GEORGE ORWELL - A NICE STRONG CUPPA AND A PINT OF MILD

As an avid reader, cook and wine tutor, I eagerly explore the link between literature and our eating and drinking habits. The upcoming Ilminster Literary Festival (28 May – 6 June) provides the opportunity to consider one of our most famous, and best loved, authors, Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell.

A true eccentric, Orwell was keenly aware of social injustice, opposed to totalitarianism, and an outspoken supporter of democratic socialism; considering fish and chips, the pub, strong tea, cut price chocolate, the movies, and radio among the chief working-class comforts.

Most of us are familiar with his novels ‘Animal Farm’, and ‘1984’, which introduced the concept of ‘big brother’. The extent to which he foresaw the current social shift towards that kind of environment is particularly unsettling.

What is less well-known is Orwell’s keen interest in food and drink. His attitude to eating was hard-nosed – “what is a human being after all,” he wrote, "primarily a bag for putting food into".

Orwell's food writing often focused on the unpalatable side of English cuisine, but he also composed delightful essays on the pleasures of saffron buns, marrow jam and cottage loaves; his appetite for such dishes may well have been in response to wartime austerity.

Some of his food descriptions are quite vivid, focusing on the ‘grubbier’ (forgive the pun), side of what those he observed chose to consume.

In ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’, his description of Mr. Brooker’s squalid tripe shop, and his black thumb print on the bread and butter he serves, is revolting. Likewise, the image of  cooks and waiters fingering the steak in ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ would be enough to curb anyone’s appetite.

However, his passion for English food comes through loud and clear in an essay, written in Dec. 1945, "In Defence of English Cooking", praising the virtues of such quintessentially English dishes as kippers, Yorkshire pudding, bread sauce, stilton cheese and Oxford marmalade.

Many traditional favourites have long since disappeared, but the current interest in our culinary heritage, largely fuelled by TV cooking programmes, has seen a revival of the likes of saffron buns, apple dumplings, jugged hare, potted shrimps and faggots; several of our top chefs have risen to the challenge, working with food historians to recreate dishes, adapting them to modern palates.

Orwell enjoyed a good cuppa and had Fortnum & Mason's tea delivered to him in Catalonia. In his 1946 essay, "A Nice Cup of Tea", Orwell wrote, "tea is one of the mainstays of civilisation in this country and causes violent disputes over how it should be made". The main issue was, and remains, whether to put tea in the cup first and add the milk afterward, or the other way around. Orwell asserts that ‘by putting the tea in first and stirring as one pours, one can exactly regulate the amount of milk whereas one is liable to put in too much milk if one does it the other way round.’ I agree wholeheartedly.

He gives eleven rules for the perfect cup of tea, the first of which is that one should use Indian or Ceylonese tea. I contacted Fortnum & Mason recently, and although unable to unearth details of the teas shipped out to Orwell, they did send me information from their archives; from Orwell’s description I would hazard a guess at ‘Perfection’, their blend of Assam and Ceylon teas, at 2s. 8d. for 1lb (equivalent to £4 today).  

In addition to giving advice on how to warm the pot beforehand, Orwell also stresses that the tea should be strong, and teapots made of china or earthenware.

He was a staunch advocate of drinking tea without sugar, suggesting that those who insist on drinking it with sugar should ‘Try drinking tea without sugar for, say, a fortnight and it is very unlikely that you will ever want to ruin your tea by sweetening it again.’

I know this to be true, as I tried it myself.

Orwell was an enthusiastic beer drinker, in moderation, despising lager drinkers. He used to frequent The Plough in Wallington, North Hertfordshire, coming in for a take-away pint of Simpson’s dark mild, which would be served in a mocha ware beer jug; in his opinion, “beer tastes better out of china”.

He is also often cited as being a driving force behind the rising popularity of Micropubs. In his essay about the fictional pub "The Moon Under Water", he extols this symbol of working-class life, the qualities he yearned for, and what remains for many of us the criteria for the perfect old-fashioned pub; small backstreet establishments, family-gathering places with a garden to the rear, a focus on providing good draft beer, light snacks, no music, and a welcoming atmosphere where conversation is encouraged, barmaids who know their customers by name and regulars who have their favourite spot in which to sit and pass the time of day in front of a roaring fire; solid, comfortable and dependable.

And finally, a cautionary quote, “A man may take to drink because he feels himself a failure, but then fail all the more completely because he drinks.” - George Orwell.

A MERE SLIP OF THE TONGUE

In recent days, the news, Brexit aside, has largely been dominated by what have been deemed to be inappropriate remarks by senior government officials.

There have been calls for resignations and a lot of grovelling required, in an attempt to restore the credibility of those who have put foot firmly in mouth, failing to engage brain before speaking.

