The following is a brief update to the post ‘Liqueur, Witches and Black Cats’.
The village of Newchurch in the Lancashire district of Pendle was mentioned in that post in connection with the story of the Pendle Witches whose trial and execution took place in 1612.
The village sits below Pendle Hill. The hill was not visible to the eye when we visited the area a couple of days ago and found it smothered in a dense fog. We did, however, manage to visit St. Mary’s church in the village for a short time. We left for home before darkness fell as the road had disappeared completely!
St Mary’s church
St Mary’s church dates from around 1544 although a small chapel already existed on the site from the 1200s onwards. The church tower is particularly notable for the ‘Eye of God’ device to the bottom left of the Star of Bethlehem pictured above.
The church has a strong connection to the Pendle Witches. Many of them lived within the parish. The church is also notable for the grave of the Nutter family which is situated to the right of the main entrance. Members of the Nutter family were interred in the grave several hundred years ago.
The grave is also alleged to be the final resting place of family member, Alice Nutter who had been tried and executed as an alleged Pendle Witch. However, witches were not knowingly buried on consecrated ground.
Headstone
Nutter family vault
Skull motif
Alice Nutter is commemorated by a small statue in the nearby village of Roughlee where she lived.
The villain Grimalkin
First, Second and Third Witch together:-
‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Hover through the fog and filthy air’.
Burnley, a town in the county of Lancashire in the North West of England is not the sort of place that you would regularly find in the Financial Times newspaper. Usually the ‘FT’ reserves its comments to the wealthier parts of England, usually in the South of the country and usually in London. Nevertheless it was pleasure that we came across a fascinating article in a recent ‘FT Weekend’ on Burnley and the town’s reputation as the biggest market in the UK for the French liqueur, Bénédictine. The article is behind a ‘paywall’ and so are unable to link to it here. Nevertheless, we were fascinated to learn that this Northern industrial town was of so much importance to the French producers of this drink.
The French company has an international market for its product in France, the UK, USA and, of course, Singapore where it is a constituent of the famous ‘Singapore Sling’ cocktail.
When the war finally ended, the soldiers of the East Lancashire Regiment brought their taste for the drink back to England and two towns such as Burnley where it is immensely popular usually in the form of a ‘Bene and (h)ot’, Bénédictine mixed with hot water and a slice of lemon. So popular is the drink that the Burnley Miners Club in the town apparently orders around 1000 bottles a year when most bars might order one or two in that time (unless they serve a lot of Singapore Slings of course!).
The venerable old football club, Burnley FC (who play at the delightfully named ‘Turf Moor’ ground) serves ‘Bene and ot’ to its match day fans making it (probably) the only League club where supporters are real enthusiasts for the French liqueur.
Burnley is also the home to several breweries, our favourite being Moorehouse who are based in the town. They have been brewing for 150 years. They produce a superb range of core, craft and small range beers some of whose names (Blond Witch, White Witch, Straw Dog, Black Cat, Pendle Witches Brew) refer to the legends and tales of the nearby Pendle Hill.
Pendle Hill
Pendle Hill is an eerie and haunting old hunting ground of mystery and infamy.
The Moorhouse website quotes the following lines about ‘Mystical Pendle’:-
‘When the mist rolls in, as it often does, the hill is enveloped in a veil of secrecy and intrigue. It is this atmosphere and eerie presence that still lingers on and can be felt across the moorland and woodland alike. Especially when the mist lingers, or in the dead of night, that this land of rich myths and legends comes to life.‘
Pendle is known as one of the most haunted parts of Britain and it is forever associated with the Witch Trials of 1612 and the execution by hanging of 10 local women accused of the craft.
The names of Moorhouse’s Blond Witch, White Witch and Pendle Witches Brew beers clearly refer to those infamous trials but the names of two of their other core ales, Straw Dog and Black Cat are worth a further explanation.
Straw Dog is the name the brewery gave to a quality golden ale referring (as their website explains) to the locally infamous Demdike, the colloquial name of of one of the alleged witches, Elizabeth Southerns, ‘who gave her soul to a devilish hound, which would carry out her devilish deeds’.
Our personal favourite, the dark mild Black Cat with its luscious overtones of chocolate and mocha, is quite low in alcoholic content, 3.4 ABV (a shock to any Belgians reading this!). It is therefore ideal as a ‘session beer’ i.e. one to enjoy in quantity with your friends over a long winter’s evening without slurring your words as a result! As for its name, once again the Moorhouse’s website explains the connection with the Pendle Witches by noting ‘still guarding Malkin Tower, the Black Cat patrols the ruins, warding off insolent travellers to protect its master’s estate’. Malkin Tower was the home of Elizabeth Southerns aka ‘Demdike’.
