Previously my predecessor The Beetle requested readers help with naming her cheese, as produced on her farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Here are a couple of replies that might help other suggestions along and any marketing campaigns J
Audrey from Florida says “I vote for Dales Select. Anywhere I can buy it here ?”
Mac, our regular contributor writes that “Ribblesdale Goat is a modern vegetarian (I had never heard the vegetarian angle) hard cheese created in 1982 by Iain and Christine Hill. Ribblesdale goat is highly valued for its fresh simple flavor with its suggestion of chicory, almonds, and wild herbs from the misty Yorkshire hills. Ribblesdale Goat won a Bronze Award in the 1996 British Cheese Awards. Although normally a goats cheese it is also available from ewes milk and a smoked cheese . Ribblesdale cheese can be served as a table cheese or for grated toppings. All Ribblesdale Cheeses supplied are handmade and waxed coated giving the cheese a long shelf time of approximately 80 days. Sadly Iain Hill passed away in November 2006 but is succeeded by his niece Iona Hill who maintains the family tradition. Suitable for vegetarians, suitable for freezing…”
Mac also jokes “Groups of Americans were traveling by tour bus through Holland .. As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of cheese making, explaining that goat’s milk was used. She showed the group a lovely hillside where many goats were grazing. ‘These’ she explained, ‘Are the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produce.’ She then asked, ‘What do you do in America with your old goats?’ A spry old gentleman answered, ‘They send us on bus tours’
Mac writes even more – “George stopped me in the hallway all excited and said Hey Mac I tasted your friends Ribblesdale cheese in Meknes Morocco in about 2003 or 2004. He said he was on a tour bus and an English lady invited him to join him for a spot of tea on the beach. He said the lady had a little wicker basket and in it some Ribblesdale Cheese.
He said he remembered it first because of its unique name, then its unique flavor and that it was made from goats milk. He liked it. Maybe you should keep the name Ripplesdale since it made such an impression on him. I do think adding Yorkshire to word Dale would add more sophistication and not have some of us ignorant Americans think it is referring to a man’s name.
He thought the cheese was in a green wrapper. Maybe the English woman just put it in a green wrapper.”
George is quoted as saying “I Summit Your Friend New International Cheese Name Is : ” World Famous Yorkshire Dales Ribblesdale Cheese ” And Below A Picture Of A Bearded Goat, And In Smaller Lettering ” The Ribblesdale Goats Do It “
“Also Had Visions Of This Cheese In Eye Catching, Wrapped Green, With White Circle, With The Black Lettering Divided By A Golden Bearded Goat Head Figure.
Your Friend Will Become A Million Pounder !!!!”
So, instead, we went to the Bank of England and we
joined a guided tour there. It was excellent! Believe it or not,
the site of the Bank of England, which has been located in
Threadneedle Street since 1734, covers a massive 3 ½ acres – who
would have thought it! We moved down a very majestic staircase
to some beautiful state rooms downstairs and through the
gardens and up again to the rooms that are used to hold meetings
with visiting officials to discuss monetary policy. The tour ended
in the Bank's museum which is fascinating and includes a gold
bullion bar, encased in bullet proof glass, of course, which
Padmassana had a go at lifting through the specially designed hole
for people to touch the bar. You can visit the museum any time and
it is free of charge. The museum is open Monday to Friday, 10.00 –
17.00, Christmas Eve, 10.00 – 13.00 but is closed at weekends and
on Public and Bank Holidays.
After the Bank of England tour, we visited one of the
livery companies near Smithfield market and after a fry up at the
Beetle's favourite 24/7 greasy spoon café, we headed up to St
Pancras and joined a tour run by Arups, the consulting engineers
responsible for building the new ST Pancras train staton which is
to be the new home of the Eurostar as well as a new and upgraded
train station for regional trains.
Mistake, mistake, mistake – How could I have made such a stupid
mistake. At our late lunch stop I had changed from boots to
sandals, strong sandals, the problem was not with the footwear but
with my brain which seemed to have gone into non thinking mode as
the day started to turn to twilight. We had been walking fast,
through thick rain forest and crossing and re-crossing rivers or
maybe even the same river. The last few Kilometres of the twenty
seven from our jump into the jungle to the 'Yawanawa'
village, our guides had decided to make what was a two day trek
into one. Why? I have no idea, unless it was too see how we would
make out. My legs felt like lead pillars as I walked in the river
my sandals acting like buckets holding my down feet, like walking
in treacle, my heart pounded loudly with each stride as I tried to
keep up with 'Yawanawa' Indian ahead, who was starting to
disappear in the dusk. The tribe had warned us that the rain forest
was very dangerous at night and they would always be back in the
village by nightfall! Just as I thought I could go no further and
dusk started to turn to darkness, I saw a figure on the shore about
a hundred metres away waving me on. I staggered up to Adam Baines,
for that's who it was, as he said “Well done Tony we have
made it” and we shook hands. Months of politicking in the
urban jungle, then many adventures on the way to our final
destination, the 'Yawanawa' village of Novo Esperanca – At
last we had arrived or nearly, the last hurdle or just about the
last straw, was about seventy steps cut in to the steep river bank
leading up to the village.
The 'Yawanawa' were early risers, the queue for the
bathroom or in this case the river started at 0415 hours for the
women and then the men from about 0445 hours. Breakfast consisted
of something from the day before, usually highly salted and
difficult to keep down as the sun started to kiss the village roofs
of the 'Yawanawa'.
We had a
special treat one night, when the chief switched the fridge on for
a couple of hours and we had a mug of cold water that tasted as
good as any cold beer I have ever tasted.
These Indigenous people had five different ways of sustaining
themselves,' in the depth of this green paradise.
The two ways they made some money was with 'Aveda', a
Canadian firm that bought Uruku off the 'Yawanawa' for the
making of their expensive and famous make up, sold in top shops
like 'Harvey Nichols' both here, France and in North
America. The second way was with tapping the rubber and making it
into a sort of vegetable leather used in bags of all types and also
sold in quality shops in the worlds fashionable capitols.
The children had half a day of school and half a day of learning
how to work like their parents, in whatever was their speciality.
The best hunters or fisherman got the best and most desirable woman
as wives. I asked why no one seemed to wear glasses or have bad
hearing? – The answer was simple nobody would marry anyone with
those problems and therefore they were bred out – Survival of the
fittest! Adam's words echoed round my brain, “Lucky you
were born in London Tony”.
Antonio looked after the canoes and water transport; the tribe
would have its own specialists just as we do in our world. The
Chief himself would deal with the outside world business. The
Marriage with outsiders was not encouraged, The 'Yawanawa'
did not want Aids to in filter the village and also when a non
Indian married one of their girls, they tended to take the bride
out of the tribal area to live.