought sprouts. Purple ones, not the usual green. Also purple carrots and purple kale. Okay, so I like the colour. I also bought a Lancashire Volcano!!

It's strong Lancashire cheese encased in wax to keep it fresh. I can't help thinking it's not that much like a volcano though.

The farmer's market is about 10 miles from my house over the moors. Think Wuthering Heights, just not quite so remote as the North York Moors. This is the West Pennine Moors
 

It was cold up there this morning. The back of Winter Hill (I live on the south west side of it) was still covered in thick ice because it doesn't get the sun at all I don't think. There weren't too many sheep on the road this time. Last time I came whizzing round a bend to be confronted by a cow in the road. Unnerving really.

The farmers market is at Hoghton Tower, which is a Tudor fortified manor house. The Hoghton family have lived there since the 12th century but the current building is only from 1565. Positively new :-)
 

It's believed that Shakespeare's lost years were spent here as a tutor. There's fairly good evidence that Shakespeare was a catholic and the Hoghtons were part of the Lancashire catholics when it really wasn't a good time to be a Catholic. The met in secret and hid priests to avoid persecution.

Enough history. I'm off to make gingerbread cookies with my new cookie cutter (reindeer shaped).

Comments

[sulien77.livejournal.com]

The photos of the moors and the manor house are beautiful. I like the way you say that current building was only built in 1565. *grins* Folks here have a big to-do and get all excited when their town celebrates its 100th anniversary and I just grin. I was lucky enough to be stationed in Germany twice and got to go see some places that were old. *sigh* Man, I seriously need to save up some money and hop a military cargo flight back to Europe for another look around!

[adafrog.livejournal.com]

Very weird cheese. Also cool. lol