Please contact me at grandmaabson@gmail.com for more details.
My Heritage Baking and other talks
1. Grandma Abson's Traditional Baking
Learn
all about Grandma Abson's Traditional Baking, her life in service and how to bake delicious cakes, biscuits, puddings, jams and chutneys.
2. The History of Afternoon Tea
Contact : 
Explore
the origins and characters involved in creating this quintessential British tradition and what makes a perfect afternoon tea!
3. Baking in World Wars 1 and 2
Discover how baking was affected by rationing, shortages and
campaigns to promote nutritional meals. Taste recipes which Grandma
Abson would have baked.
4.Georgian and Regency era Baking
See
how baking during Georgian and Regency times has influenced baking
as we know it today. Taste some of the recipes from cooks in those times.
5. Christmas baking traditions
Find out how
to make Grandma Abson’s homemade Christmas traditional delights and test your knowledge about Christmas
traditions!
6.Easter and
Lenten Food traditions
Learn about pagan and
Christian traditions from around the world which herald the coming of Spring
and Easter.
From Surrey to the Seine
A Volunteer's Journey to the Paris Olympics
and Paralympics 2024. Meryl was a 'Volontaire' at the Time Trials and Road
Races and talks about her experiences in Paris for the Olympics and
Paralympics.
grandmaabson@gmail.com
Previous Events
2026
7 Oct Ashford WI
This is the 3rd time Meryl
has visited this group and she is always presented with a task of judging the
group’s wonderful baking – this time scones. What a choice of scones from
cheese, fruit to cherry and almond. The competition fitted well with Meryl’s
talk about the History of Afternoon tea.
9 Jun The Brocks
Road Ladies Group
Meryl gave her talk on Afternoon to this lovely group of ladies. They were preparing for their own Afternoon Tea later in the month so enjoyed finding out about all the rules to have the best experience of this quintessential tradition.
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21 Apr West
London Oddfellows
Meryl paid a return visit to the group
to talk about the delights of Afternoon Tea. Members were intrigued by stories
of the tea trade and Sam told us about his father’s favourite blend of Assam
and Darjeeling teas to make a perfect cuppa!
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8 Apr Claygate
WI
Meryl regaled the members with examples
of Lenten and Easter recipes across the world and references to the pagan and
religious traditions which herald the onset of spring.
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1 April
Cusworth Hall
Meryl was delighted to return to Cusworth
Hall with a talk entitled A Slice of Tradition’ exploring
Doncaster's rich food heritage. She shared memories of the joyous events she
was privileged to take part in within the Hall's historic Great Kitchen.
5 Feb St
Peter’s Fellowship Hersham
Meryl regaled the group with the story
of her Grandma’s life of baking with photos of the legacy of mouth-watering
traditional recipes.
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2025
18 Dec Kensington
& District Forum
Christmas Baking Traditions were the theme of Meryl’s talk for the group by Zoom. Attendees were intrigued to find out about the origins of what we eat at this time of year.
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28 Jul
Shepperton and Sunbury Rotary Club
The Ferry Coffee shop with a view over
the Thames was the venue for Meryl’s talk on The History of Afternoon Tea. A
lovely group who shared many experiences of afternoon tea including a
Buckingham Palace Garden party and Tea at Reids in Madeira.
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10 Jul St Peter’s Fellowship Hersham
What a scorching afternoon! John writes : “Thanks from the Fellowship on your Talk/presentation 'From Surrey to the Seine. Very interesting and well presented.”
17 Jun Burpham
WI
It was a lovely summer evening in
Burpham when Meryl met members of the WI to give her talk on the History of Afternoon
Tea. She met someone who had been to the Langham Hotel, the first hotel to
serve afternoon tea in 1865.
13 June
Milford U3A
Milford U3A enjoyed Meryl’s talk on Baking
in WW1 and 2 and were interested to hear about Food rationing alongside their
own memories. The recipe for scrumptious Anzac
Biscuits proved very popular!
3 Jun Café
Culture, Esher
Meryl was invited to the Café Culture
Club to tell the group all about her experiences as a Volontaire at the Paris
2024 Olympics and Paralympics. They were keen sports fans and had lots of
questions – and thinking about signing up for the next Olympics in LA 2028!
29 May NWR
Members of the NWR enjoyed a Zoom talk
about the History of Afternoon Tea. They had lots of favourite places for
Afternoon Tea including of course Bettys, The Ritz and The Savoy. Top notch!
22 May MF
Sunbury on Thames WI
Meryl was invited to talk to the group
at The Orangery, Squires Garden Centre, Sunbury which was a perfect venue for her
talk on ‘The History of Afternoon Tea’. Everyone enjoyed a delicious piece of
cake and pot of tea.
15 Apr
Headstone Manor
Meryl was delighted to visit the
beautiful Headstone Manor to talk about Easter Baking Traditions. Sara writes :
I got really great feedback from people ….it
was an amazing talk!
27 Mar Ladies who lunch Virtual WI (Zoom)
Ladies lunched at home while Meryl talked
about Easter and Lenten baking traditions. They had lots of questions about the
traditions and talked about their favourite hot cross buns.
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14 Jan Inner Wheel Kingston
Member of the Inner Wheel were very interested to hear about Meryl’s adventures in the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics where she was a volunteer for the Road Races. She had a brilliant time there.
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2024
07 Nov St Peter’s Fellowship, Hersham
Meryl enjoyed her return visit to the
group and the anecdotes from the members who remembered the days of rationing.
John writes : ‘Thank you for your
informative and interesting talk on Baking and food rationing during the
war. I know that the Fellowship loved your talk.’
20 Mar Greenford
WI
Meryl was delighted to visit Greenford WI who asked her to talk about baking in Georgian times. The members were keen to know the historical context and the references to Jane Austen’s novels as well as the recipes of the time.
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Meryl paid a return visit to the group and was challenged with judging the competition for Easter biscuits – always so difficult to choose one out of the amazing entries. It all tied in with Meryl’s talk on Easter Baking traditions. We had a lovely evening.
29 Feb St
Peter’s Fellowship, Hersham
It was raining outside, but we had a lovely time taking about Easter Baking Traditions and seeing how people across the world celebrated Easter with glorious bakes.
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28 Jan The
Inner Wheel Kingston
Meryl was delighted to be invited to the Inner Wheel’s 85th birthday celebrations and give her History of Afternoon Tea talk. Elizabeth writes : "I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as we did with your talk..... we all learnt something that afternoon!" They all loved the cake Meryl had made for the event.
2023
28 Nov
Claygate Primary School
Meryl did her WW2 baking and rationing talk to Year 6 following their visit to the Imperial War Museum. They enjoyed tasting the Vinegar cake and Anzac biscuits Meryl had baked with her granddaughter.
24 Nov The Thirty Club Guildford
Meryl paid a return visit to The Thirty Club as they were enjoying
their Christmas lunch and gave her talk on Christmas Baking traditions.
26 May The Thirty
Club Guildford
A lovely sunny afternoon was the backdrop
to Meryl’s talk on The History of Afternoon Tea. Members enjoyed the talk
following their monthly lunch at the Holiday Inn.
3 Apr Castleford
Focus Gp
A lovely return visit to friends of Castleford Library to talk about Easter and Lenten Baking traditions. The members particularly enjoyed the Simnel cake which Meryl had taken.
9 Mar Claygate
Village WI
Gillian writes : Would just like to say a very big thank you for your talk last evening. The feedback was very positive, and it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone - as well as the cake!
8 Mar Claygate
WI
Wendy writes : Thank
you so much for changing dates and coming to speak to us, giving us a wonderful
insight into the history of how Afternoon Tea became the wonderful experience
it is now. Our
members thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the Yorkshire tea loaf was absolutely delicious.
9 Jan East Croydon U3A
This was Meryl’s first talk of the year and the members were treated to a taste of Marmalade Spice Cake, made with the marmalade Meryl had made the previous week and topped with warming ginger. They said it was a perfect afternoon out despite the blustery weather.
2022
16 Nov Inner
Wheel Kingston upon Thames
Meryl was delighted to be invited as
Guest speaker at the group’s Christmas Fayre which raises funds for 6 local charities.
Valerie writes : ‘I thought
your talk on Christmas
Baking Traditions was quite
outstanding and so full of information yet delivered in such a relaxed and
unauthoritative manner…. I have had lots of lovely comments back.’
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15 Nov Aston
Clinton U3A
Meryl braved a very wet afternoon in
Aylesbury to deliver her History of Afternoon Tea talk to a large and very
appreciative audience. They were holding an afternoon tea event a couple of
weeks hence so learnt all about the rules and regulations including how to
stir their tea! Colin writes : ‘Many thanks for a great afternoon which our members all
enjoyed.’
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4 May Ashford
WI
What excitement for the Vinegar Cake
competition and so hard to judge! Ashford WI showed off their baking skills
making this 1942 cake to complement my talk on Baking and Rationing in WW2.
It was a lovely Zoom audience who joined me ‘On the Net Online Talk’ about ‘The History of Afternoon Tea’ with lots of interesting questions, including the intriguing difference between ‘tif’ and ‘mif’ and a memory from the past.
2 Feb West London Oddfellows
A rainy afternoon in Hammersmith but a warm welcome from the group for Meryl’s talk on the History of Afternoon Tea. Meryl took a homemade Victoria Sandwich to go with the scrumptious afternoon tea they had prepared. Fantastic to be talking ‘live’!
17 Jan Thames Ditton WI
Fantastic to be talking ‘live’ to this group. The lovely members gave me a very warm welcome. Diane writes : ‘It was fascinating and the amount of information you have acquired was impressive. We also enjoyed the vinegar cake!’
2021
November
2 Nov Nether Edge WI
Sarah writes : 'Many
thanks for joining us to share your encyclopaedic knowledge of Christmas Baking
traditions ….It was fascinating and we now feel inspired to follow your
grandmother’s example and get baking in preparation for the festive season. I look
forward to having a go at the Christmas wreath, which sounds delicious.'
September
16 Sept
Pontefract Family History Society
Meryl caught up with the group on Zoom
and talked about Baking and Rationing in World War 2. There were lots of
questions and interesting shared experiences. Brenda writes : ‘It was a very
enjoyable talk. Thank you.’
It was awesome to be ‘live’ again. Deborah writes : ‘Thank you so much for your talk (on Baking
in World Wars 1 and 2). It was really interesting and definitely a
hit! We had a super time and definitely enjoyed meeting together in the
hall, despite anxiety of getting the Covid safety precautions going.’
July
5 Jul Barming
WI
Meryl had a fantastic evening delivering
her talk about the History of Afternoon Tea to members via Zoom. The group
asked some intriguing questions, including ‘who invented doilies?’ In fact, the name originated from a 17 th century
London draper called ‘Doily’. His firm made fabric fringed napkins. It then
became the name given to a napkin used for cakes and desserts.
June
14 Jun Barming
History Society
Meryl enjoyed delivering her talk about the History of Afternoon Tea via Zoom to members of the group. We’re all finding ways to celebrate this quintessential event during the pandemic.
11 Jun Derby Primary St James Junior
Meryl took part in an Inspiring the Future/Primary Futures virtual activity called ‘What’s My Line?’ with students in year 6. Darren writes : ‘… the workshop went really well and your support added great value to the session.’
