A Lincolnshire Feast

     I am a Lincolnshire lass, born on the Greenwich Meridian in Louth.
     Lincolnshire is the second largest county in England and one of the most rural and sparcely populated. The Lincolnshire dialect is said to be the nearest to the Anglo Saxon language and has many unique words and phrases: a hodmadod is a snail, if someone is hirpling about, that is a cross between a limp and a hobble, and a tall person can be referred to as a great long tetherum.
     At one time great swathes of Lincolnshire were marsh or bog and this is reflected in place names such as Maltby-le-Marsh and meant that communities were isolated and it was not a good place for strangers to travel if they didn't know the safe paths to take.
     This in turn meant that Lincolnshire developed its own foods and ways of eating them too.
     I saw on the TV the other day that Lincolnshire Sausages had been denied protected status, which would have meant that only sausages made in the county of Lincolnshire would have been able to call themselves 'Lincolnshire Sausages'. To be honest I was not surprised at this as there is no one traditional recipe for these delicious pork treats. Every Lincolnshire butcher has their own recipe, closely guarded and unique. All I can say with certainty is that those bought in the supermarkets are but a pale and insipid imitation of the true Lincolnshire butcher's sausage, which are spoken of with nostalgic wistfulness by anyone who is a true sausage connoisseur.
     I make my own version which has to have good sausage meat, plenty of chopped sage and a good amount of black pepper. But the proportions and the extra 'secret ingredients' will vary from maker to maker. Some of the possible additions are parsley, nutmeg and a pinch of mixed spice.
     Another Lincolnshire speciality is Plum Bread which is a sort of cross between a fruit cake and a loaf. The fruit has to be soaked over night in cold tea, which plumps them up and gives a nice moistness to the end result. I would imagine that originally dried prunes would have been used, as these are dried plums, but these days it is more likely to be sultanas, with possibly some mixed fruit and candied peel. It is eaten sliced, buttered and with cheese. And is delicious.
     The Lincolnshire Christmas Cake was also a much richer and denser creature than the sponge-cake-with-fruit that passes for a fruit cake these days.
     It had to be made a couple of months in advance and was so stuffed with fruit (soaked in alcohol!) that is was mainly fruit held together with a matrix of cake. The cake was kept in a tin and regularly 'fed' with brandy, dark rum, or whatever spirit was to hand. I remember my mum with a long skewer poking holes in the top of the cake then drizzling brandy into the holes. The brandy both preserved the cake and meant that the flavour was rich and very boozy.
     I can still see Aunty Laura bringing the cake to the table, decorated with a layer of marzipan and covered in royal icing made to look like snow. And cutting slices no more than 1/4 inch thick - and yes they held together - of the rich, black cake. It was an acquired taste and very strong and bitter. The icing and marzipan providing a hint of sweetness. It was not really a cake that children liked, but the adult faces lit up when they were handed a slice, and offered a slice of cheese to go with it.
     Lincolnshire High tea was also rather special and I suspect unique (unless you know different).
     In a farming community meat and potatoes are plentiful and cheap, but fruit and sugar rare and costly treats. So the way we eat our meals today reflects our farming roots. We eat our savoury meat and potatoes first, filling up on the cheap part of the meal, and follow this (possibly) with a sweet treat, the smaller portion of the expensive fruit and sugar.
     But a Lincolnshire High Tea turns this on its head.
     We start with fruit and cream, with bread and butter. I realise this might sound strange to many people. I know Graham was a bit dumbfounded when my mum presented him with a bowl of strawberries and cream, then offered him the plate of sliced bread and butter.
     But just try it. Crush the fruit up into the cream with a fork so that the juice, cream and sugar all combine. Then dip a slice of bread and butter into the liquid, pile some fruit on it and take a bite. It is heavenly.
    The Lincolnshire High Tea shows that you have wealth and status by allowing you to eat the expensive fruit and sugar first, while you are hungry and likely to eat more. However this is craftily offset by giving you (cheap) bread and butter at the same time. We aren't daft!
     When you had eaten your dessert, the table would then be set with the savoury course. In this case sliced ham or other cold meats, salad and more bread and butter. If you were very lucky you might have another Lincolnshire speciality, stuffed chine.
     Chine is a cut of pork from near the back bone. It is sliced across the grain and the slices filled with finely chopped parsley, then cooked and sliced afterwards so you have a meat with stripes of green.
     To be honest it is one of those foods which you either adore or can't stand - and it was never one of my favourites. But my dad, sister and Graham all love it.
      Earlier I mentioned eating fruit cake with cheese and just recently I saw an episode of the antique programme 'Flog It' from Grimsby, where the presenter Paul Martin was offered Plum Bread with cheese and he remarked that he had never eaten fruit cake with cheese before.
     This is one of those combinations made in heaven. Any fruit cake can be used, and yes you can butter the cake too. Use a cheese such as Cheddar, Red Leicester or Wensleydale.
     Fruit cake with butter and cheese, Lincolnshire High Tea and a pork based economy .... I was never destined to be skinny!

