#157: A Cumbrian Christmas Cracker – December 2025

About this episode

A festive celebration featuring nostalgic readings, music, and culinary history from the historic counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire.

...in which we select the best bits from our second Cumbrian Christmas Cracker, a celebration of all things festive in the historic counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire north-of-the-Sands. In the company of historian and author Alan Cleaver; broadcaster and food historian John Crouch; journalist and historian Sue Allan; and musicians Carolyn Francis (fiddle and vocals) and Mike Willoughby (vocals, bouzouki and melodeon), we enjoy a miscellany of nostalgic readings, letters, poems, music and dialect – all recorded live at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick. Join Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley skating on Derwent Water; 'Hunsup through the wood' with the Christmas waits; take a gastronomic journey through Cumbrian culinary history starting with the Romans and their winter Satarnalia; and enter the weird world of wholesome lectures and gymnastics (no rice! no sugar!) at Blennerhasset. Advancing in time, we hear letters from the 1914 Christmas Truce; attempt to make a turkey from breadcrumbs; head 'Down t'Lonnin'' with Sue; then descend on Keswick for the Old Folk's Christmas Do before playing out with the raucous 'Bleckel' Merry Neet'. ...All this and more in the penultimate…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dave, Sue

Guests: Alan Cleaver, John Crouch, Sue Allan, Carolyn Francis, Mike Willoughby

Topics covered

• Cumbrian Christmas
• festive celebrations
• Cumberland
• Westmorland
• Lancashire
• culinary history
• Christmas Truce
• music
• poetry
• historical readings

Keywords

• Christmas
• historian
• food historian
• live recording
• Theatre by the Lake
• Keswick

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Cumbrian culinary history

Books & works: A Lake District Christmas, the Cumbrian Christmas Cracker, Striding Edge

Places: Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, Keswick, Carlisle

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