9 Jun Bushmead WI
Jo writes : 'Thank you so much for a fascinating talk this evening. We all thoroughly enjoyed it.'
May
24 May Edlington Victoria Primary School
Meryl took part in the Inspiring the Future/Primary Futures project with Y5/6 pupils. Willow writes : ‘Thank you so much for joining our virtual session. It was a pleasure to have you as a volunteer and we enjoyed hearing about your work. I think the children were very engaged and it was fantastic that you could introduce them to your role as a cookery writer and presenter, share your enthusiasm for your work and the excellent advice about being passionate about what you do and having fun.’
April
13 April
Thurlow WI
Karen
writes : Thank you so much for joining us last night. Your talk on the History Of
Afternoon Tea was really enjoyed by all of our ladies and it was a pleasure to
meet you.
12 April Kingdown
& Ringwould WI
Meryl was very happy to pay a virtual
return visit to the group. Sue writes : Once again thank you for your informative talk on WW2 baking this
afternoon. The Ladies carried on talking all through the tea break!
March
31 Mar Eden
Valley Museum, Edenbridge
Meryl was delighted to do a live streamed event for the Museum about Baking in World Wars 1 and 2. She stirred up lots of memories including those of relatives growing food on allotments. Lots of great feedback. Thank you!
16 Mar Bread &
Roses WI
Meryl had a (virtual) return visit to
the group to talk about the History of Afternoon Tea. Fatima writes : ‘Thank
you Meryl for an excellent presentation and entertaining evening….It made us all
long for an Afternoon Tea!’
February
10 Feb Bardsey
cum Rigton WI
There were over 25 attendees at Meryl’s talk about her Grandma on Zoom and lots of interesting questions and lovely comments. Caroline writes : We really enjoyed your talk last night but such a shame we couldn’t sample some of your baking! Meryl also learnt all about Black Bun from 2 Scottish ladies – it’s doused with whisky and eaten around New Year.
January
14 Jan
Roundhay WI
Meryl finally caught up on Zoom with this group she was meant to visit last June. She had a great time talking about the History of Afternoon tea and hope it won’t be too long before we can all enjoy this great tradition. In the meantime, we decided it’s a good excuse to get that 3 tiered cake stand out!
13 Jan
Wickersley WI
Meryl enjoyed talking about her Grandma on Zoom with the group. The host, Ann writes : I would just like to thank you for your talk last night. It was really enjoyable and I've had several emails from members saying how much they enjoyed it. Whilst sat in my sewing room watching the cars trying to get up our road in the snow, I glanced up to the book shelf and the old cookery books I acquired after my Great Aunts died and my Gran. Of course, you inspired me to get them down and have a look. They go back 100+ years and are fascinating. Thank you.
2020
December
18 Dec MHA Communities South
Yorkshire & Bassetlaw
Meryl paid a return visit to the group,
this time via Zoom to talk to the members about Christmas Baking Traditions.
They shared their own family traditions including putting coins in Christmas
puddings.
14 Dec West
Sussex Federation of WIs
Meryl was delighted to share her Grandma’s Christmas recipes on Zoom with the federation of WIs in the West Sussex area. They were impressed by Hannah Glasse’s recipe for Yorkshire Christmas Pie. It was a whopper!
14 Dec
Droitwich U3A
Meryl discovered another part of the
country via Zoom to meet the members of this lovely group. They were well informed
about the historical aspects and found the talk entertaining and very
enjoyable.
November
9 Nov Kingsdown
& Ringwold WI, Kent
Meryl had a lovely afternoon on
Zoom with this group in a part of the country she didn’t know at all. They were
intrigued by the Christmas recipes from different cultures and took a keen
interest in the Yorkshire recipes!
October
7 Oct Ridgeway
WI, Sheffield
Delighted to talk to Ridgeway WI about
Christmas Baking Traditions on Zoom. They enjoyed it very much but said that you wished they could try the Christmas baking at the same time!
July
20
Jul Bexleyheath & Crayford Waterside WI
Hurrah for Zoom! Meryl did her first virtual talk to this group on ‘The history of Afternoon tea’. They so enjoyed it and it was a real privilege to support their group meeting. Stay safe and stay together!
March
18 Mar The Elderberries Wetherby
In
what is likely to be their and my last event for a while, the Elderberries had
a brilliant time with my Afternoon Tea talk followed by a sumptuous spread. One
to remember! Stay safe everyone!
14 Mar Cusworth Hall Great Kitchen
Is baking a skill or Science? We thought it was a bit of both at the Science on your doorstep event.
10 Mar Pontefract Arthritis Care
Meryl
had a very enjoyable evening with the group who reminisced about the trials of cooking
on old ranges.
9 Mar Fresh Start Bawtry
Meryl
was delighted to present her new talk on Easter and Lenten baking traditions for
the first time. The members enjoyed Simnel Cake, Dutch Easter Celebration stick
and Easter Biscuits.
February
19 Feb Farm Women’s Club Brigg
What
a marvelous place is Brigg with a picturesque Buttercross in the town centre. Meryl
enjoyed her visit to the group who had plenty of baking experiences to share
after her talk about Grandma Abson.
18 Feb Scunthorpe Everywoman
Meryl
had a fantastic welcome from the group who were keen to share their own baking
experiences including using various spices such as cinnamon and ginger for enhancing
wellbeing.
January
21 Jan Harthill WI
Meryl
paid a return visit to Harthill to talk about Afternoon Tea. By the end, the
group was well equipped to appreciate their next Afternoon tea experience!
21 Jan Rosedale Primary
Meryl
enjoyed talking to Reception and Year 1 pupils about being a cookery writer,
presenter and blogger as part of the Inspiring the Future project. They all
loved talking about which cakes they liked to bake - most popular was Chocolate
Cake!
8 Jan Bessacarr Ladies Luncheon Club
Jean
writes : ‘This is to say a huge thank you for entertaining our ladies. We
really enjoyed your talk about Doncaster’s heritage baking.’
December
16 Dec Edenthorpe WI
Meryl
was very privileged to be the speaker for this group for their last meeting. Members
enjoyed tasting Nutmeg Cake and Lemon Pound cake from recipe books from the
1920s.
10 Dec Grenoside Local History
Group
Meryl
enjoyed talking to this very astute audience of local historians who were very
keen to find out more about how we celebrated Christmas in the past.
5 Dec HHA tour in Harrogate
Meryl
had a fantastic reception from the members of the Historic Houses Association
tour of Yorkshire. They were eager to learn about Hannah Glasse’s recipe for
Yorkshire Christmas pie and other Yorkshire Christmas Baking recipes.
4 Dec Leverton & District Gardening Club
Meryl’s Christmas talk and baking samples made a great addition to the fizz which the gardening club members enjoyed. Nutmeg Cake was a big hit!
Meryl’s Christmas talk and baking samples made a great addition to the fizz which the gardening club members enjoyed. Nutmeg Cake was a big hit!
2 Dec Friends of Castleford Library
Wendy writes : Thank you once again for
coming along and giving us such an interesting talk and the lovely baking treats
that you brought along for us to sample.
November
6 Nov Brampton
Ladies Cub Chesterfield
Meryl inspired the
group to start their Christmas baking after learning all about Christmas baking
traditions. They were doing some fantastic fundraising through recycling and
selling plants and flowers.
6 Nov Chapeltown
MU
The group told Meryl all about
the gifts they liked to make for friends and family at Christmas. One member
was making 9 Christmas Cakes!
4 Nov Messingham WI
Meryl enjoyed a visit to this group who were talking about their
preparations of Plum Loaf for Christmas. It’s a local favourite fruit cake. Here’s
the Recipe
October
18 Oct Doncaster BreatheEasy
Meryl
enjoyed another visit to this group. They were planning their Christmas
celebration events so hearing all about Christmas Baking traditions fitted in
perfectly. Jo wrote : ‘Thank you so much
for attending our meeting – much appreciated.’
16 Oct Bread & Roses WI
Meryl
had an amazing welcome from this group. They loved reminiscing about Grandma’s
baking. They wrote : ‘Thanks again, Meryl. What a brilliant evening and the
cakes were lovely too. Your talk was excellent and our members were so
enthusiastic about the evening!’
10 Oct Aireborough Historical Society
Meryl talked to the group about rationing in WW2 and some of the members could remember Woolton pie. They especially enjoyed the Beetroot cake and Anzac Biscuits afterwards but were a bit unsure about trying the not so temptingly named Vinegar Cake. It’s actually OK!
Meryl talked to the group about rationing in WW2 and some of the members could remember Woolton pie. They especially enjoyed the Beetroot cake and Anzac Biscuits afterwards but were a bit unsure about trying the not so temptingly named Vinegar Cake. It’s actually OK!
7 Oct Arksey Community Group
Jackie writes : Thank you
for your very interesting talk and delicious cake that you gave us on Monday
night. Meryl had a great time telling the story of Afternoon tea to this group
who all enjoyed the cakes. She bought an amazing Christmas spider decoration from the fundraising
stall which she’ll take to her Christmas talks later in the autumn.
4 Oct Children’s Society Wetherby
Jill writes
: ‘I just had to write
and thank you for your super presentation yesterday. Talking to our
committee members today they have told me how much they and everyone enjoyed
it.’ Meryl was delighted to talk at the event
and loved the amazing afternoon tea afterwards.
2 Oct South Pennine WI
Meryl
had a super time with the members sharing stories about WW2 baking and rationing
and met several members who recounted their childhood memories of this period. She
also met another Marguerite Patten fan! Nicola writes : Thanks you so much for
a truly wonderful and informative evening. My mum (Pegg) especially enjoyed it.
Also lovely to chat to a fellow Marguerite Patten fan.’
September
11 Sept Wrenthorpe Ladies Group
After
a summer break, Meryl started the autumn season with a warm welcome from the
Wrenthorpe Ladies. Margaret writes : It was
lovely to meet you tonight and enjoy your very interesting talk. Everyone
enjoyed it and it is a long time since we had so many members at the meeting.
The cakes were delicious too.
June
19 Jun White Rose Centre, Wheldrake
Meryl
had a fantastic afternoon tea with the Friends of the White Rose Centre who
support the Girl guiding association. We all had a lot of fun with Meryl’s questions
about the characters in the Afternoon tea story.
18 Jun MU Chapeltown
Sylvia
writes : ‘Everyone said how much they enjoyed your talk and are looking forward
to hearing you in the future with another of your talks.’
12 Jun Queens Mill, Castleford
Meryl
had a lovely time doing the History of Afternoon tea talk at Queen’s Mill with
the community group, with lots of tasty cakes to support the Alzheimer’s charity
event. All the cakes were made with wholemeal stoneground flour from the Mill.
3 Jun Doncaster Heritage Baking
Meryl
tried out some heritage baking skills in Hexthorpe with Rhubarb and Ginger
Chutney, Scones and Parkin on the recipe list.
2 Jun Cusworth Hall
The
Great Kitchen was brimming with tasty cakes the Servants would have eaten –
Slab Cake and Ground Rice Cake went down a treat.
