Figs and trains and nostalgia.

 When I went to the market in Uppermill on Wednesday, as the fruit and veg man wasn’t there I bought fruit and veg at the Italian greengrocery. They had figs so I bought a few. Yesterday evening I roasted my figs in a marinade of honey, wine, lemon juice and herbs. Very good they were too. When I was a child figs were something that only appeared in fig biscuits at Christmas. I had no idea what an actual fig looked like until well into my adult years. Looking back, I realise that the odd texture of the inside of those fig biscuits is much the same as the inside of ripe figs. 

Similarly, I knew the bible stories of Adam and Eve hiding their shame at being naked behind fig leaves but I had no idea what fig leaves were like, how big they were. I know that now and realise what a good choice fog leaves were as a cover-up!

We reflected on the etymolgy of the expression ‘I don’t give a fig’, wondering if ‘fig’ was used to replace a ruder f word. Its the sort of thing linguists talk about. We’re that kind of nerdy. Anyway, I looked it up.

“The phrase "I don't give a fig" means to express a complete lack of concern and originates from the Spanish word "fico," which was associated with a gesture of contempt in Shakespeare's time. This gesture, known as the Fig of Spain, involved placing the thumb between the first and second fingers, similar to the modern "V" sign.”

There you go!

There’s something rather elegant about old steam engines. My admiration for them might be a nostalgic thing, remembering steam train journeys to visit my grandparents somewhere near Sheffield. We travelled cheaply because my grandfather worked for the railways.

I found out that it’s almost exactly 200 years since the first public passenger railway opened.

“The Stockton and Darlington railway was officially opened on 27 September 1825, making it the world’s first public steam-powered passenger railway.

An estimated 40,000 people witnessed the steam locomotive Locomotion No 1 pull the inaugural train.

The new railway connected coalmines to the port at Stockton and proved the practicality of steam trains for long-distance transport.”

Then along came Beeching

“The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named for Dr. richard Beeching, then-chair of the British Railways and the author of two reports – The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965) – that set out proposals for restructuring the railway network, with the stated aim of improving economic efficiency.”

Consequently we have lots of lorries carrying good here and there and a different sort of pollution to what we got from the steam engines. Another consequence is bridle paths like our own Donkey Line, which was once a railway line. But what a useful commuter rail system it might have been if it had existed into the modern age! 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!