On 20th January I was on cloud nine, because it was “National Cheese Lovers’ Day”! As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a cheese maniac – my father used to call me “Ben Gunn”, after the character in Treasure Island who had been marooned on the island for three years and craved cheese!
The British have been cheese-making for thousands of years and we’ve got over 700 types; Cheddar, Chester, Caerphilly, Double Gloucester and Stilton are probably the most famous, but you’ll also find such beauties as slack ma girdle, stinking bishop and ticklemore. (We are indeed experts when it comes to imaginative names).
The names have nothing to do with loosening your corset, a bishop with a hygiene problem or someone who’s constantly walking around with their arms up in the air shouting “tickle me!” Instead, the names relate to the way the cheese is treated with cider or pear brine during manufacture or else the name of the village.
Over the last 30 or so years, there’s been a rather wonderful increase in artisanal cheese-makers, which makes it so exciting to go to farmers’ markets, where you can taste the produce and talk about it with the farmers themselves. King Charles III has been documented as saying that he’s very partial to a piece of sheep’s cheese on a digestive biscuit; sounds like heaven to me!
We don’t just eat the stuff either! We have all sorts of traditions associated with it; one of the most famous being the yearly cheese-rolling championship at Cooper’s Hill, Gloucestershire at the end of May. Here, competitors race down a 200 yard hill, chasing a 9lb round of double Gloucester cheese.
It’s not just any 200 yard hill though! They’re running down a 26 degree slope behind a cheese which can reach speeds of up to 70 miles an hour! And no-one manages to catch it either, so the winner is the first person to reach the bottom of the hill (and possibly straight into the arms of the awaiting St John’s Ambulance medical teams!).
On British TV, cheese has also been introduced into scripts as a murder weapon! The famous murder-mystery TV drama, Midsomer Murders (Barnaby), filmed where I live in the Chilterns, screened one episode where the first victim was killed by a shelf of giant cheeses falling on top of her (Martine McCutcheon played the part magnificently).
You can eat cheese at any time of the day – on the continent, they have it for breakfast, but we tend to go for it 11am onwards, right up to just before bedtime – a nice bit of cheese and biscuits whilst watching an episode of The Traitors on TV is a perfect way of winding down before going to bed…
Does it make you dream? There’s no proper scientific evidence, but many people who do dream say that dreams become a bit more vivid after a nice evening intake of cheese. Similarly, although we know that the moon is not made of cheese, we are aware that two of the greatest advocates of Wensleydale cheese went up to the moon in a rocket to find out – they were Wallace and Gromit, the fabulous animated characters created by Nick Park who have been eating and enjoying it for nearly 30 years and are a star attraction in the Wensleydale Creamery shop.
Cheese can also be a bit of a life-saver, providing an escape route during those moments which could be a tad difficult, etiquette-wise. For example, if ever you visit Devon or Cornwall and are challenged to decide whether you are an advocate of putting the cream or the jam onto your scone first, cheese can come to the rescue. To escape any embarrassment every time… just say you’d prefer a nice cheese scone!
Of course, there is a down side to eating cheese; if you are trying to lose weight, it’s one of your biggest enemies … BUT… we’re past the moment for making new year’s resolutions now, so we can forget about it till next year!
Featured image: The annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling race uses a 7–9 lb wheel of Double Gloucester decorated in Union Jack colours.
About the Author
Bobbie Latter is an expert Southern England Blue Badge Tourist Guide with over 39 years experience guiding global visitors. She specialises in the Thames, Chilterns, and the Oxfordshire Cotswolds regions. Bilingual in English and French, Bobbie is also a BSL-qualified guide. As a published historian and “set-jetting” expert, Bobbie leads tours of filming locations from Midsomer Murders to Downton Abbey. Known for her cheerful banter, Bobbie makes local history, heritage and Brit culture memorable and fun. Meet Bobbie here
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