May
15 May Doncaster Heritage Festival
Meryl
enjoyed doing detailed research for her talk ‘Uncovering Doncaster’s Food
History’ at the fabulous DreamBakes café as part of the Doncaster Heritage
festival. Hannah made some beautiful cakes
to add to the event
8 May Winthrop Gardens, Wickersley
Angela
writes : Thank you, Meryl for another great talk – despite the weather,
everyone enjoyed the afternoon.
April
25 Apr Inner
Wheel Club Doncaster St Leger
Christine writes :
Hi Meryl it was lovely to meet you on Thursday evening and our ladies really enjoyed
your talk.
18Apr Darrington Ladies Club
Edith writes : ‘Hi
Meryl ….Thank you for your talk this evening, everyone really enjoyed
it and were surprised, as I was, how good the ww2 recipes tasted!’
10 April Retford Probus Club
Meryl had excellent feedback for her delivery and professional style from the members
of the group. Betty had brought her copy of Marguerite Pattern’s wartime recipes
which she put on display alongside Meryl’s recipes and cakes.
2 April Bassetlaw Parkinson’s Society
Meryl had a fun
afternoon with the members in Worksop, sharing stories like Grandma’s of their
own relatives time in service, including with the Duke of Portland.
March
28 Mar Fishlake WI
Meryl enjoyed an
evening talking about the History of Afternoon Tea and learnt a little of the Suffragettes
who also met in Tea rooms.
15 Mar Pontefract Town Hall
Meryl was very
privileged to attend the unveiling of a Blue Plaque to the Cookery Book ‘English
Housewifry’ written by trailblazer Elizabeth Moxon. It was a historic occasion
for Dream Time Creative and Pontefract Civic Society and all who had worked with
much energy to achieve this.
13 Mar Whittingham WI
Despite a windy afternoon,
members turned out in force to hear Meryl talk about her Grandma and her baking.
Mary was keen to get one of the printed copies of Grandma’s recipes.
1 Mar Wakefield Library
Meryl was delighted to
deliver a lunchtime talk in Wakefield entitled ‘Popular Cookery in Georgian
times’ to celebrate International Women’s Day and in particular local Cookery
writer Elizabeth Moxon 1741.
February
28 Feb Isle of Axholme Local History Society
Local History devotees
in Epworth welcomed Meryl back to hear all about the trials of baking in WW2.
They enjoyed tasting Anzac biscuits and were pleasantly surprised by Vinegar
Cake, commenting they liked having less sugar in the cakes!
19 Feb Tuesday Club Finningley
Afternoon Tea was firmly
on the minds of the Tuesday Club members where they were anticipating tasting
the scones, jam and cream and other delights from Grandma’s baking.
14 Feb Maltby WI
Meryl paid a return
visit to talk about her Grandma and her baking. She had a lovely welcome from
the group who had much to add about their own relatives ‘in service’.
January 2019
24 Jan Colton
Meryl had a warm
welcome at Colton Methodist Church where members of the group participated
fully in the Story of Afternoon Tea talk, especially tasting the cakes.
28 Jan Chesterfield Women’s Club
Meryl had a full
house of members to entertain with the story of her Grandma and her baking. The
cake soon disappeared!
December 2018
19 Dec Mosborough WI
Meryl had a lovely afternoon
with this group for her last talk of the year. They were intrigued by all our Christmas
baking traditions which are inextricably linked to other cultures.
13 Dec Firbeck & Letwell WI
Meryl paid a return
visit to this group to share some Christmas Baking Traditions – and, of course,
some Christmas baking.
5 Dec Barkisland Community Group
Meryl braved the
elements to get to Barkisland near Halifax and had a very warm welcome. The
group said they really enjoyed the talk and Grandma’s Christmas baking.
4 Dec HHA at Harrogate Cedar Court Hotel
Meryl was delighted to talk to the HHA group who
were enjoying a visit to various historic houses in Yorkshire including Castle
Howard and Fairfax House in York.
November 2018
26 Nov Anston WI
Meryl paid a return
visit to the group to talk about Christmas baking traditions. Her judging
expertise was sought for the Christmas Hat competition. Lovely warm welcome and
lovely comments about the Christmas baking.
23 Nov Pontefract Museum Forgotten Women
Meryl was delighted
to take part in the Forgotten Women project. She really enjoyed talking to the group and
finding out more about Elizabeth Moxon pioneer culinary writer.
13 Nov Hatfield Ladies
Meryl enjoyed some
Christmas cheer with the group in Hatfield. There were lots of interesting questions
about Christmas traditions – and of course some traditional Christmas recipes to taste.
12 Nov Bawtry Fresh Start
Meryl had a fun
evening at the Phoenix Theatre with this engaging group. They were intrigued by
the Twelfth Night Cake stories.
12 Nov Heather Garth Primary
Meryl had a fabulous
afternoon sharing details of wartime rationing with Year 6. They were keen to
taste the strangely named Vinegar Cake but gave it the thumbs up!
8 Nov Cawthorne Ladies Society
Meryl’s talk about
Grandma Abson and her baking was very well received Ann writes: ‘We all enjoyed your
lovely talk and delicious baking.’
8 Nov Rawmarsh TW
Meryl enjoyed
returning to this group of TW members who meet in the morning. She talked about
Christmas baking and set a few minds thinking about baking gifts for Christmas.
5 Nov Darfield Wesleyan Ladies
No time for
fireworks on Bonfire Night. The group were busy finding out all about Christmas
Baking traditions!
3 Nov Nom Nom Cookery Book Club Wakefield
Claire writes :Thank you Meryl for another wonderful talk, the Boxing
Day cake was also a favourite with the library staff!
October 2018
19 Oct Caledonian Society Doncaster
Meryl took a tray of Yorkshire Parkin as a prize for the raffle – and it was the first to be chosen! A lovely evening with a very warm welcome.
Meryl took a tray of Yorkshire Parkin as a prize for the raffle – and it was the first to be chosen! A lovely evening with a very warm welcome.
18 Oct Brinsworth TW
Meryl visited the
group to do some early preparation for Christmas baking!
15 Oct Swinton Afternoon Club
Meryl was delighted
to catch up with Alice, now 88 years old who remembered Grandma, her love of
hats and of course her baking! She also remembered Meryl as a 5 year old – no comment!
11 Oct Winthrop Gardens
Anna writes : It was
a fabulous afternoon .. with a wonderful crowd of ladies.. and we were
reassured we got the 3 tiers in the correct order! We were more than delighted
to welcome you, Meryl and I’m confident and hopeful this will the first of many visits!
10 Oct Grassmoor WI
A lovely evening
with the group who all loved Seed Cake! It reminded them of their Grandmas’
baking.
8 Oct Gawber Ladies’ Monday Club
The group were very
interested to learn all about baking in the Georgian/Regency era and were surprised
to see some familiar bakes to taste.
September 2018
20 Sept Doncaster Breathe Easy
Meryl was privileged
to talk to the group before they presented a cheque to DRI. The group
celebrated their fundraising with a range of cakes including Grandma’s Orange
and Butterscotch Cake. Joy had baked
1 Jul Escrick heritage community project
Meryl had a brilliant
afternoon tea with the group at Escrick Church to celebrate the launch of their
local heritage project. Lots of scrumptious cakes!
May 2018
21 May Swinton Afternoon Club
Meryl enjoyed a
sunny afternoon with the members exploring traditional recipes from her Grandma’s
baking. Orange Cake and the Ground Almond Cake as Grandma made in service at Oakleigh
in nearby Wath on Dearne were very popular.
16 May Cusworth Hall #MuseumsatNight
Visitors had the chance to see where the Mistress of the Cusworth Hall reigned
supreme, go on an evening tour of the Park, and try out craft activities. Meryl
was in The Great Kitchen with tempting Victorian bakes including Coburg Cake,
Snow Cake, Special French Gingerbread, Lavender Biscuits and Victorian
Sandwich Cake.
March 2018
26 Mar Barnburgh Friendship Club
Meryl made some
special Easter Chocolate Buns decorated with Orange glace icing for the group.
They had an entertaining evening finding out about the History of Afternoon
Tea.
22 Mar Balne Lane Wakefield
Meryl enjoyed the
visit to the Coffee Club to talk about Grandma Abson and her baking. They loved
the Easter Orange Cake and biscuits.
Despite its sour
name, Vinegar Cake proved a real hit with
the ladies at my WW2 Baking talk. They wanted to know more
about the national loaf but John Foster of Fosters Bakery is their next speaker
so I’ll leave the details to the expert!
February 2018
22 Feb Crosspool Ladies
Tasting the cakes
first proved to be a winner for the members of the group as they were enraptured
by Grandma’s story and her baking, especially her Dream Cake.
15 Feb Barnsley Older People group
Meryl had a fun
afternoon reminiscing with the group about their memories of cooking on
Yorkshire Ranges. There were plenty of Grandma’s cakes to keep everyone happy!
13 Feb Swinton TW
A return visit to
the group but a different venue. It didn’t stop
them enjoying the History of Afternoon tea talk and trying out some Valentine
recipes.
13 Feb Cottingham WI
Meryl had an early
start to drive to Cottingham to present the History of Afternoon Tea to the
group. They were very excited about tasting Grandma’s Valentine Orange cake
with their morning coffee!
8 Feb Lodge Moor TWG
Meryl received a lovely message from Gill who wrote : 'Enjoyed your talk and cake last night. Thank you for inspiring me to find out
more about my Grandma. I know she was a farmer’s wife. My mum aged 93 still makes
fab cakes.'
January 2018
25 Jan Isle of Axholme Local History
Meryl’s presentation
about Grandma and her baking set the group talking about baking on ranges. They
loved listening to the story and tasting the cakes from Grandma’s collection.
11 Jan Cantley with Branton WI
Meryl had a lovely
evening with members of the group. The competition of old cookery book yielded
a surprise as one of the participants had brought a Recipes folder just like Grandma’s
as well as a quirky little notebook of handwritten recipes.
November 2017
29 Nov Rotherham Chantry Ladies
Members discovered
the influence of many cultures through the ages on our modern Christmas baking
traditions and enjoyed tasting Grandma’s favourite Christmas baking treats.
26 Nov Cusworth Hall Georgian Christmas
Meryl was in the
Great Kitchen again with some Georgian Christmas baking. Nicola writes:“I was so pleased with how the event went,
there was a very good atmosphere and people really enjoyed it. Thanks for being
involved!”
21 Nov Doncaster Literacy Remembrance
Meryl was privileged to work
with Literacy and the 1914-18 teams on the Combat, Correspondence & Cake
event. Sam writes: Well-presented morning. The letters read out at the
event were very poignant and a few tears were shed, but the comedy sketch
lightened the mood. It was brilliant to see everyone working together to create
a giant silk postcard. It is always a pleasure to see Meryl and is a definite
perk of the job getting to try her tasty treats.
9 Nov Haxey &Westwoodside Local Heritage
Meryl’s visit to the
group was to put members in the mood for Christmas with her talk about
Christmas baking traditions. They were pleased to see Meryl again with the
table laden with Boxing Day Cake, mince pies and lots more.
9 Nov Killamarsh WI
Meryl had great
feedback from the WI who heard the story of the History of Afternoon Tea. One
member was off to the Ritz for tea later in the month and she said she was
fully versed in how to really enjoy it now!