This is something I am certainly no stranger to, having spent much of my life, especially as a locally elected council member, in hot water; a frequent comment is ‘the trouble with you, Linda, is that you say what everyone else is thinking.’

Of course, our paymasters do not like be challenged, least of all in public; the result being that they fight back, giving it both barrels, in an effort to annihilate anyone who has the temerity to voice an opposing view, or to question their decisions.

In these politically correct times, we are damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.  Whether we are talking about someone’s ethnic background, religion, gender or colour, for me, what really matters, whilst the media attempts to whip everything up into a frenzy, is the intent behind the comment.

We all inadvertently say or do things that others find offensive. Whilst we must be mindful of others’ feelings there has to be some understanding of those who mean well but somehow manage to get it wrong. Hardly a criminal act. Yes, those in the public eye must be called to account, and acknowledge the effect their words and actions can have, but we also need to put things into perspective and consider the real issues we are all facing, each and every day, when people are being neglected or abused, going hungry, and do not have a roof over their heads.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRITY IN POLITICS

A recent cartoon I came across depicted a pig farmer filling the troughs. One pig says to the other, ‘Do you ever wonder why the farmer is so good to us?’ To those of us who enjoy a rasher or two the answer is obvious.

Not quite so simple when it comes to politics though. I believe that for anyone in a position of responsibility and authority ‘What is my motivation?’ is the question we must ask ourselves constantly. No matter what our thoughts, words and deeds, we must be able to satisfy those who stand in judgment, in this case the electorate, and to whom we are ultimately accountable.

As local election time fast approaches, I am planning to stand again (for the fifth time) and although a Conservative by conviction I confess that I have not always selected the Conservative candidate when casting my vote. To my mind, what is much more important, overriding the whole political shenanigans, is the integrity of the person in question.

No matter which political party they represent, I want to be confident that the person representing me will always try to do the right thing; even if sometimes I may not agree with them. 

As holders of public office, we are all required to abide by the 7 Nolan Principles of public life.  For me, the most important of these is Integrity, being honest and having strong moral principles, seeking the good of others.

If we can go about our daily business being open and transparent, treating everyone equally and without fear or favour, then that is something worth fighting for, and which should be rewarded with our trust and confidence.

The most complimentary comment ever said about me was from my former solicitor, ‘Linda, you are incorruptible.’

Whilst those who have their own agenda may succeed momentarily because of what they know or do, those who succeed permanently do so because of what they are.

Living in a democracy, the most important thing we can all do this May is to exercise our right to vote; even if it means spoiling the ballot paper because you feel that none of the candidates will best represent you.

INCLUSIVITY - TOLERANCE IS A TWO-WAY STREET

Having just attended a leadership training session at Warwick University, one of the key items on the agenda was equality and diversity; the extent to which organisations are willing to change and become more inclusive. This applies particularly to local authorities and other public organisations, such as the blue light services. When inspections do take place, this is an area to which a great deal of attention is currently being given, especially with regard to an organisation’s workforce. There is nowadays a lot of pressure to demonstrate the extent to which they can prove an inclusive approach.

When it comes to being ‘included’, in my own life I am fortunate enough to have achieved a number of firsts; mostly as a result of my own bloody-mindedness, just to prove I could do it, rather than any drive towards overcoming prejudice.

I am all for inclusivity, and of my own volition took an Equality and Diversity qualification recently; this was largely because I felt that, in order to effectively carry out many of the roles I hold, I needed to have a better understanding of the key issues involved. Whilst I believe that it is of benefit to us as a society to be more tolerant of others, I am increasingly concerned by this relentless drive, often to the exclusion of all else. We all want to feel accepted by those we associate with, live next door to and work and play with, but it does raise the question, ‘Are we just going through a numbers game, a box ticking exercise to appease the political agenda of others?’

Some of what I hear from others makes me feel rather uneasy.

‘Rather than have an all-male interview panel we included two women and an Asian.’

My challenge to this statement would be ‘Apart from their gender and ethnicity, what made them suitable to be on the panel?’

‘I have been attending Gay Pride rallies for 10 years.’ And…. your point is?

During our discussions some time was spent on considering who should make the coffee, and why it always seemed to be the most junior person present or, God forbid, a woman if one happened to be around. I find such trivia tiresome. Does it really matter who does what as long as people feel valued and are treated with the respect they deserve. It may seem trite, but respect does need to be earned and should not be demanded.

Everyone one has their own agenda and, yes, minority groups must be able to take up their rightful place in our society, but we must also be careful that in heeding their cry for justice we do not disenfranchise those who do not fit the minority criteria.

Strangely enough no-one ever asks me to make the coffee; that is because I am absolutely rubbish at it.