Are You Wise to Overweight?

Obesity strikes at an earlier and earlier age now and over-weight smacks of excess. Here comes that phrase again - 'when I was young', we could not afford to eat between meals

and to be blunt, there were few fat people around. I note with incredulity now the amount

of food on many a plate and wonder quite how it can all pack into a stomach that starts out roughly the size of a fist!

In our house, in order to help convince ourselves we have adequate portions, we use smaller size dinner plates which have the effect of making meals appear larger and believe me, we do not go hungry.

Practically all our food is home-prepared and cooked. I say this not as a saint and martyr but as an efficient cook who can turn out a meal in almost as fast a time as resorting to convenience foods or send-outs. It really isn't too hard. After all, we used to have to wash the dirt off potatoes bought at the local shop before we even thought of peeling them. Now we have beautiful, pre-packed clean spuds we can boil or pop in the micro-wave; fresh or frozen ready-prepared veg.

I long ago taught myself to batch-cook and with a freezer that can cough up home-made burgers or ready-cooked chicken, sausages or soup I can have a proper hot meal served up inside twenty minutes.

Undoubtedly there is a place for occasional commercially-produced convenience foods in busy households but if you truly want to know what you are consuming (and save money), make cooking for yourself a priority. It's worth it!

The Parson Woodforde 1740 - 1803

Parson James Woodford by sculptor Linda Preece

Nowadays we are as much concerned with the nourishment of our bodies as with our minds whereas Parson James Woodforde presumably did all he thought necessary to look after his mortal soul though his body must have struggled with excess on a regular basis. We know these things thanks to his 45 year habit of daily noting down domestic detail and expenditure, so we have amongst other things, a vivid picture of his dining arrangements.

'Made a Scholar of New College' is the first diary entry that began an account of James Woodforde's expenses whilst studying at New College, Oxford and which held the living of Weston Longville, Norfolk. Born in Castle Cary, Somerset, in 1758, James was moved to take up the position of Rector of All Saints Church, Weston Longville after failing to succeed his father's livings.

As a 34 year old bachelor he began his comfortable new life with niece Nancy as housekeeper and several other servants besides. It was a gentlemanly life carried out slow-paced, tied intimately to the seasons, local events and most particularly on visitors and visiting. He lived on tithe income generated by the parish and college farmland, as well as sales of surplus from his own small farm. He brewed his own beer, made his own candles and occasionally hunted and fished for the table, any excess being shared with his friends who did likewise.

'At Lenwade Bridge we caught a Prodigious fine Pike which weighed 8 Pound and a half and had in it's Belly another Pike, of above a Pound. We caught also there the finest Trout I ever saw which weighed 3 pound and two ounces - Good Pike and Trout we also caught besides.'

The main drink was beer but the Parson was excessively fond of port and gin, the latter frequently smuggled to the parsonage, bottled by himself and for which the fine, if caught was a princely £10. In later life he suffered severely with gout and began to wonder if his habit of a bottle of port a day had been excessive...

While James Woodforde was able to frequently take time off and travel back to Somerset for months at a time, many of his parishioners led a very tough existence and subsisted on meagre incomes and rations. He was a kindly man though, often waiving fees or dipping into his pocket for odd coppers, sixpence or a shilling to help out someone less fortunate. A diary entry notes: June 7, 1790 … To Ross Bean, losing a good horse, gave 10s 6d. Mr. Du Quesne gave him the same, as did Mr. Custance. This was a considerable sum of money at the time but all the gentlemen knew the value of a horse to a poor working man.

It's rather a shame that the Parson is singled out nowadays and labelled gluttonous, as the quantities of food he describes, seem to have been the norm among friends with whom he regularly shared table. They clearly also struggled at times without the benefits of refrigeration we so take for granted today: ...for dinner 3 Fowls boiled, part of a Ham, the major part of which Ham was entirely eat out by the Flies getting into it, a tongue boiled, a Leg of Mutton rosted, and an excellent currant Pudding. I gave them for Supper a couple of Rabbitts smothered in onions, some Hash Mutton, and some rosted Potatoes.