October 2017
4 Oct Tickhill Pop In
Meryl met a
gregarious set of ladies at the MHA Pop In circle. They enjoyed tasting the cakes
and listening to Grandma’s story.
September 2017
13 Sept Mexborough
Wednesday Club
Sandra writes : Hi Meryl I just wanted to thank you for the excellent
talk and cakes (they were delicious) at our last meeting. It was good to
meet you and I think everyone enjoyed reminiscing about days and places gone
by. I hope you will be able to give us another talk sometime next
year. I am enjoying reading your cookery book at the moment, so I am not
sure whether this is going to be a present as planned.
5 Sept Hatfield Woodhouse Gardening Club
Meryl enjoyed a
return visit to Hatfield Woodhouse to tell the story of Afternoon Tea. She was
able to stock up on bargain seeds for next year’s gardening and in return there
were plenty of Grandma’s cakes to enjoy.
August
22 Aug Wheatley Hills Senior Cits WW2 baking
Meryl always gets a
warm welcome in Wheatley. She thinks they are always looking for an excuse to
test out the baking. This time they were on rations with Vinegar Cake, Anzac
Biscuits and Raspberry Buns. And they loved them all!
10 Aug Maltby WI
Meryl enjoyed her
first visit to the group to talk about the delights of Afternoon Tea. They had a
fun time getting to know all the rules and regulations about how to stir your
tea!
8 Aug Cusworth Georgian family event
Another chance to
try out Georgian baking recipes on the visitors to The Great Kitchen. They
sampled Seed Cake, Shrewsbury Biscuits, Macaroons, Gingerbread and Syllabub and
enjoyed it all!
3 Aug Ingbirthworth WI
Meryl was very
pleased to meet this group who are really proud of their Yorkshire Tea to
accompany the cakes from Grandma’s recipes.
July
23 Jul Cusworth Doncaster Home Front
WW1 baking for the
Home Front proved to be a very popular attraction with Trench Cake, Imperial
Biscuits, Rock Buns, Coconut Haystacks and Parkin to sample in the Great
Kitchen. Over 800 visitors passed through to taste baking from the past.
20 Jul Chesterfield Townswomen
A rainy morning
drive to the town with the famous crooked spire but spirits were lifted when
Meryl brought out Grandma’s traditional cakes and biscuits to accompany her
talk.
13 Jul Scawsby Independent Women
Irene writes : Just
a note to say thank you so much for the very interesting talk which you gave to
the ladies of Scawsby Independent Women. They really enjoyed it and your cakes
too! I wish you continued success with your talks and your baking!
11 Jul Thorne Local History
Members of the group
had lots of questions about the History of Afternoon tea, especially the
etiquette of drinking tea! They enjoyed sampling cakes from the Edwardian era
when Grandma was in service.
June 17
21 Jun Bawtry WI
Roberta writes : Dear Meryl Thank you very much for
coming to speak to our WI members and for bringing the delicious cakes to
sample. It was very interesting to hear of both your Grandma and your own
personal baking histories. I look forward to making some of the traditional
recipes!
17 Jun Georgian Baking Mansion House Doncaster
Meryl extended her
knowledge of Georgian and Regency baking to take part in the 300
15 Jun World of churches Barnby Dun
Meryl enjoyed talking
to the group about the History of Afternoon tea and took along samples of
Grandma’s afternoon tea delights from Grandma’s recipe collection.
Meryl was delighted
to take part in one of the events during the week long Café Encounter festival.
The group worked very hard to make the activities a great success. Grandma’s
cakes were perfect alongside the strawberries and cream!
8 June Thurnscoe Local History Group
Meryl’s talk about
Grandma Abson stirred up many memories of life in Bolton on Dearne with members
of the group. One member remembered the anti aircraft guns near the railway
station!
May 17
18 May NHS Retirement gp
Meryl enjoyed
talking about Grandma's
homemade cakes and the samples went down a treat on a lovely afternoon with
this jolly group of retired nurses.
10 May Bents Green WI
Meryl enjoyed meeting
members of this new and popular WI group. They gave her great feedback and a
couple of recipes to try out for Grandma’s blog. Watch this space for new posts! And good
luck to the group – they have lots of ideas (and cakes) so are on the road to
success!
10 May Wheatley Hills Seniors
A great response
from the group members who had lots to say about members of their own families who
had been in service in the early 20
8 May Darton Darby & Joan Club
Meryl had a lovely
afternoon with this young at heart group. 10 plates of cakes and biscuits
proved the perfect accompaniment to talking about Grandma’s baking!
4 May Doncaster Heritage Festival
Great feedback from
the Doncaster Heritage Festival Afternoon Tea event at Taste Eatery and a sumptuous
afternoon tea experience!
April 17
13 Apr Carlton in Lindrick WI
30 Apr May Day at Cusworth Hall
Lemon Syllabub from
Mrs Beeton’s everyday Cookery to tie into the ‘
Meryl had a fantastic
WI welcome and once they’d heard all about the History of Afternoon Tea, they
couldn’t wait to try out their knowledge and expertise on Grandma’s cakes –
especially the Easter Cake!
1
Apr Wakefield Library
Meryl enjoyed the visit to meet
the Nom Nom Cookery group again to tell them all about Afternoon Tea. No April
fools here - they adored all the baking but especially Orange Cake and Dream
Cake.
March
14
March Upton WI
Meryl talked to the group about
Afternoon tea in preparation for their visit to Leeds College for an afternoon
tea experience. The group had lots of ideas about afternoon tea including entertaining
at home- I'm sure they'll have a brilliant time now they know all the rules!
13
Mar Doncaster Retired Teachers
Meryl had to watch her step
with this group of teachers but all went very well and she had a warmhearted
welcome, especially when she unveiled Grandma's baking.
February
8 Feb Barnby Dun WI
Meryl paid a return
visit to the group to give them all the info about Afternoon Tea and another
chance to taste Grandma’s popular cakes too!
2
Feb Stannington Ladies
Meryl enjoyed talking to this
lively group including hearing about one member's Grandma who was given a
duster as a Christmas gift when she was in service. Maybe not a first thought for
a secret Santa prezzie! Great comments about the cakes. 
January
26 Jan Barnsley Oddfellows
The Boatman’s Rest
in Worsborough provide a welcoming venue to meet the group and share Grandma’s
baking story. Chocolate Cake proved a tempting treat to celebrate
#nationalchocolatecakeday too!
10 Jan Wadsley WI
What a wonderful array of cake stands
for Meryl to judge in the competition. She loved them all – and a great crowd
of members who enjoyed Grandma’s cakes too.
December 2016
13
Dec Wheatley Hills Senior Cits
Meryl paid a 3
7
Dec Balby WI
It was a very festive venue
when Meryl came to talk to this group – and their last meeting of the year.
Meryl had to choose a festive bun or cake from the members’ competition entries. It's always a tough one!
November
30
Nov Hasland Ladies Chesterfield
Meryl had a warm welcome from
this group who especially enjoyed Grandma’s Boxing Day Cake with dates and
honey.
30
Nov Doncaster Partially Sighted gp
Meryl spent a brilliant
afternoon with this group. It was a privilege to talk to this group describing
the pictures for them. There was also a big birthday celebration with a
beautiful Lemon cake as well as lots of Grandma’s baking.
28
Nov Doncaster Oddfellows
Meryl talked about her
Grandma’s baking to this group. They had lots of interesting stories about
relatives who had been in service. And of course they loved Grandma’s Christmas
baking treats.
27
Nov Cusworth A Country House Christmas
Meryl baked an abundance of
Christmas treats for visitors to taste from the Victorian era of baking in the
house.
22
Nov Warmsworth Ladies Circle
Christmas cheer was the order
of the evening. It was Meryl’s 3
17
Nov Seven Hills WI
Meryl had a large friendly
audience as this group has over 70 members. The word 'cake' was mentioned 34 times before Meryl started her talk so she
knew she was on safe ground!
24
Oct Anston WI
Meryl was delighted to talk to
the group about Afternoon Tea. She met some old friends who remembered her from
the 1970s.
20
Oct Finningley WI
Meryl enjoyed talking to this group about Afternoon Tea. One member talked about her experiences of afternoon tea in New Zealand in the 1960s which apparently was done in great style.
Meryl enjoyed talking to this group about Afternoon Tea. One member talked about her experiences of afternoon tea in New Zealand in the 1960s which apparently was done in great style.
18 Oct Rossington WI
Meryl had a lovely time with this friendly group talking about Afternoon Tea. She met Carol who had been to Tea at Reids in Madeira – what an experience!
Meryl had a lovely time with this friendly group talking about Afternoon Tea. She met Carol who had been to Tea at Reids in Madeira – what an experience!
13 Oct Haxey & Westwoodside Heritage Society
Meryl was invited
back yet again – this time the theme was baking in world war two. Members tried
out some of the recipes Meryl had recreated some that era including Beetroot Cake
and Vinegar Cake. There was much fun remembering what people got up to with the
rationing.
10 Oct St Mary’s Worsborough
Meryl had a warm welcome back in Worsborough to talk about the History of Afternoon Tea. Some members had taken tea at the Ritz and couldn’t wait to go back to stir their tea properly. Any excuse…!
Meryl had a warm welcome back in Worsborough to talk about the History of Afternoon Tea. Some members had taken tea at the Ritz and couldn’t wait to go back to stir their tea properly. Any excuse…!
This was a very
popular WI group with a huge membership doing lots of interesting activities including
a darts team! They still found time to enjoy Grandma’s cakes and appreciate
traditional baking.
Meryl was in good
company with this group who mentioned cake 3 times before she started the talk
about Grandma’s traditional recipes. Meryl is already making good use of the fallen apples she bought there for Chutney and Apple pies. #wastenotwantnot!
3 Oct St Lawrence Church
Meryl enjoyed
talking to this group who were very active in the local community of Adwick. She met a member who had been in service with the Earl of Chesterfield up to
1939 with lots of stories to tell. They loved Grandma’s cakes and recipe book. 
September 16
8 Sept Wentworth WI
Meryl heard some
interesting anecdotes about members’ relatives who were in service just like Grandma. There was a competition to judge which was so difficult that Meryl had to give several equal winning places. Meryl baked Grandma's Overnight Cake with
1 Sept Warmsworth WI
Meryl paid a
return visit to the group to talk about Afternoon tea – some familiar faces
too. Sales of Grandma’s book went well too – with members stocking up with a
signed copy for a unique prezzie!
August 16
25 Aug Beckingham Local History gp
Meryl gave her Afternoon tea
talk to the group at the restored Willow Works at Beckingham near the local
marshes, where a major project is underway to re-establish the wetland grazing habitat. Another
interesting venue to put on the list of places to visit. again!
17 Aug Wellow Ladies gp
Meryl loved the glorious
summer village green setting in Wellow with its striking Maypole when she
arrived to do her talk about Afternoon Tea. Definitely worth a visit.
8 Aug Edenthorpe Gardening gp
The Gardeners of Edenthorpe
enjoyed their tea and cakes to accompany Meryl’s talk about Afternoon Tea.
