February 3, 2012 · 10:49 am

Pillory Page



 

Author of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe was put in the pillory in 1703 for writing the pamphlet, ‘The Shortest Way With Dissenters’, which satirized the church.  However, it was not dead rats and bad fruit which were hurled at him but flowers.

The difference between the stocks and the pillory was that the stocks held the feet, so the punished person could duck to escape the barrage of bad eggs and faeces which were being thrown at them.  The pillory held the head and hands tightly so the person entrapped in it did not have the luxury of escaping the onslaught of undesirable objects thrown at him.

Certain crimes turned the crowd ugly.  Ann Marrow had a trick of impersonating a male, getting women to marry her and then defrauding them of their money and belongings.  On the 5th of July 1777, she was convicted of her crime at the Westminster Quarter Sessions.  She was sentenced to imprisonment for three months and was made to stand in the pillory once at Charing Cross.  So furious were the crowd, probably a large female one, that they obviously hurled hard rocks at her, as Ann Marrow lost the sight of both her eyes.

A baker, in the middle ages, who sold bread which weighed less than the required weight by law, could find himself in the pillory and facing the angry folks whom he tried to defraud.

Both pillory and stocks were exported to America with the Pilgrim Fathers.

Susannah Fleming was placed in the pillory for fortune telling at Newcastle’s Newgate Street in 1758.  It is a pity she could not tell her own fortune; she fainted and nearly choked.  Luckily she was saved by a passing sailor.

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February 2, 2012 · 5:02 pm

Chocolate and Prune Smallcakes.

Please make sure that you have an adult’s permission to make these cakes and also that an adult supervises when using the cooker.

Chocolate and Prune Smallcakes.

Ingredients.

 

6oz soft margarine made from vegetable oil.

6oz of dark brown sugar.

3 eggs, (preferably free range) beaten.

6oz wholemeal, self raising flour.

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder.

1 tin of prunes in prune juice.

Drain the juice off the prunes.  Put the juice in a glass,  it can be used in other recipes.  Take the stones from the prunes, and cut them up.

Topping

½ a bar of cooking chocolate – or carob.

Heat the oven at 350F/180C/gas mark 4.

You can use a bun tray of twelve for this recipe.  Grease the tray with margarine or butter to stop your small cakes from sticking.  These small cakes are really easy to make, you simply throw all the ingredients (except the chocolate topping) into a bowl and mix.  Using a food processor makes it even easier.  When the mixture is smooth, simply spoon out evenly into the bun tray.  Bake in the oven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.  All ovens vary so it is wise to keep your eyes on them the first time you make them.  The small cakes are ready when well risen and the tops of the cake spring back if gently pressed with a finger.

Once out of the oven, leave to cool in the tins for a short while to allow them to finish cooking.  Allow them to finish off cooling on a wire rack.

When the small cakes have completely cooled put them on plates so that the chocolate can be added on top.   The next bit might seem a bit of a pain if you are not used to baking – but let me tell you that it is not.  It simply sounds more complicated than it is.    IT IS IMPORTANT THAT AN ADULT IS PRESENT WHEN DOING THIS.  Once you have done it the first time it becomes, like the small cakes, really easy and well worth the adoration you get f rom your friends for producing these delicious small cakes.

Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl which can stand heat.  I use a cereal bowl.  Put half a small pan of water onto a medium heat.  Make sure the bowl’s rim is bigger than the pan’s.  Put the bowl so that it is resting on the rim of the pan.  Using a wooden spoon keep stirring the chocolate as the heat from the water below melts it.  Once done, you will realise how easy it is and it melts the chocolate in a smooth and non sticky manner.  Once the chocolate is melted take the bowl from the pan and turn the heat off.  Spoon the chocolate onto the small cakes.  Allow the chocolate to set.

Don’t be amazed if your smallcakes disappear quickly.     People get overwhelmed when they taste them.

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