While the Cat's Away .....

Those of you who get the Raven Newsletter (£5.00 sub UK and NI, £10 Eire and EU) will know that this week Mike and Graham are having a few days away in Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorkshire Coast. This is one of our favourite places, so picturesque and a lovely calm and friendly atmosphere.
     They will, of course, also be spending some time in Whitby, just a couple of miles north. Graham has been doing research and has gone with a list of pubs and eateries for possible visits. I am hoping for a full report, with photo's! when they get back sometime on Thursday.
     They have just set off, but before they went I was given a whole load of do's and don't's by Graham, which can be summarised:
DO keep warm
DO eat stuff
DO NOT fall over anything and get hurt

I'm surprised I didn't get 'Don't talk to strangers, and don't get in a car with someone you don't know!'

     Mike said his wife Cherise had given him a similar list. My list to them, on the other hand, was 'Sod off, and have fun!'

     So now I have the house to myself. And a choice of computers - and I can even choose which side of the bed I can sleep on and roll over luxuriously instead of having to avoid flung out limbs.

   Life is good.

On the Wrapping of Parcels

As a mail order company one thing we know about is wrapping parcels.
     This is primarily Graham's area of expertise, he has been doing it for over 27 years after all.
     When we wrap parcels of goodies, we are concerned about three things in particular:
1) We need them to get to the customer who ordered them
2) We need the goods to be intact when they get to their destination.
3) And we want it to be a pleasure opening the parcel.

     It would be easy to just drop everything in a box with some polystyrene shapes, or bung it all in a jiffy bag, and stick it in the post, but this is not our way.
    We have many times heard the pleased comment: 'I love getting your parcels, opening them is just like christmas!' and this is because we wrap each item with care.
     Very often items are individually wrapped in tissue paper, or candy striped paper, which all started from our desire to be sure that each item reaches its destination in good order. We don't want things knocking against each other and damaging themselves.
     But this also has the added effect that what you get from us is a package full of gift wrapped items, and which are great fun to open.
     Getting all the different shaped parcels in a single package can be a bit like trying to get one of those multi-shaped puzzles into its box, and sometimes there is no answer but to send out more than one parcel - leading to the labels 'parcel 1 of 2', 'parcel 2 of 2' and so on. And, of course, because we sell such a wide diversity of goods from books to dreamcatchers, we do sometimes get the classic 'brick and a feather' situation. This is an order which consists of something squat and blocky together with something long and narrow, or where there are wildly different masses, something heavy and dense with something light and fragile. Or the most challenging - something heavy, dense and blocky, with something long, delicate and fragile. In these cases the safest option for the goods is to send two or more parcels.
     Coming up to birthdays and especially Christmas, we've found that customers often treat themselves to one of our Surprise Parcels. We can tailor these to an individuals tastes or interests, so that you can have a parcel of gemstones, incenses or candles or a little bit of all sorts. As you choose how much to spend (plus p&p), these can suit all pockets too.
     These special parcels are often kept by the customer until their special day. I remember getting a letter from an elderly chap soon after christmas saying how much he had enjoyed his parcel of goodies as he lived alone and had no family, so this was the one time he got to open a surprise.
     We take the same care with every package we send out, so that whatever you receive, will (we hope) be a joy to open

Feast of the Dead

     Samhain is a very special time of the year. There are many festivals around this time and they often include remembering the spirits of the dead.
     In Witchcraft we remember all our friends, whether they are currently incarnate or not and also include those who inhabit alternate realms such as elementals and the Faery folk.
     There is a welcoming chant in some traditions which calls in all these spirits to join our celebrations, and includes the line:

"We call upon those who are yet to be."

     This recognises those spirits who are unborn, for one reason or another, so Samhain is an ideal time to remember those spirits who have not managed to come to birth in this world.
     Many women and families have experienced the loss of an unborn child, whether through miscarriage, termination or through an inability to conceive, or even through a phantom or Fairy pregnancy. Even though we do get on with our lives, we never forget these experiences, and those spirits do not forget us either. So today is an ideal time to welcome them to our festivities.

     Light a white candle, or a pure beeswax one, and place around it three black stones, three haematites or even three glass globs. These stones represent the tears shed for the unborn, so use which seem right to you - three stones found in your garden will be fine.
     Now light some incense, something floral, or a favourite, I would use some of our lovely Om Nag Champa for this.
     Then say:

Sweet spirit who we are yet to see

We remember and honour you.

We ask you to come and be with us, in friendship and love

To share our food and our fireside, and the magic of Samhain.

On this night which is between the worlds,

You are welcome

Blessed Be!