2 Aug Cusworth Hall
Pirates and
princesses soon got stuck into Pirate Ship Sandwiches, Cinnamon Princess shoes and crowns biscuits and Princess Lemon buns at the fabulous
all day event. The Great kitchen had never seen so many scary pirates and
beautiful princesses! 
July 16
25 Jul NHS Retirement gp
Meryl made a
favourite Victoria Sandwich for an Afternoon tea treat. There were Coconut
Macaroons and Lavender shortbread from Grandma’s popular baking book.
21 Jul Edenthorpe WI
Visitors came from
far and wide to this group to hear Grandma’s story including from Australia - and a precious copy of Grandma's book was part of the luggage for the return journey!
20 Brodsworth & District CW
Meryl enjoyed
talking to this lovely group about the challenges of baking on those tricky
Yorkshire Ranges – and how not to burn your biscuits!
19 Jul Thorne CWA
Members of this
group were intrigued to discover that one of Grandma’s sisters had lived in the
Thorne area for many years. They enjoyed a variety of cakes and biscuits from
Grandma’s recipe collection.
18 Jul Cantley Community gp
Meryl had a lovely morning Afternoon Tea with this group before they went off on their summer break. Coffee Cake proved a popular choice.
13 Jul Darfield Wesley Ladies
Meryl paid a
return visit to tell the group all about Afternoon tea. They were a very knowledgeable
lot since they knew most of the answers. They must have been swotting up before
the session. Still time to enjoy an old fashioned Victoria Sandwich in style.
7 Jul Auckley WI
Meryl judged a plate
competition – and found it so hard to do as she loved all the beautiful tea plates –
perfect for Grandma’s Orange which the members sampled after the talk –they all
said it was a lovely cake.
5 Jul Wilthorpe Community Group
Meryl enjoyed a lovely sunny afternoon with the Afternoon Group in
Wilthorpe talking about Grandma’s baking and sharing her cakes. Liz wrote Liz writes : Dear Meryl Once again
thankyou for visiting our Afternoon club
18 Jun Doncaster Libraries Turn the Page Festival
Meryl had a brilliant time appearing
at the Turn the Page Festival at Doncaster Museum & Art
Galleryhttp://library.doncaster.gov.uk/web/arena/literary-festival
15 Jun Rotherham Distaff Group
Meryl spent a
lovely evening in the company of the Distaff group. They said they really
enjoyed the talk and loved the Orange Cake at the end of the evening.
7 Jun Aston Ladies Circle
Meryl had a lot of
fun with the Ladies Circle who were quick to learn the rules and regulations of
Afternoon tea!
6 Jun Gleadless Methodists
Meryl paid a
lovely sunny afternoon visit to this group who loved to hear Grandma’s secret to long life – homemade
baking!
Meryl enjoyed
talking to visitors about how Grandma taught her to
bake scrumptious cakes, biscuits, jams and
lots more – and what makes the perfect Afternoon tea – just like Grandma used
to serve up.
May 16
25 May Edlington Library
Edlington Library
provided a modern venue for the History of Afternoon Tea. Lots of tea to
accompany the cakes and scones! What a treat!
19 May Kiveton Park Local History gp
Meryl paid a return
visit to Kiveton to the Local History gp. They are keen on cake so #Devil’s
FoodCake day was a great excuse for Chocolate Cake for the Afternoon Tea talk.
13 May Thurcroft Friday Club
Meryl had a lovely
Friday afternoon at the Gordon Bennett Memorial Hall. What a lovely group who
had plenty to say about their own experiences of baking.
10 May Carlton Snaithe WI
Meryl passed on
the rules and regulations about Afternoon Tea which they said they would try
out- well some of the rules! Great feedback on the cakes.
9 May Doncaster Breast Cancer Support gp
Meryl enjoyed meeting
members of this group. They had plenty of anecdotes about their relatives’ time
in service and kept us all enthralled. They loved the cakes!
8 May Cusworth Hall
Meryl was once
again resident cook at the Servants at the Hall event in the Great Kitchen. Visitors
loved as taste of Edwardian Afternoon tea with the cucumber and egg and cress sandwiches,
not to mention the dainty cakes and scones.
4 May Arksey WI
This has to be the
most exquisite venue to date for The History of Afternoon Tea. The fabulous
Village Tea Pot in Arksey. A lovely crowd too who certainly enjoy the glories
of cake!
This group had lots of stories to tell about their family members who had been in service – and I met a school class mate from the past.
April 16
15 April Carcroft Local History Group
Meryl had a
brilliant Friday afternoon with this group including meeting the person who had
installed the Yorkshire range in its new position in the Great Kitchen at
Cusworth Hall.15 April Carcroft Local History Group
6 Apr Norton Lees WI
Meryl enjoyed
visiting this chatty group who get up to all sorts of craft activities. Their interesting
teatowel competition provided the resources to wash up after enjoying Grandma’s
tea and cakes.
5 Apr Armthorpe WI
A
return visit to this group to toast the Queen’s 90
'Hi Meryl
Just a note to thank you very much for your excellent presentation at
our WI on Tuesday.The ladies loved it and especially your delicious
samples of cakes and biscuits - they went down very well indeed. I think we all
learned something and a bit of history into the bargain is always good news.'
5 Apr Dronfield Townwomen’s morning gp
It was a bright
and early start to arrive on time for this group who meet in the morning. Meryl
met a member of the group whose Grandma had been in service in Barnard Castle. The
cakes went down well with morning coffee! 
March 16
8 Mar Dunsville WI
22 Mar Mattersey Villages Together gp
Gaynor writes : Hello Meryl I would just like to thank you again for
coming to give your talk in Mattersey. We enjoyed it thoroughly and I am
looking forward to trying some of your recipes!
21 Mar
Loversall WI
Meryl enjoyed the visit to The Hut – an amazing
building where Loversall WI hold their meetings. Meryl judged the traditional kitchen
utensils competition and all so
interesting reminders of past treasures.
21 Mar Wheatley Local History Gp
Audrey writes : Dear Meryl Thank you for a very interesting talk you
gave this morning and also for the lovely cakes. Regards Audrey
17 Mar Cudworth Ladies Circle
The Cudworth
Ladies loved tasting all Grandma’s cakes. Barely a crumb left over by the end of
the evening!
9 Mar Barnby Dun WI
Meryl enjoyed talking to this group about
her Grandma’s baking. They shared their stories from their own relatives about
being in service just like Grandma and her sisters.
9 Mar Cantley Methodists
Meryl paid a
return visit to this group to talk about Afternoon Tea. They loved Meryl’s Buckingham
Palace Garden Party hat and of course the cakes from Grandma’s book
Meryl enjoyed presenting
the story of Afternoon tea to this group. They had organised a china tea cup
competition which was impossible to judge as they were all so beautiful.
5 March Nom Nom Cookery Book Club Wakefield Library
Meryl was very privileged
to be invited to the first Library Cookery Book Club in the country. The group
had been studying Grandma’s story and were delighted to sample Grandma’s baking
on the day. The Museum Service also brought along cookery utensils similar to the ones which Grandma would have used in service.
February 16
Grandma duties. Welcome to my adorable new Grandson!
January 16
21 Jan Tickhill Library
Library
enthusiasts discovered a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon refining their
skills and knowledge of the tradition we love of Afternoon tea. Huge thanks to
Lesley and colleagues for making it such a splendid event.
6 Jan Roche Valley CWA Firbeck
Meryl enjoyed some interesting anecdotes from the group members about
times in service. There was plenty of cake – Grandma’s Family Fruit Loaf and
Coconut Macaroons were particular favourites.
5 Jan Hatfield Woodhouse Gardening Club
Meryl
took along the new batch of Marmalade in the form of Marmalade Spice Cake – and
topped it with clementines for a healthy start to the New Year. The group
enjoyed hearing how Grandma made good use of gluts of fruit and vegetables.
December 15
11 Dec
Goldthorpe Market
Meryl
was delighted to support Heather at this event. Heather was inspired by the
event at Cusworth Hall and designed her stall with Christmas 1915 baking as the
soldiers would have received them. Heather wrote : “If it
is your aim to get people baking, you have achieved that with me, as this was
quite a challenge I set myself, after the inspiration I got from your
demonstration in Cusworth. I don’t see myself as ‘not a baker’ now.”
Congratulations to Heather and all the Goldthorpe Development Trust for organising
such a brilliant event.
7 Dec
Darfield Ladies
Meryl celebrated the festive season with the ladies in Darfield. They
loved reminiscing about Grandma’s baking and were very tempted by the cakes!
3 Dec
Oddfellows Worksop
Meryl
enjoyed the visit to talk to the group in Nottinghamshire and spent some time finding
out about the origins of treacle and golden
syrup from a member who lived in South Africa. Members loved the Marmalade
Spice Cake and other Christmas baking to start the season.
November 15
29 NovCusworth Hall
Meryl showed
26 Nov
Christmas Gifts
Meryl
showed how to get ready for the festive season and make traditional treats as gifts.
Meryl enjoyed chatting about her Grandma's recipes for the
Christmas season and there was a lot of tasting throughout the morning!
4 Nov Sprotbrough Wives
A morning
phone call sent Meryl as a last minute replacement for the group’s speaker. Grandma’s
Victoria Sandwich and Yorkshire Parkin proved to be a major success!
28 Oct Doncaster Local History Society
June writes an ecard :
27 Oct Soroptomists Doncaster Club
Meryl was treated
to a scrumptious meal before talking to the group about Grandma’s baking. They
found room to sample some of Grandma’s cakes and said they were all enthralled
by it all!
21 Oct Sutton Cum Lound WI
Meryl was given a
warm welcome to this group in a lovely venue. Members mentioned about all sorts
of unusual cakes including Thor Cake and Jordan Cake. I’ll be looking out for
the recipes!
20 Oct Harthill WI
Meryl was delighted
to celebrate the birthday of a member who was 91 years young! And she knew all
the answers about the characters in the Afternoon Tea story. Her mother had
worked at the Lyons Café in London too!
19 Oct Chesterfield U3A
Meryl had lots of questions about Grandma’s baking from this knowledgeable group who meet in the
town with the crooked spire.
15 Oct Belles
of St Henry’s WI
The
Belles venue was certainly a very interesting place to find in the Derwent
Valley. Meryl loved the photo they put
on theirFacebook Belles of St Henry's
15 Oct
Bawtry Ladies Luncheon Club
Meryl was invited to a very pleasant lunch with Banana & Nut dessert –
just like Grandma’s Banana Nut Loaf - perfect. Everyone enjoyed the talk and
managed to find room for a piece of cake too!
13 Oct
Wheatley Hills Senior Citizens
Meryl went back to this afternoon group to talk about the History of
Afternoon tea. They have lots of interesting activities and were planning a
trip to Doncaster’s famous Mansion House to sample ‘Afternoon tea’. They know
all the rules now!
12 Oct
Thorpe March Ladies
Another visit to
this group who love meeting and having fun. Meryl baked Grandma’s Orange cake
in a ring tin this time. They said it could be one of their 5-a –day! Julie
wrote a lovely card too.
12 Oct
Swallownest Ladies
Meryl had a lovely
time with this afternoon group. We sang ‘Happy
birthday’ to a member who was 90 years young! She said that Grandma’s cake
was just perfect for the celebration!
