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Author Archives: Tango Alpha
Buzz Byte – April.
If your computer or laptop/tablet is misbehaving, there’re a few things to try before going into panic mode and dashing off to your local PC repair centre. The most common recommendation is to simply turn it off and then on … Continue reading
Protheroe Smith (1809-89).
Protheroe Smith was born in 1809 in Bridgeland Street, Bideford, the son of a doctor, William Smith, and one of twenty children. He was educated at Bideford Grammar School and was destined for a military career, but injured his hip … Continue reading
Felicity’s traditional fish cookery; March.
Charles Kingsley wrote the ‘Water Babies’ in Victorian times. In the story Tom, the chimney sweep’s boy, meets the gentleman salmon and the nosey drift of trout when he jumps in the river to become clean and safe! He plays … Continue reading
Buzz Byte; March.
Have you ever heard of a software programme called Adblocker (sometimes referred to as Adblock or Poper blocker)? What is Adblocker? It’s exactly what it sounds like, ‘a piece of software designed to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web … Continue reading
Bideford’s Iron Bridge(s).
(“Bideford Gazette”, 17th June 1825). Mention the ‘Iron Bridge’ and every Bidefordian will know where you mean – but there were once two such bridges. The first and earliest was at Landcross on the Bideford-Torrington road and was a … Continue reading
One hundred years ago: February 1918.
During an air raid on London a Gotha bomber was brought down by Captain Hackwell of the Royal Flying Corps. He is the second son of Mr W H Hackwell of Sudden Farm Langtree Torrington and he worked in a … Continue reading
Felicity’s traditional fish cookery; February.
Salmon Netting in North Devon, 1988. (Photo courtesy of North Devon Museum Trust). Tradition and heritage of our local rivers, Bideford Bay, and beyond will be the subjects of my articles in 2018. I will include a traditional, local recipe … Continue reading
Posted in Food & Drink
Tagged Felicity's traditional fish cookery, fish cookery, salmon encroute
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Thomas Burton; 1875- 1959.
Everyone in Bideford knows where the Burton Art Gallery is, nicely situated in Victoria Park, adjacent to parking and Hockings’ Ice Cream van. But how many people know why it’s called the Burton Gallery? Was there someone called Burton? Well, … Continue reading
Freezing.
In this age of man-made global warming it is unlikely that we will see a repetition of what occurred in Bideford in 1894-5 and 1963. Simply put, this was the freezing over of the River Torridge around the Bridge. Both … Continue reading
Felicity’s sustainable fish cookery – December.
Many people have asked me about the different smoked versions of Clovelly Herring that are so plentiful in December. Traditionally the herring would be smoked to eat through the winter months, so I have added a very simple recipe … Continue reading
Posted in Food & Drink
Tagged bloaters, bucklings, fish cookery, herring, kippers, red herrings, sustainable fish
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Bideford’s ‘prefabs’.
During the Second World War huge numbers of houses were destroyed by enemy action, and as early as 1944 Winston Churchill announced an EFM (Emergency Factory Made) housing programme. In 1945 the new prime minister Clement Atlee began implementing the … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Bideford, Bowden Green, EFM housing, Grenville estate, Peter Christie, Prefabs
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Felicity’s sustainable fish cookery – November.
Here is a Devon version of ‘Stargazey pasties’ made with Clovelly herrings. Devonshire Stargazey Pasty. Ingredients. 450g puff pastry. 225g potato (cubed). 4/6 Herrings – filleted and sliced. rashers of bacon. 1 onion. 50g butter . 1 tbsp. chives – … Continue reading
Rope Walk – “The Battle of the Posts”.
Rope Walk today is a narrow but well used roadway running parallel to the Pill. Its name obviously records the presence of the ropemaking industry which was once so important to the ship-owning merchants of Bideford – but how many … Continue reading
Felicity’s sustainable fish cookery – October.
Here is a wonderfully flexible and tasty recipe for a pasta cod dish. The original is a recipe from a restaurant in Rome -so an authentic Italian / Mediterranean dish. The best fish to use is salt cod. I used … Continue reading
All the fun of the Fair!
Fairs have been visiting Bideford for one hundred and fifty years at least and even though today they face huge competition from computer games and local attractions the travelling show people still come. The history of the fair in Bideford … Continue reading