I was so pleased to see that one of the original homes of English fish-and-chips has been saved - purchased from some typically stupid investors by the owners of The Wetherby Whaler.
I must say that the last time I called in to Harry's in Guiseley, I was less than impressed. It bore all the hallmarks of a ghastly franchise, with service and food to match. Where were all the lovely little Yorkshire lasses who used to greet customers with something unintelligible to those used to speaking English? Gone were those sweet little Yorkshire waitress outfits, with a ladder in the stockings and a hint of bosom exposed through loss of a blouse button. It all seemed so genuine, somehow; quaint and wholesome.
I remember Grandfather Edgar taking me there when I was a little girl, after he had competed in the Ilkley Grand National, held on Middleton Moor near Ilkley. Even though he was very muddy, he was greeted like the hero he was, and somehow extra chips always appeared in his order, wrapped as it was in the News Chronicle. Marvellous chips too - crispy and cooked just when ordered. And the fish! - luscious flakey cod with no skin, coated in golden yellow crispy batter, and served slick from the proper beef dripping it was cooked in, with a great dollop of bright green mushy peas.
The Grand national was a proper MAN'S race and if you look HERE there is an excellent film of a pre-war event. Better, I am quite sure that the lady in the foreground is my late Mama's sister - the Hon. Tamara DuKlart (she was married to a minor South African diplomat) and over her right shoulder is, in the beret, her 'friend': Viola Kaase. That was quite a scandal of course, as proper ladies did not have friends like that....except in racey circles in London, and never in Ilkley. Grandfather Edgar had a very funny phrase for them: he called them The Sheep, which I still don't really understand: he said it was because they were frequently to be found with their noses in the front garden.
Miss Tilly and her Orifice
When I was quite a young girl, Grandfather Edgar had the idea to fit a supercharger to a 500cc Blackburne engine he had somehow acquired, and for which he was building a frame to take part in sprint events. I remember he had purchased a Shorrock unit but wasn't quite sure about ratios and mixtures and so on. "I need help to get a blow job, Camilla," he would say, laughing away in that deep rumble of his. I didn't then know how rude that was - not the thing to say to a young girl, but that was Grandad!
Of course, he knew great motorcycle tuners like George Brown and Noel Pope but was anxious to take his own route. He gained an appointment to see Professor G F Mucklow, the Head of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, and who had carried out a lot of research into supercharged single-cylinder engines. I was very excited when Grandad said he would take me along - I think he had an idea that it would inspire me to go to University. Grandad explained what he was trying to do, and Professor Mucklow listened carefully before smiling and saying, "You should really be talking to my former assistant, Doctor Shilling. She knows all about superchargers and fuelling - and motorcycles!" Grandad wasn't often stopped in his tracks. "Do you mean Tilly Shilling?" he said at last. "I raced against her at Brooklands!" And that was indeed who the Professor meant.
Beatrice Shilling OBE, PhD, MSc, CEng was a highly talented aeronautical engineer - and motorcycle racer, gaining a Gold Star at Brooklands for her 106mph lap. She became hugely famous when she found an elegantly simple cure for the engine cutting-out problems experienced by Spitfire and Hurricane pilots when making extreme turns. It was a simple fuel-restriction device, like a washer with a needle valve, that was fitted into the SU carburettor and solved (nearly) the problem until pressurised carburettors were fitted to the Merlin engine. The little device became known as "Tilly's orifice" - and many of our brave fighter pilots owed their life to it.
Many years later, I purchased an old Leyland Beaver truck to use as my race transporter - and Grandad suggested we fit a Merlin engine to it, like John Dodd had done with a car he called 'The Beast' - but we had problems getting it to run cleanly. I wrote to SU Carburettors asking if they had any pictures of Tilly's Orifice, and explained it was because my Beaver was running badly. I had a letter back from some person called Paul Burman that was so rude that I threw it away.
Of course, he knew great motorcycle tuners like George Brown and Noel Pope but was anxious to take his own route. He gained an appointment to see Professor G F Mucklow, the Head of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, and who had carried out a lot of research into supercharged single-cylinder engines. I was very excited when Grandad said he would take me along - I think he had an idea that it would inspire me to go to University. Grandad explained what he was trying to do, and Professor Mucklow listened carefully before smiling and saying, "You should really be talking to my former assistant, Doctor Shilling. She knows all about superchargers and fuelling - and motorcycles!" Grandad wasn't often stopped in his tracks. "Do you mean Tilly Shilling?" he said at last. "I raced against her at Brooklands!" And that was indeed who the Professor meant.
Beatrice Shilling OBE, PhD, MSc, CEng was a highly talented aeronautical engineer - and motorcycle racer, gaining a Gold Star at Brooklands for her 106mph lap. She became hugely famous when she found an elegantly simple cure for the engine cutting-out problems experienced by Spitfire and Hurricane pilots when making extreme turns. It was a simple fuel-restriction device, like a washer with a needle valve, that was fitted into the SU carburettor and solved (nearly) the problem until pressurised carburettors were fitted to the Merlin engine. The little device became known as "Tilly's orifice" - and many of our brave fighter pilots owed their life to it.
Many years later, I purchased an old Leyland Beaver truck to use as my race transporter - and Grandad suggested we fit a Merlin engine to it, like John Dodd had done with a car he called 'The Beast' - but we had problems getting it to run cleanly. I wrote to SU Carburettors asking if they had any pictures of Tilly's Orifice, and explained it was because my Beaver was running badly. I had a letter back from some person called Paul Burman that was so rude that I threw it away.
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