6 Oct Caunton WI
Meryl had a fantastic time at Floral Media. The
group wrote on the ‘Thankyou Meryl for an insight into traditional recipes
created by your Grandma. It s lovely to see you still using her recipes and
spreading her legacy today!’
5 Oct Herringthorpe Monday Club
Meryl inspired the
group to do more baking – well, that’s what they said when they bought Grandma’s
book! 
September 15
30 Sept
Swinton House Group
Meryl
enjoyed going to this informal group who meet once a month but later in the evening
than many groups. Meryl called them the ‘Night Owls’ – and they still ate all
the Coffee cake!
3 Sept
Whiston WI
Meryl enjoyed talking to this group about
her Grandma’s baking. They were intrigued by the stories of being ‘in service’
and had lots of stories from their own relatives to share.
3 Sept
Warmsworth WI
Meryl had a lovely time with this group,
talking about Grandma’s life and her baking. They enjoyed the
cakes and were keen to hear all about the legacy of Grandma’s baking. They’ve
booked again for ‘The History of Afternoon Tea’ at the same time next year (for
more cake!)
August 15
19 Aug Armthorpe Library The History of Afternoon tea
Meryl had a wonderful
afternoon with visitors to Armthorpe Library. The volunteers had put on a marvellous
spread. You can read about the feedback on the
4 Aug Thorne WI The History of Afternoon tea
This
group was having fun planning for their entries at the Epworth Show later in
the summer. They said Grandma’s cakes were an inspiration! Good luck with the
baking!
20 Jul Clifton Park and Museum Friends
Meryl's return visit to the Clifton Park and Museum Friends was to tell them the story of Afternoon tea. The group knew all about Boston Castle in Rotherham and were holding an Afternoon tea event there later that month.
Meryl's return visit to the Clifton Park and Museum Friends was to tell them the story of Afternoon tea. The group knew all about Boston Castle in Rotherham and were holding an Afternoon tea event there later that month.
17 & 18 Jul WW1 Life on the Home Front at Cusworth Hall and Gardens Doncaster
Meryl had fantastic support from Lucy, Emma and Martin over the 2 days she spent baking recipes from the World World 1 era as part of Doncaster 1914-18 project. The recipes were based on letters sent home from soldiers at the front about what they liked best.
Meryl had fantastic support from Lucy, Emma and Martin over the 2 days she spent baking recipes from the World World 1 era as part of Doncaster 1914-18 project. The recipes were based on letters sent home from soldiers at the front about what they liked best.
16 Jul Kiveton Park & Wales Local History Group
This group had much to say about their own family members who had been in service - some had travelled long distances on foot to start work.
15 Jul Emmanuel Church Barnsley
There was't a crumb left when Meryl served out Grandma's tasty cakes. One member said she had a recipe for 'courting cake' which sounds intriguing!
14 Jul Harlington & Barnburgh Mothers Union
Meryl really enjoyed meeting members of this group, some of whom remembered Grandma's sister, Edith and her son, Cedric and daughter in law, Louisa who lived in the village. One member actually lived next door!
1 Jul Chapeltown Ladies
This group enjoyed Grandma's cakes and her story on this lovely summer's evening.
June 15
This group had much to say about their own family members who had been in service - some had travelled long distances on foot to start work.
There was't a crumb left when Meryl served out Grandma's tasty cakes. One member said she had a recipe for 'courting cake' which sounds intriguing!
Meryl really enjoyed meeting members of this group, some of whom remembered Grandma's sister, Edith and her son, Cedric and daughter in law, Louisa who lived in the village. One member actually lived next door!
1 Jul Chapeltown Ladies
This group enjoyed Grandma's cakes and her story on this lovely summer's evening.
30 Jun Warmsworth Ladies
Meryl paid a repeat visit to this group
to talk about ‘the History of Afternoon tea’ just one month after her first
visit. They couldn’t wait to sample another set of Grandma’s cakes! They are a
fabulous group with a great sense of humour!
25 Jun Treeton Local
History Group
Meryl was intrigued to
hear the story of Boston Castle, Rotherham which was
3 Jun Aston Friends
& Neighbours
Meryl had a very warm welcome to this
afternoon group.They said they
May 15
27 May Misson &
Springs WI
Meryl told this group that they showed
her the best way to relax - with a glass of wine and a slice of cake! And
in return they said how much they enjoyed learning all about Grandma's
baking!
20 May Doncaster Unison
This audience at the Doncaster Museum and
Art Gallery shared lots of interesting details about their own relatives who
had been ‘in service’. Grandma’s cakes went down well with just a few pieces
for the kind museum staff who helped Meryl set up.
19 May Tankersley Ladies
Group
Meryl had a great welcome from the ladies
who invited her to lunch– a delicious pork, apple and stuffing sandwich which
went down well with Grandma’s cakes.
13 Moss & District
Ladies
Meryl was the first speaker in the new
Community Hall in Moss. It’s a wonderful building and will be a great asset for
the community.
11 May Hatfield Local
History Society
Meryl enjoyed talking to this group on a
lovely sunny afternoon. They were holding a spring fair a few days later and
said hearing about Grandma’s baking inspired them to get baking!
5 May Warmsworth Ladies
Group
Meryl had a lovely card from Margot who
said it had been a delightful evening. She also said she was looking forward to
wowing her family with a whole new variety of cakes!
April 15
8 April Woodsetts WI
Meryl had a lovely vote of thanks from
Iris. She was first in line to buy Grandma’s book. Everyone enjoyed the cakes
and biscuits too!
March 15
23 Mar Gawber Ladies
Meryl enjoyed a return visit to this
group to talk about the History of Afternoon tea. The ladies all enjoyed the
cakes again too and sent a lovely card for my birthday!
16 Mar Aston Ladies
Meryl brightened up a rainy afternoon
with Grandma’s Orange Cake. It’s always a favourite!
12 Mar Haxey &
Westwoodside Local History
Meryl paid a repeat visit to this group
to talk about the History of Afternoon tea – and they said it was so
interesting – they just had to sample all the cakes!
9 Mar Gleadless Ladies
Meryl told this group all about all the
elements of Afternoon Tea, including the correct way to stir your tea!
2 Mar Stocksbridge and
Deepcar TWG
It was snowing outside but the Afternoon
Tea and Ginger Cake warmed everyone up. What a lot of activities this group
does to support their local community! Keep on with it all!
February 15
17 Feb Furlong Road
What a thrill for Meryl to go back to
Furlong Road, her Grandma’s church and talk to the group about Afternoon Tea. We
all had a great chat afterwards, remembering Grandma and of course tasting her
scrumptious cakes!
12 Feb Tickhill
Countrywomen
Meryl was on her 2
11 Feb Badsworth WI
Meryl enjoyed talking to this group about
her Grandma’s baking. They were intrigued by the stories of being ‘in service’
and had lots of anecdotes of their own to share.
10 Feb Braithwell
Countrywomen
Meryl judged the group’s competition
which was about old Cookery books. They were all amazing so it was so hard to
choose. They all deserved a prize! What a collection!
9 Feb Thorpe Marsh
Ladies
Meryl had a fantastic reception from this
jolly group. They loved her talk (and cakes!) so much asked her to go back
again in October.
5 Feb Stainforth Local
History
Meryl met a member of this group who had
relatives who knew all about Grandma and her baking, including Cynthia who used
to work on Bolton on Dearne railway station! It certainly made the phrase
‘small world’ come true!
4 Feb Hallam Ridgeway WI
It was cold and icy outside but Meryl had
a heartwarming welcome to this group who enjoyed hearing all about the History
of Afternoon Tea. One member brought along her copy of ‘Tea at Reids’ from
Madeira which is a very interesting read.
4 Feb Dronfield
Townswomen
Meryl met a lovely lady called Jean who
later sent her mother’s copy of Woman’s Own Complete Cookery in its original
packaging dated 23 Sept 1935. Meryl will certainly treasure this.
3 Feb Wombwell Probus
Meryl had a warm welcome to this large
group who sat in a circle to hear all about Grandma and her baking. They loved
the Seed Cake and all the other cakes – not a crumb left! And baking fan Barrie
sent me a recipe for Yorkshire Brack which I can’t wait to try!
January 15
21 Jan Owston Ferry
& Haxey WI
Meryl braved the icy weather to talk to
the group in Owston Ferry and share Grandma’s story and cakes. She judged the
competition but found it very hard to pick out the best plates – they were
all beautiful!
8 Jan Blyth WI
Meryl was very privileged to meet the
cousin of the late Dorothy Clay who had been in service at
Hodsock Priory. Dorothy had been a member of the WI branch at Blyth and had
told her story about her life in service.
7 Jan Bessacarr Ladies
Luncheon Club
Meryl was invited to lunch with the
Ladies at their favourite restaurant before telling them all about Grandma and
her baking. They just managed to find room to sample Grandma’s cakes as
well!
2014
December/November 14
#Christmasgifts Meryl
supported a number of local charities from sales ofGrandma
Abson’s Traditional Baking book over the Christmas period
includingReg Charity No:
1150857 and
27 Nov Chat Room
Sprotbrough
Chris writes : Just to say thank you for
coming with your talk and bringing all those cakes etc. It was a really
good afternoon and it was clear it was enjoyed by all; in fact they kept coming
up to the hatch while we were washing up and saying how much they had
enjoyed the afternoon.
26 Nov Norton WI
Meryl enjoyed a buffet supper with the
group after her talk about Grandma’s baking and received this lovely thank you
card.
13 Nov Rawmarsh WI
It was a real trip down memory lane
at this morning group when a member of the audience came and said they
remembered me as a little girl wearing a bonnet and scarf! Someone also said
they lived near Oakleigh where Grandma was in service. It's still there so I’ll
have to pay a visit!
12 Nov Chapeltown WI
Meryl heard some interesting anecdotes
about times in service from members of this group. It was a hard life for many
getting up at 4.30 to light the fires for the ranges.
11 Nov Floral
Media Caunton Newark
How to make festive gifts from
Grandma Abson’s Traditional baking book. Meryl had an amazing morning
making homemade gifts at this brilliant venue near Newark, Nottinghamshire. It
was fantastic to have a sous-chef too – many thanks to Stephen and also to
Paula for making me so welcome. We stopped to remember the fallen at 11.00 a.m.
10 Nov St Thomas Worsborough
Grandma’s baking is going far and wide.
Meryl wrote messages for members buying copies of Grandma’s book for recipients
in San Francisco and Melbourne!
3 Nov Bawtry Mayflower
Primary School
Meryl had a great time with the Year 6
class. Kate wrote
October 14
26 Oct Halloween at Cusworth
Hall
There was something for
everyone with ghostly stories and some spooky recipes from Grandma Abson’s
baking.
24 Oct Off the Shelf
Stocksbridge Library
Sheffield
Meryl talked to a very inquisitive
audience about The History of Afternoon Tea. They then tucked into a cornucopia
of homemade baking. This was a very well attended event and part of Sheffield’s
‘Off the Shelf’ Festival of Words and we had cake too! See the Review!
21 Oct Doncaster Mature Action Gp
Meryl enjoyed meeting the MAGs. The Dutch
Apple Cake from Grandma’s book proved a winner to celebrate Apple Day.
