I’ve been writing about my random reading and the pile of books on the shelf beside me:
‘The Pasta Book‘ by Simonetta Lupi Vada,
‘A View From Afar’ – Jewish Lives in Tasmania from 1804‘ by Peter and Ann Elias,
‘The Cuisines of Mexico‘ by Diana Kennedy,
‘Along the Cam and the Great Ouse with Briscoe Snelson‘ edited by Peter Snelson,
‘Good Housekeeping Colour Cookery‘.
The title says it all, it’s a programme about an auction house in Ryedale, an area in North Yorkshire which includes, Kirkbymoorside, Malton and Pickering. d)
I’ve been writing about my random reading and the pile of books on the shelf beside me:
‘The Pasta Book‘ by Simonetta Lupi Vada,
‘A View From Afar’ – Jewish Lives in Tasmania from 1804‘ by Peter and Ann Elias,
‘The Cuisines of Mexico‘ by Diana Kennedy,
‘Along the Cam and the Great Ouse with Briscoe Snelson‘ edited by Peter Snelson,
‘Good Housekeeping Colour Cookery‘.
So, there are three very different cookery books about three different cuisines, all purpose British, Italian pasta and Mexican food. I guess they accidentally represent a lot about my life – food and cooking and sharing meals with family, family history and exploring dishes from around the world. Around the world includes a place I have very strong family history connections to which is literally on the other side of the globe, Tasmania.
From my earliest days I knew stories about my mysterious great-grandfather, born Louis Moses but became Louis Walford (why remains a mystery although I have explored possible reasons here on my blog. He was born in 1845 in Hobart, Tasmania, to a wealthy merchant (that’s a family joke, although his father was very wealthy, and a business man in import/export) At some point Louis returned to where his family had originally lived, in London – and not just any part of London, but to a fabulous and prestigious property on Regents Park. Somehow Louis met my great grandmother Lois Penney (hence my name) and together they had five children, the middle one being my grandma. Somehow (maybe because he was Jewish and she wasn’t) they never married, and she was widowed when the children were still young. My grandma was their middle child who died when I was only very young, so any stories about my Tasmanian connection were very vague and it’s only because of the technology we have now I’ve been able to find out more about my Tasmanian connection.
We went to Tasmania because of course it’s a fabulous place to go, but we also went to find out more about my family connection, and Louis in particular, and his father Samuel. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience in so many ways and we had a fabulous, unforgettable time there – which I have written about extensively. One of the many souvenirs I brought back was “A View From Afar” subtitled “Jewish lives in Tasmania from 1804” by Peter and Ann Elias. I’m not sure how available it is over here, it was published by the Hobart Hebrew Congregation in Hobart in 2003.
Needless to say, I also brought home other books about Tasmania, including a cookery book, of course!
My featured image is of Louis Walford of Tasmania, my great-grandfather
Lois Elsden 