Apparently one of my ancestors had a bakery on Park Road where they also made crumpets. If only they'd passed the recipes down the family line. Just goes to show that you should grab as much info out of old codgers before they croak and their secrets are lost forever. (Sorry if that sounds irreverent - I don't mean it in a cruel sense)

I wish I'd recorded an owd lass called Elva who used to recite dialect poetry when I was a kid. I wish I'd pressed my great auntie Bertha for her lifestory - lost her fiancee in WWI. I wish I'd learned about even my immediate forebears - just a generation or so passes by and their memories are lost.

That's why I appreciate OGFB so much - snippets of history intermingled with today's activities which will one day be history too.

And something constructive to do while my better half is away and there's nowt worth watching on telly and ... (That's enough sentimental rambling, Callunna. Stop being a Sad Git and go do something useful with your time! Ed.)

Well I've read the whole thing and certainly become educated. Untill today the only oatcakes I knew of where small biscuits, made in Scotland. I have made them myself  but as many of you pointed out, they are messy and difficult. These soft, crumpet type oatcakes are a revelation to me. I have the clothes wrack so might just have a go! The stew looks good too. i noticed you added more flavourings the second time you did it Stanley, was it a bit tasteless? My mothers version had pork in and garlic, as well as the beef...not quite the same thing but oh so tasty!

You mention a conveyor belt thing to get the oatcakes to the backstone..they still use these in some wood fired bakeries to reach the back of the oven.

The trouble with this subject is that the more you read it, the more you get the yen for a good feed of stew and hard.

I read all the replies again yesterday and when I went to the supermarket they had a pork hock and some lamb shoulder chops on special, so I bought enough for a couple of enamel basins of stew.  I put the lot into a crockpot and brought them to the boil and then cut it back to "low" and left it on all night.  I also put a carrot, bay leaves, a pinch of cayenne and half a teaspoon of ground cloves in and pepper and salt.  Up this morning and sorted the meat from the bones and made a jelly mix with gelatine and the liquor and it is all setting in the fridge.  Tomorrow I will have it for lunch and no doubt my missus will turn her nose up at it, but since the Kiwis are addicted to meat pies, at least I know what has gone into my stew!!!!

I got this recipe from Mrs Beaton's Cookery book under "Brawn".

Bon appetit.

Regards Hatepe

I couldn't wait until tomorrow for my taste of the home made stew, so I made sure the jelly had set and I had it  sliced on Rye Vita biscuits and a twist of raw onion on top for tea tonight. "Luvely"!!!  Just short of a pint of draught beer, but we can't have everything.

Crockpots Mags are a wonderful invention, I would have had a pound of kidneys in with the shin beef, but it isn't everybody who likes offal. Try a satchet of gravy mix to thicken your liquid, it tastes just that bit better than Bisto.

My Kiwi Ma-in-law used to put a whole chicken in the crockpot with just half an inch of water, a touch of salt and pepper and they came out absolutely mouth watering tender. Mind you the old cast iron pots with a lid on that my Mum used on the hob of the black range more or less did the same operation, it was slow but sure simmering that made the toughest meat tender.

I have just had a phone call from my son in law in Auckland, there has been a death in the family and my daughter is on her way now to the UK by Malaysian Airlines, I asked him if he'd be alright for feeding himself and he said "Cause I will, I've been out and bought a heap of shin beef and kidney and I'll make a pig of missen when it comes out of the crockpot!!!"

Aye Hatepe