13 Oct SY Centre
Inclusive Living
Meryl enjoyed a return visit to SYCIL,
this time to talk about Afternoon Tea. The group are well practised at this as
they have Afternoon Tea every time they meet. Baking fanatic Harry made a yummy
Victoria Sandwich cake too.
3 Oct Montague Primary
School
Meryl had a great time doing a literacy
and numeracy session all about what she has to do when she sells Grandma’s
baking books and her job as a presenter and writer about Grandma’s baking.
The children made her feel very welcome.
August 14
26 Aug St Aidan’s
Church, Wheatley
Meryl enjoyed a lovely sunny
afternoon with the Senior Cits talking about Grandma’s baking and sharing her
cakes. They’ve asked her back again next year already!
12 Aug Barnsley
Rotary Dodworth
This was Meryl’s second visit to
the group, this time Meryl talking about Grandma’s Dream Cake prize was
a great hit!
July 14
29 Jul The Scott
Practice Doncaster
Grandma’s Healthy
Traditional Baking Meryl had a very enjoyable afternoon talking to the Scott
Practice’s Patients Participation Group at St John’s Church, Balby. There was
afternoon tea and a lot of healthy eating chat as well as a very healthy
Orange Cake.
17 Jul Brinsworth TW
Grandma's homemade cakes went down a
treat on a lovely summer’s afternoon with this jolly group of ladies.
16 Jul Laxton
Heritage
Meryl thoroughly enjoyed talking to this
group - they really are a proactive group with lots going on in this famous
village in Notts. They loved the cakes especially Seed Cake and
bought lots of Grandma’s books for their Bake off later in the year.
3 July Bramley
Townswomen
Meryl met a lot of baking experts at this
morning TW group. She had a great time and sold loads of Grandma’s baking
books! It must have been the Orange Cake which tempted everyone to get baking!
It was a special Tour de France cake for the occasion.
June 14
11 Jun Cantley Methodist
Church
Meryl had a warm welcome to the group in
Cantley with a special technical expert to project the presentation onto the
huge screen. Grandma’s cakes in huge glorious technicolour! And the cakes went
down well too!
6 Jun Rotherham Cancer Care trust
Meryl was Guest Speaker
with her talk on The
History of Afternoon Tea in aid of Rotherham Cancer Care Centre group at
the Wharncliffe Restaurant, Rotherham College of Arts & Technology
May 14
31 May DonMentia at The Point
Meryl was delighted to support the DonMentia event at The Point. DonMentia fundraises
for Doncaster
people affected by dementia.
28 May Age Well Group
Wombwell
Meryl had a lovely afternoon with the Age
Wellers. They loved Grandma’s Orange cake and said I should have baked at least
four more Orange cakes!
15 May Woodsetts Local
History Group
Meryl talked about the history of
Grandma’s baking to the members of the group who meet in the lovely church building at
Woodsetts. She met a former work colleague there who gave Meryl’s talk
10/10!
April 14
29 Apr Bentley Methodist Church
Glynis writes : Thank you Meryl for your interesting and informative talk this evening for the Bentley Methodist Church Women's Association.’
11 Apr Danum Lacemakers & Crafts , Doncaster
Meryl heard some great stories from this
group about their own craft skills. They admired Grandma’s sewing handiwork
too. Her tablecloth always gets admiring glances (as well as the baking!)
9 Apr Breakaway Group,
Doncaster
Meryl had a fun time with this group who
explained they ‘breakaway’ to do their own things! Fortunately eating
cakes and baking were ‘things’ they love to do!
8 Apr Swinton
Townswomen, Rotherham
Meryl talked to the group about the
inspiration she had to create a book and ebook from her Grandma’s recipes and
to bring her baking alive to a new generation!
7 Apr Wickersley
Methodist Group, Rotherham
Meryl had a fabulous welcome to this
lovely group. They said that they thoroughly enjoyed the evening,
especially Grandma’s homemade cakes.
2 April Wickersley Ladies, Rotherham
Meryl talked about baking to this popular
group. As well as sampling Grandma’s baking, they had organised their own
cake stall to raise funds for a local charity. It was a real #cakefest!
March 14
17 Mar Kairos Group
Retford, Notts
Meryl spent a lovely afternoon with this
group who enjoyed a special taste of the Mothering Sunday All in one Cake made
from Grandma’s Victoria Sandwich recipe.
 |
5 Mar Sprotbrough Wives,
Doncaster
Meryl was on local territory with friends
from the past who said they were inspired by Grandma’s story and
especially her traditional homemade baking.
4 Mar Aston Ladies Circle
Meryl had a great time with this group,
talking about Grandma’s life and her baking. The ladies certainly enjoyed the
cakes and were keen to hear all about the legacy of baking.
February 14
25 Feb Mexborough Local Historical Society
This was the first time Meryl had done a
talk about Grandma and her baking in a pub: The Ferryboat Inn, Mexborough! The
group were very knowledgeable about dates and local history but learnt a few
new facts about traditional baking! The cakes (and ale) went down well too!
20 Feb Hoyland Springfield Ladies, Barnsley
Meryl had a very warm welcome to this
lovely group. Penny said that they all thoroughly enjoyed the evening and
found it most entertaining and informative, as well as enjoying Grandma’s
homemade cakes. The ladies who bought Grandma’s book are all busy baking away.
15 Feb Free Cakes for Kids Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield’s Andy Kershaw bought
Meryl’s Valentine's Day cake. He tweeted that this was the best Valentine cake ever!
11 Feb
Athersley Primary
School, Barnsley
Meryl had a fantastic time with her
youngest audience yet at Athersley Primary School, Barnsley. She was taking
part in the’ Primary Futures Project’ to support how business people use their
literacy and numeracy skills in their business lives. She felt very privileged
to work with the Year 6 pupils. They've invited Meryl back to their school to
bake with them in their baking club so watch this space! Read about
it and see the photo in the
January 14
27 Jan After Eight Group Abbeydale, Sheffield
Meryl signed lots of copies of Grandma’s
baking book for the group members in Totley. It was a dark and dismal evening
but the welcome was warm and inviting.
25 Jan Bake off : Sheffield Cancer Mafia
Meryl had a lovely welcome at the
Sheffield Cancer Mafia Bake Off. She made a special St Clement's Cake. The
group raised over £200 forYorkshire Cancer Research Well done to all involved.
20 Jan Aston-cum-Aughton Local History
Members of the group found much to ask
about Grandma’s time ‘in service’, her baking and life on the railway
station. And of course, the cakes went down a real treat!
16 Jan Goldthorpe WI, Barnsley
Meryl really enjoyed going back to
Goldthorpe very near to where she grew up. Some of the members remembered
Grandma’s famous baking and loved reminiscing over the cakes and biscuits from
Grandma’s repertoire. Meryl had to judge a competition of the most unusual
baking implement!
15 Jan High Level WI Thorne Doncaster
Meryl needed an escort to find the
amazing farmhouse venue for the group. But it was a brilliant turnout and she
enjoyed talking to the group and sharing memories of Grandma’s baking.
2013
December 13
14 Dec Rotherham
Heritage Society
Grandma's Ginger Cake proved to be the
hit of the morning - as well as Shortbread biscuits, Mince
pies with home made mincemeat, Boxing Day Cake with dates and honey –
enjoying trying out some of Grandma’s
favourite Christmas recipes....
2 Dec Victorian Evening Cannon Hall, Barnsley
Meryl showed off her Grandma's
skills baking traditional Christmas recipes for the guests at the
Victorian Evening at Cannon Hall.
1 Dec Getting
Ready for Christmas in the Country House
Meryl was back in Great Kitchen in the
1890s, making some of the delights which would have been eaten by guests and
children over the festive period in the late Victorian Country House. The
Lavender shortbread was a real favourite!
November 13
30 Nov Samaritans
50th Anniversary charity
A signed copy of Grandma’s book was one
of the prizes at this event.
28 Nov Aurora & Friends Christmas Shopping
Visitors saw how to make those special homemade gifts from Grandma's book and tasted her favourite Christmas recipes.
23 Nov Christmas gifts Cook N' Dine Lakeside
Meryl was back again by popular demand
showing customers how to make tasty treats for Christmas edible gifts.
17 Nov Doncaster Tourist Information Centre
Meryl enjoyed talking to the Wombwell
Salvation Army Group about the inspiration she had to create a book and ebook
from her Grandma’s recipes and to bring her baking alive to a new generation!
October 13
28 Oct St Mary’s Worsborough
Meryl talked about Grandma’s life and her
traditional baking with the group at St Mary’s. They all had tales to tell
from their family members, great aunts, grandmas and great grandmas in
service.
26 Oct Rotherham Heritage Fair
Meryl signed copies of
Grandma’s Traditional baking book at Rotherham’s popular Local History and
Heritage fair, showcasing dozens of groups from across the borough at Rotherham
Minster. Grandma's Yorkshire Parkin was very popular too!
15 Oct Spirit Barnsley
Meryl's talk about her
Grandma's baking and cakes and biscuits brought back lots of memories for the
Spirit group at King Street Centre, Barnsley. The project is supported by South
West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Trust. It was #Chocolateweek so that
was the excuse to eat all Grandma's Chocolate Cake (and Shrewsbury biscuits and
Marmalade Spice Cake ....!) Well, you have to sample everything!
September
13
27 Sept MacMillan Cancer
Support
Meryl joined in the World’s
Biggest Coffee Morning at The Waterfront Restaurant, Doncaster
College to support this fantastic event.
28 & 29 Sept
A signed copy of Grandma’s book was one
of the prizes at this event hosted by The Brompton Cookery School in support of
the Shropshire RCC Carers Appeal.
Lovely message back to say they had
raised £5000. Well done!
Lancaster & District Homeless Action
Service Ltd held a charity ball to raise funds for this worthwhile cause. A signed copy of Grandma Abson’s Traditional
Baking book will be one of the prizes at the event. Happy #baking to the
winning ticket!
9 Sept Spirit Barnsley
After joining in their fitness exercises,
Meryl talked to the Spirit group members at Birdwell Methodist Church,
Barnsley. The project is supported by South West Yorkshire Partnership
Foundation Trust. They loved hearing all about Grandma and eating up the baking
samples!
August 13
28 Aug Doncaster
Carers group
Meryl's talk and cakes went down very
well at the Doncaster Carers group Drop In session. The group
had stories about their relatives 'in service' too.
1 Aug Yorkshire
Day
Meryl dropped by Doncaster Tourist
Information Centre with Yorkshire Parkin and Doncaster Royal Butterscotch Cake
to celebrate Yorkshire Day.
July 13
Meryl spent two enjoyable days in The
Great Kitchen at Cusworth Hall. The staff took visitors on a tour of the Hall
to discover the life of children in the Hall from the family who owned the
house to the stable boy who looked after the horses. In the kitchen it was all
about what Charles and Barbara ate in Edwardian times and sampling what Meryl
had been baking. But it was hard work and she was pleased to put her feet
up!
June 13
13 Jun Tickhill
Countrywomen’s Group
Over 70 countrywomen came to hear Meryl's
talk about Grandma’s life and her traditional baking and they ate all the
cakes and one member told us about her own life in service in Bradford -
wow!
