Wednesday 9 June 2010

Butterfly buns


I forgot to mention one butterfly and moth feature of Bempton Cliffs: the luscious buns produced by Katie Wheelwright who feeds visitors to the RSPB reserve (and good book and gift shop) from her trailer. I've always loved butterfly buns, and Katie bakes a variant which is more of a cup cake but just as light as the traditional buns with their double wings perched on cream. Here is proof that I (a) bought a bun and (b) ate it. Back home, the post brought another example of butterflies being used as appealing symbols: Leeds University's Reporter magazine has this Small Tortoiseshell accompanying an article about various programmes getting off the ground. The ancient Greeks were pioneers of this, with butterflies often engraved on tombstones. They called the insects 'psyche' which also meant the soul and gave us our modern armies of psychologists, psychotherapists etc. If I was one of these, I would gently recommend nature study to troubled souls, just as our local GPs wisely offer a leaflet on local, healthy mini-walks. Just back on buns, I had an unforgettable, melt-in-the-mouth bun in Harrogate when I was about seven. I have tried to find it ever since, so far unsuccessfully. Next time I go to Bempton Cliffs, I will describe it to Katie and see if she can bake one. If you Google her, you will find quite a lot online about her excellent ethical approach to catering. Wainwrights naturally approve of wheelwrights, of course. The pink smudge in the back of the bun pics, btw, is one of the many vast clumps of pink campion.

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