The following is an interesting link on Malkin Tower :-
The name Malkin itself is derived from ‘Grimalkin’, an archaic term for a cat. Cats themselves were thought to be the Witches familiar.
‘I come, Grimalkin’ says the First Witch in Macbeth.
‘Tis he that villain Grimalkin
Madam Malkin was the name of a witch in the Harry Potter books.
Above, the 16th century St Mary’s Church at Newchurch in Pendle where the tombstone known as the Witches’ Grave and the “Eye of God” are to be found. One of the accused at the Trials was alleged to have desecrated graves in this churchyard to collect skulls and teeth.
Kiev (or Kyiv as it is more correctly spelt) is the capital of Ukraine. The city is a wonderful destination, one of golden spires, beautiful squares, great food and friendly people and then, when you least expect it, brutalist architecture from the Soviet era.
The unofficial symbol of the city is the horse chestnut tree which grows throughout.
The Kyiv cake, a dessert which contains nut, cream and chocolate is another popular symbol of the city. First made at the (former) Karl Marx Confectionary Factory in the city in 1956, the cake has become hugely popular throughout Ukraine. The top of the cake is a depiction in icing of the leaf of the horse chestnut tree in honour of the city.
Wherever we went in Kiev, there was always time for coffee and great food.
In particular, food from nearby Georgia has become deservedly popular in the city and it is one of the best cuisines we have come across. From Khachapuri (bread, cheese, eggs combined together) to Khinkali (meat filled dumplings), Georgian food is one of those cuisines which always satisfies.
Khachapuri
Khinkali should be eaten like this:-
Desserts are also a big part of Georgian culture and a slab of the popular Gozinaki (walnuts and honey – a bit like like a less cloying nougat) came out on top.
Gozinaki
Cherry pie and ice cream came a close second.
Cherry pie
Each time we ate at a Georgian restaurant in the city, we were offered a complimentary starter of Pkhali, a vegetable dish of a pâté like consistency which can be made from various bases although the core ingredients will remain more or less the same. Our favourite version of the dish was based on beetroot combined with walnut, garlic, herbs and spices. If you don’t want beetroot, the dish can be prepared with carrot instead. Similarly, if you don’t like carrot, you can use spinach as the base and so on.
The Pkhali was washed down with a small glass of vodka (which was either fiery Georgian vodka distilled on the premises or a smoother commercially made Ukrainian vodka). As we ate, the house cat, a small friendly tabby, brushed past reminding us of the two other cats we had seen that day. One of those cats was represented by the handsome bronze statue of the legendary Persian, Pantusha, another symbol of the city of whom more below. The other cat was a small statue of the fearsome vodka swilling and cigar smoking beast of ‘The Master and Margarita’, the giant black cat Behemoth. The book was written by Kiev born Mikhail Bulgakov and it is one of the greatest works of Russian literature (although there is is an argument that the book is a work of Ukrainian fiction https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2008/dec/11/mikhail-bulgakov-ukraine-russia).
Nasty Behemoth
Whatever the argument, Kiev boasts a wonderful Bulgakov museum, a statue of the man and a small statue of the gigantic Behemoth of course.
Pantusha
The other statue of a cat in the city is that of the beloved Pantusha, a Persian sculpted in bronze which sits on its own pedestal near the Golden Gate monument (the monument being a representation of the 11th century ‘Great Gate of Kiev’ as referenced by the composer Mussorgsky). Now a cherished symbol of the city, Pantusha lived in a popular Italian restaurant near the Golden Gate monument. Loved by all the staff and diners, he was very much a part of the eating house. Unfortunately, the restaurant burnt down following an electrical fault and the wonderful Persian did not survive the fire. In his honour, patrons and staff commissioned a statue of him. The statue stands in front of the rebuilt restaurant. It has become something of a ritual amongst locals to make a wish in the cat’s ears and rub his back for good luck. As we sat with a coffee outside the restaurant, locals of all ages greeted Pantusha with a pat and a quiet word.
You will not get a nice comment from Behemoth of course and we certainly would not recommend a quiet word in his ears! If you are familiar with the book, you will know what we mean.
However, we will leave the last word to him.
“Is that vodka?” Margarita asked weakly. The cat jumped up in his seat with indignation. “I beg pardon, my queen,” he rasped, “Would I ever allow myself to offer vodka to a lady? This is pure alcohol!” *
* presumably the same fiery vodka we mentioned above?
FOOD, FILMS 'N' TINGS 