8 Jun Sprotbrough Bake–Off
Meryl had a hard task judging biscuits
and cakes at the Bake-Off in aid of Rafiki Children’s Home, Ghana. The
winner baked an amazing chocolate cake!
6 Jun DRI Gynecological Support Group
Meryl enjoyed sharing her baking
experiences with the Cancer Support group. They were definitely a boisterous
lot who asked lots of questions. Fortunately she had the answers!
April 13
Clifton Park Museum Rotherham
Clifton Park Museum Rotherham
Meryl had a fantastic time
baking shortbread on the restored Yorkshire Range alongside the Friends of
Clifton Park Museum. It was a proper baking challenge! The shortbread biscuits
soon disappeared with the visitors saying they were the best they had
ever tasted! And I really got into it so made Grandma's Oat
Ginger biscuits too!
10 Apr Crowle & Eland Mothers’ Club
Meryl enjoyed talking to the Crowle &
Eland Mothers’ Club. She picked up a recipe for Chantilly Cake - no cream or
lace! - and will be trying this out for a future blog post.
9 Apr Grenoside
Ladies
Following the successful talk at
Sheffield Library last year, Meryl White was invited to Sheffield to talk
about Grandma’s life and her traditional baking. She had a great response from
the group.
5 Apr Cake and Bake Show
Manchester
Meryl went to the Cake and Show in
Manchester. She spotted some famous TV faces and amazing cake creations.
See Meryl’s Cake
and Bake photos
March 13
15 Mar
Doncaster College Bake Off
Doncaster College Bake Off
Meryl was
in excellent company with Lisa Pyott – Chef Lecturer – Female Chef
of the Year, Gold Medal Winner at Hotel Olympia and Jessica Mycroft – VRQ
Level 2 Professional Cookery Student who excels in Patisserie - judging the bake off competition for the best Victoria sponge.
Ready, get
set, bake! Students at the College raised over
£1300 for Comic Relief during the day
14
Mar Aurora Easter Fayre
Mexborough
Shoppers sampled the tastes from times
gone by and picked up a great personalised Easter gift! Meryl signed
copies of her recipe book
14 Mar Women Inspiring Women Group
Meryl talked to the group about the
inspiration she had to create a book and ebook from her Grandma’s recipes and
to bring her baking alive to a new generation! #downthegenerations
9 Mar
Waterstones Doncaster
Waterstones Doncaster
Meryl was at Waterstones,
Doncaster just before Mothering Sunday to sign copies of her brilliant
book. The staff did their own Comic Relief bake off with recipes from Grandma's
book, battling for the crown of Baking King/Queen. The Butterfly buns won
by a short head from the Orange Cake but the Shortbreads, Gingerbread Men were
close behind. Around £70 went off to Comic Relief!
5 Mar Armthorpe WI
Meryl had a great time talking about
Grandma’s life and her traditional baking with members of Armthorpe WI.
February 13
Hodsock Priory Snowdrops
Meryl had a fantastic time during the
fabulous Snowdrop Village festival at Hodsock Priory, talking about traditional
baking, just like Grandma’s, in the early 1900s, the Second World War, when
Land Girls lived at Hodsock, and the recipes collected by the
family. Hodsock has fantastic memories for Meryl as her daughter (Grandma
Abson’s great granddaughter) held her wedding reception there on a blissfully
hot sunny day in October 2011.
28 Feb Chat Room Sprotbrough Methodists
Nostalgia in the air when Meryl went
'chatting' about her Grandma, her baking and sharing her recipes. Everyone
loved the Marmalade Spice Cake recipe!
21 Feb Cusworth
Hall Friends
Meryl was back at Cusworth Hall talking with the Friends
about Grandma’s life in service and her collection of baking
recipes. Comment from Sheila Bury artist Facebook : Thank you for a very entertaining
presentation at Cusworth Hall this evening, it was very enjoyable, and the
cakes were scrumptious.
18 Feb Harlington
& Barnburgh WI
Meryl White loved talking about Grandma’s
life and her traditional baking. Lots of nostalgia for baking with
over 60 WI members in Barnburgh, the village just 3 miles from where
Grandma lived.The evening started with a hearty rendition of 'Jerusalem'.
Awesome!
17 Feb Backstairs
and Bell Pulls - The Hidden Life of Cusworth Hall’s Edwardian Servants
Discovering what it was like to be
‘in service’ in the Great Kitchen at Cusworth Hall.
14 Feb Haxey &
Westwoodside Heritage Society
Meryl talked about Grandma’s life and her
traditional baking. She’s shared her passion for baking on Valentine's Day with
members of the Haxey and Westwoodside Heritage Society. who made a date with
Grandma's Valentine's baking! P.S. Many thanks to George (pictured) from
the Camera Club with his help with the projector!
11 Feb Afternoon
tea South Yorkshire Inclusive Living
Meryl had afternoon tea with the
Inclusive Living Group and talking about Grandma's baking.
5 Feb The Great Kitchen, The
Mansion House, Doncaster
Final year undergraduate Media students
from the University of Huddersfield were filming Meryl demonstrating her Grandma's recipes in the Great Kitchen in the Mansion House.
January 13
10 Jan Dinnington
Townswomen
Meryl talked about Grandma’s long
life and shared her passion for baking with members of
Comment from Stef : Many thanks for a great
evening last night, We all thoroughly enjoyed it!
2012
December
20 Dec Waterstones Derby
Meryl signed copies of her Grandma Abson’s
Traditional Baking book. Customers enjoyed tasting the samples Meryl had baked.
1 Dec Cook N'Dine Lakeside Village Doncaster
Grandma Abson's Traditional Christmas Baking
Meryl demonstrated how to make tasty
Christmas traditional delights from her Grandma’s collection of recipes
and get ahead with Festive Baking!
November 2012
29 Nov Aurora
Christmas Fayre Kirk Sandall
Meryl signed copies
of her recipe book Grandma Abson’s Traditional Baking. Visitors
sampled tastes from times gone in a great personalised Christmas gift!
23 Nov Waterstones Bradford
Author
Meryl White was at Waterstones Bradford wool Exchange signing copies of her
cookbook Grandma Abson’s Traditional
Baking, a great book that is simple and easy to follow and has
some very tasty family recipes.
17 Nov Urmston Bookshop
Meryl enjoyed signing books at the independent Urmston bookshop. Grandma's sisters were 'in service’ in Manchester. Meryl remembered
Emma's fabulous Rock Buns and Ivy's delicious Coconut macaroons and lots of
other tempting delights for Christmas from
16 Nov Waterstones Leeds
Meryl White signed copies of her recipe book and raised £45.00 for Children in
Need from Waterstones Leeds lovely customers!
3
Nov Waterstones Doncaster
Customers celebrated Bonfire Night with
Meryl, who was signing copies of her mouth watering Grandma's recipe book.
October
27 Oct Waterstones Derby
Celebrate
Halloween with Meryl White, who will be signing copies of her recipe book Grandma Abson’s Traditional Baking. Sample
some tastes from times gone by and pick up a great personalised gift!
22 Oct Gawber Ladies Community
Centre, Barnsley
Grandma
Abson's Traditional Baking talk and taste about Grandma's life and
baking by Meryl White.
20 Oct Rotherham Local History and Heritage Fair
Showcasing dozens of groups from across
the borough in Rotherham Minster, Meryl
White, author of Grandma Abson’s
Traditional Baking signed copies
of her book on the Friends of Clifton Park Museum stand.
15 Oct
Meryl talked to the Friends of Clifton
Park Museum about her Grandma's life and her homemade delights from her
recipes.
1 Oct Gleadless URC Ladies Circle, Sheffield
Meryl enjoyed talking to the group about Grandma's life and baking. Everyone enjoyed the cakes which Meryl had baked for the members.
August
2012
24 Aug Waterstones York
Meryl White signed copies of her recipe book
June 2012
4 Jun Picnic in the
Park at The Canch, Worksop
Celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
with a Picnic in the park with entertainment, games, balloon race and stalls
and refreshments and lots more. Here's a winner of Grandma's baking competition
too! Proceeds to fundraising charity
2 Jun
Tourist Information
Centre
Royal Doncaster Butterscotch Jubilee
Celebration Cakes based on Event kindly
supported by : Sainsburys & Taylors of Harrogate. Donations to the
May 2012
23 May Success Doncaster Business Showcase
Meryl White will be offering samples of
cakes, teabreads, biscuits and scones from her Grandma’s collection of
traditional recipes and talking about her book. Signed copies of Grandma Abson’s
Traditional Baking
19 May
Grandma Abson’s Traditional
Baking book was on sale at the Celebration Weekend to support the refurbishment of the Community Hall.
7 May Bank Holiday
Monday CookNDine Lakeside Village
Meryl White will be demonstrating how to
make tasty treats from her Grandma’s collection of recipes.
4 May
Meryl White will be talking about
Grandma’s life and her traditional baking. She’ll be sharing her passion for
baking with the Townswomen group in Doncaster.
Grandma Abson’s Traditional
Baking book
on sale in support of the MS Society.
1 May Sheffield
Central Lending Library
Author
Meryl White will be talking about her remarkable grandmother and sharing from
the book she inspired her to write “Grandma Abson’s Traditional
Baking”
Email: centrallending.library@sheffield.gov.uk
This event is free.
March 12
Meet
author, Meryl White. Taste some of Grandma’s recipes and have a
chat about baking! Signed copies of Grandma
Abson’s Traditional Baking on sale.
February 12
Snowdrops
at Hodsock
Grandma Abson’s Traditional
Baking book
was on sale in the luxurious Tearoom at Hodsock Priory during the snowdrop
season. A magical place to visit and enjoy the first snowdrops heralding the
start of spring.
17 Feb
There was sampling and scoring
Butterscotch recipes based on Grandma Abson’s baking to pick a winner for the
Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in Doncaster ! Difficult decision making!
2011
December/November 2011
December/November 2011
Meryl was busy signing copies
of Grandma Abson’s Traditional Baking at
19 Nov Stir Up Sunday at
Cusworth Hall
Meryl was cook in charge in The Great
Kitchen. There were lots of visitors eager to learn how to make Plum Pudding
just like Grandma, following her sister’s Emma’s foolproof recipe!
16 Nov Hands on in
Chiswick
A baking party for Chiswick Boot Camp
members with a all hands-on demonstration of Grandma’s tastiest
baking. Sarah Allen Cruz
25 Sept Barnsley
Rotary
Meryl talked about Grandma's life
and baking but more importantly here's the winner of Grandma’s Paradise
Cake!
15 Sept Rotherham
Cancer Care Centre
Meryl talked about
her Grandma’s time as a cook-housekeeper in Edwardian times and long life
baking for family and friends, with traditional, simple and tasty recipes.
Proceeds in aid of Rotherham Cancer Care Trust
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11 Sept
Afternoon tea
The Hens enjoy the perfect Victoria
Sponge Cake with Grandma’s prizewinning recipe for a perfect hen party!
6 Sept Furlong Road Ladies Group
Meryl talked about her
Grandma's life and her homemade delights to Grandma’s old friends at Furlong
Road Methodist Church, Bolton on Dearne. They remembered her sumptuous cakes
and apple pies – so the pressure was on to make the tastiest treats!
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