The Cotton Man and the Bakers
| As Jim allowed his boat to drift home, his thoughts turned inwards to what he knew about his family’s history. He started in a town in Lancashire, a place which was experiencing great hardship. It’s people were starving. The mill owner had had no choice but to close the mill. War had curtailed the supply of cotton. Now the mill owner John Townley was seeing his workforce perish. So he purchased flour and sugar then called the women of the town to bake. They stripped the moors of bilberries and baked tarts which he sold to Manchester. Then they made Marmalade and Treacle tarts and even Manchester tarts. Soon the town was thriving again, a place of plenty. So once again meat and potato and butter pies adorned tables. But tonight Jims wife would be preparing a fish chowder, for his fishing trip had been successful. Well Jim mused he could wait for a Butter pie. Jim decided life was good and cracked open a bottle of milk stout, then toasted Mr Townley.
Word Count = 175 |
This Post Has 32 Comments
These must be treats that are found in the U.K. I have never heard of them before. The story is great! Mr.Townley saved the village! Great story Mike!
PJ As a child I remember the ending of rationing after WW2. Soon after I visited Lancashire where my great aunt produced wonderful food – including tripe and chips with lashings of vinger!
LOL! I don’t know what that food is but I’m sure it was wonderful after all that food rationing!
A great feast to feed the hungry but than he toasted Mr Townley…..a bit chewy huh
I smiled and smiled at your comment: for I do love toast. In my story I wanted to say, ‘he’ lifted a glass to Mr Townley, but the word count beat me. Ps I really enjoyed your poem “Finding Sanctuary” as I could relate to it.
I am still salivating from the gastronomic treat. Lovely.
So am I, its no wonder that I put weight on when living in Lancashire
A gourmand’s delight. Well written, Michael.
Thank you Neel As a child I remember the ending of rationing after WW2. Soon after I visited Lancashire where my great aunt produced wonderful food – including tripe and chips with lashings of vinger!
I love the tarts though not the marmalade. when the chips are down, a shift in a trade can bring economic prosperity and you have amply proved it.
http://ideasolsi65.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-dual-life.html
Thank you Kalpana, As a child I remember the ending of rationing after WW2. Soon after I visited Lancashire where my great aunt produced wonderful food – including tripe and chips with lashings of vinger! There are many different types of marmalade: They can be used mixed with other ingredients Marmalade Cake is a favourite of mine
A resourceful businessman. Nicely told Michael.
Thank you Iain, there was quite a bit of Lancashire history for me to tell. I wanted to write more. Now perhaps I might
Wow, lovely read
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As a child I visited Lancashire where my great aunt produced wonderful food – including tripe and chips with lashings of vinger!
Great story , Michael . Those baked delicacies sound delicious 🙂
By the way , both our protagonists have the same name and same profession. 🙂
Thank you Moon, As a child I remember the ending of rationing after WW2. Soon after I visited Lancashire where my great aunt produced wonderful food – including tripe and chips with lashings of vinger!
Love the story. Especially love fish chowder and tarts! 🙂
A good fish chowder is a great thing.
I enjoyed this memory snippet – one of food and new beginnings.
Ellespeth
Thank you Ellespeth
Thanks for helping me deecide what to cook tonight – fish chowder and freshly baked bread! A tasty take on the prompt..
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Sounds tasty I would pop over for supper if I could.
Hurray for Mr. Townley. Every story needs a hero!
Thank you Sandi, thank heaven there are many hero’s for authors to write about.
Great story.
So glad you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed reminiscing about different food items from the 1950s –
Jim seems like a very thoughtful and organized guy. Able to see the ‘big picture’ and deal with reality. He’s ingenious too having the women’s baking become the main industry of the town. Gets good meals out of it too, but I should think he may want to be careful of a hard attack later on 🙂
Same in my day, but in my dream it was only a shiney bright penny.
Same in my day, but in my dream it was only a shiney bright penny.
A feel-good story. We need more of the Jim’s in today’s cities.
That’s so true jacquel