Ghostly Encounters

     Last evening I was sitting at one end of our sofa, with China our rough collie asleep at the other end and Graham in his usual position on the floor, watching TV.
     From upstairs came a very familiar 'thud' sound. The sound of a dog dropping off the spare bed and onto the floor. There was a pause and no further sounds, although having heard the 'thud', I was wondering how long it would take the dog to get downstairs and into the living room.
     Right on cue, the living room door creaked open. I was watching and instinctively leant forward to see the dog as it entered the room.
     Of course, there was nothing to see.
     But here we are, heading swiftly towards Samhain/Halloween, the time when spirits return to visit those they love. Plus it is now three months gone since Maeve died, and I've found that when a loved one dies you often get a brief visit just after death and/or then hear nothing until after three months have passed.
     If you have read my book 'Journeys to the Summerland' you will know that I usually encounter the dead in dreams or astral journeys to their realms, but I have also had experiences in this world too. Immediately after my dad died, I heard his voice comforting me, as any parent would, 'Don't cry, it's alright.'
     And our Yorkshire Terrier, Snag, settled himself in front of the fire and snored.
     Snag was quite an active member of the household for a while, one visitor reporting that when they tried to put their elbow on the sofa arm, they were warned off with a growl - that was Snag's favourite perch.
     I know that many bereaved people long for some sort of contact or message from their loved ones, and they may feel disappointed or bereft when there is no instant connection.
     From personal experience I would say: 'Give it time.'
     As you might imagine, when someone dies, the spirit has a lot of adjustments to make, including getting used to the idea that they are dead, and in many cases coming to terms with the fact that even without a body, life goes on.
     This is a generalisation, but something I have noticed time and again in my own and other people's experiences: it usually takes 3-6 months for the spirit to get through its own acclimatisation, enough for them to decide to pop back and see how their loved ones are faring.
     So coming up to Samhain I am expecting that we will get other visitations from various friends, relatives and pets.
     And I am looking forward to them all.


'Journeys to the Summerland' by Chris Sempers £4.50 plus p&p available from Raven

The Pagan Year Poem

We are currently working on our next mailshot and Newsletter (due out end of Oct) and I am also finishing off the Raven Almanack of Moveable Feasts for 2017.
     One thing I like to do is put a little seasonal poem at the start of each month, but finding something new or different is getting difficult, since I have been doing this for maybe 20 years or so.
     So I thought to myself; 'I haven't seen a Pagan version of this type of poem.' So I decided to have a go and see if I could come up with one.
     And here it is:

A PAGAN POEM OF THE YEAR

In January, dark and drear,

Resolve to have a magic year.

February, time of frost and cold,

Brigit's fest of bright Imbolg.

March with storms and winds so strong,

When day and night are equally long.

When April comes with many showers,

The Goddess' dance brings out the flowers.

May starts with Beltane fires bright,

And lovers in the woods all night.

June's for love and marriage vows,

The Solstice Sun is highest now.

And August is the feast of Lugh,

With corn to cut and beer to brew.

September leaves and nuts turn brown,

When equal night and day are found.

October darkens, magic grows,

Samhain meets, and pumpkin glows.

November ghosts and spirits sees,

The trees are bare and puddles freeze.

December brings the longest night,

Gifts given by Yule candlelight.

C P Sempers October 2016

Moonwort

It is another lovely autumn day. So nice that Graham and I have been sitting outside our front door in the warm sunlight, and while we were there I suddenly noticed that the Honesty was ready for cutting.
     Honesty is a plant which seeds itself all over the garden, and although it has pretty pink flowers in the spring, it is mainly grown for its magical papery silver seed cases, which gave the plant its country names of Moonwort (because they look like the silvery full moon), Fairy Silver and Prick-Song Wort.
     The seed cases were said to be used by the Fairy folk as
currency, or as a deception, depending on your point of view. It was said that often musicians were asked to play for the fairies, and would be paid with pouches of fairy silver, a dream-like currency which vanished with the sunrise, and all the musician would be left with is a handful of Honesty seed cases.
     Prick-Song Wort is another musical name for the seedcases because they resemble the notes in a musical manuscript. In the Middles Ages musical notation was a little different to now, and music was copied by pricking each note with a pin through several sheets of parchment at the same time, the pin pricks then being encircled, and very much resembling the Honesty seed cases. So the music was called Prick-Song, and the Honesty was therefore Prick-Song Wort.
     Honesty is usually used as an addition to dried flower arrangements, simply because it looks so pretty. I remember when I was a very little girl helping prepare Honesty with Aunty Laura in Withern in Lincolnshire. We would carefully peel off the dried, brown outer cases from each side to reveal the satiny, silver inner leaf, and Aunty Laura would insist on us collecting all of the flat brown seeds, so that she could scatter some in her garden and give others away.
     The Honesty in our garden come from our friend Gran Walker from Alford in Lincolnshire. Many years ago now, she gave us some plants from her garden, she was another Witch and lover of herbs. We still have other plants she gave us including Tree Mallows and Lincolnshire Spinach, also known as Good King Henry. The Honesty seeds she gave us have scattered plants all around the garden and seem to particularly like growing in at least partial shade.
    Magically Honesty can be used in spells to gain money, increase cash flow and give you some spare cash in your pockets. It can also be used in dreaming spells, to banish nightmares and bring sweet dreams. It is, of course, a very special plant to the Fairy people, so it can be used to help communication with nature spirits, and to transport you in your sleep to the realm of Fairyland.