Eye - 20 November 2015

From vintage vitriol to the question of churches

Vintage vitriol

Some Friends’ teetotal tendencies have not always won favour, particularly not with those who have a discerning taste in tipples.

Rosalind Kaye, of Colchester Meeting, spotted evidence of this in My Dear Hugh: Letters from Richard Cobb to Hugh Trevor-Roper and others, edited by Tim Heald.

In a letter written to Hugh Trevor-Roper, dated 21 January 1989, Richard Cobb writes: ‘Yes, I do agree about the Quakers, a close-knit, dangerous community, extremely self-satisfied, and with a thing about drink.

‘I suffered under one, a very rich, very self-assured Amercian… In the summer of 1935, when I was doing some part-time work in their headquarters in the Fleischmarkt [in Vienna].

‘More recently, I went over to Saffron Walden to talk to a couple about a Merton contemporary of mine… and they gave me lunch, with APPLE JUICE to wash it down: one of the worst experiences of my life… Whatever one may say about Catholics, they do give you a decent drink.’

Yeowhihafo

A steaming dish, a chance phone call and the inventiveness of four foodie Friends inspired Reading Friend Lyn Wright (née Harris) to get in touch with Eye:

‘I was talking on the phone today to my daughter in Brighton and discovered that we were both about to enjoy a dish of delicious Yeowhihafo for our teas.

‘This is a dish invented during the last war by a group of Quaker women from New Barnet consisting of grated carrot, sliced onions, rolled oats (Quaker, of course!) and cheese. All cooked in a slow oven in a mixture of tomato puree and yeast extract.

‘The name came from the first letters of the women involved: “yeo” – Yeoman, “whi” – Whiteman, “ha” – Harris (my mother) and “fo” – Ford.

‘There is a possibility that it was from Saffron Walden, not Barnet, as we lived some time with both.

‘It set me wondering if the children of any of these families are still eating Yeowhihafo, which is being passed down the generations, as it is in my family. I would love to know.’

Community, cake and art

Artistic and adventurous Friends at Tavistock Meeting in Devon held what they hope will be the first of a new annual event in October.

Local Friend Sandy Douglas writes: ‘As part of Quaker Week (3-11 October) the Tavistock Meeting held an art exhibition to celebrate the amazing talent of our members and attenders.’

The exhibition included sculptures by Bill Cramer and David Williams, photography by Alan Ray-Jones and Vic Ashton, mixed media pieces by Maggi Squire and Wendy Miller, paintings by Angela Hooper and drawings by Mary Andrews.

The exhibition, however, was not just a feast for the eyes: ‘To entice visitors through the door free cake was on offer, these cakes were particularly unusual as they had been made by the male members of our Meeting. For many this was the first time they had made a cake (living adventurously). In one case it had taken eighty-five years.

‘The cake and art were a great success, bringing a real feeling of community, and we hope that this will become an annual event.’

The question of churches

Church buildings have been discussed in the Guardian in recent months, with both Giles Fraser and Simon Jenkins writing on the subject.

One paragraph in Simon Jenkins’ piece of 22 October, entitled ‘England’s churches can survive – but the religion will have to go’, caught the attention of Jenny and Laurie Andrews, from Essex: ‘I have on my wall a picture of a Georgian tithe-collector squeezing cash out of a protesting Quaker merchant. The tithe is to maintain the vicar in the style to which “heritage” has accustomed him, and the merchant wants none of it.’ This conjuring of the Quaker merchant is to illustrate a point regarding public ownership of Church of England properties. He goes on: ‘When the medieval church stung the nation’s taxpayers to erect grandiose buildings, it offered no exemption to unbelievers. Nor when the Victorians rebuilt these churches was there any relief of tithes.

‘Today’s churches belong to all of us for the simple reason that all of us paid for them in the first place.’

---

Comments

Please login to add a comment