June 8. ... Mr. and Mrs. Custance and Mr. du Quesne dined and spent the afternoon with us and stayed till 8 o’clock in the evening. Mr. and Mrs Custance were dressed very neat. We put their Coach my Barn. I gave them for dinner, a Couple of Chicken boiled and a Tongue, a Leg of Mutton boiled and Capers and Batter Pudding for the first Course, Second, a couple of Ducks rested and green Peas, some Artichokes, Tarts and Blancmange. After dinner, Almonds and Raisins, Oranges and Straw-berries. Mountain and Port Wines. Peas and Straw- berries the first gathered this year by me. We spent a very agreeable day, and all well pleased and merry.

The diaries give valuable insight into so much more that just dining habits. Even the poorest in our society today enjoys some sort of plumbing, heating, transport and health service. We do not struggle to pay a doctor largely unable to cure anything much, or for crude attempts at small-pox inoculation. Neither do we send for an old chap with pliers to pull out a rotten tooth. We no longer have chamber pots under the beds whose contents freeze solid in the night, nor live by the light of smoking, stinking tallow candles, the only precious wax one (if we are wealthy enough to own such a thing), being saved for an hour's burn on Christmas day.

James Woodforde was indeed a fortunate man and thanks to the efforts of John Beresford who accessed and recorded the diaries in 1923, we are able to contrast the dire conditions of the poor of the parish against how we all live so comfortably today.

The only known portrait of James Woodforde, painted in 1806 after his death by Samuel Woodforde. Image: Wikipedia.

Weston Longville Church - image Simon Knott

Louis Marchesi and the Round Table

I was sitting in the cool under-croft of the Louis Marchesipub in Norwich one evening, when I set to wondering about the man whose portrait I remember seeing on a sign outside in the 1990's.

Erminio William Louis Marchesi was born 19th January 1898 of an Irish Mother and a Swiss Father. Their family name lives on in the small town of Poschiavo for their donation of the

Church and Hospital to the local community.

Quite how the family ended up in Norwich, I have no idea but an under-age Erminio joined the British Forces in WWI and served throughout the war. In letters home he initially called

himself 'Erminio', later to become 'Louis.' Torpedoed off the Cape of Good Hope, he spent 10 hours in the sea, only surviving due to his strength as a sportsman and prowess as

a swimmer. He also served in WWII.

Between wars, as a young man of 29, and as a newcomer to Norwich Rotary Club, Louise heard and took to heart the message of the Prince of Wales' speech 'ADOPT, ADAPT and IMPROVE' from the February, 1927 British Industries Fair in Birmingham.

'The young business and professional men of this country must get together round the

table, adopt methods that have proved so sound in the past, adapt them to the changing needs of the time, and wherever possible, improve them.'

During his Maiden Speech and fired by the sentiments expressed, Marchesi quite literally took the Prince at his word. Within a month, a meeting was arranged at Suckling House (now Cinema City) in Norwich for 14th March 1927 and Round Table 1 with its motto of ADOPT, ADAPT, IMPROVE, was formed.

Marchesi became the club's Secretary and meetings took place at the restaurant he owned, Langfords in London Street. Norwich Round Table was established as a non-political, non-sectarian association open to men between the ages of 18 and 40, from any profession or trade.

Now the movement is truly global with more than 43,000 current members in the UK alone and many thousands more around the world offering “Lifelong friendships, unforgettable experiences and the chance to make a difference to those around you”. Events nowadays include hiking, cycling, and running challenges; socialising; volunteering; and charity fundraising to the tune of £3.3 million per year and has surely exceeded anything Marchesi could possibly have dreamed of.

Note: There have been many extensions and improvements over the years and among them is a sister organisation called Ladies Circle which runs along similar lines to Round Table.

The phrase 'adopt, adapt, improve' is the slogan of the Round Table organisation, and is often seen on literature and regalia.