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Meet & Eat - Hot Cross Buns Event Cache

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Sterling-Cache: The Games have been played and the buns been eaten, just think we might do it all again next year - until we Meet & Eat Again dine well

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Hidden : Friday, April 19, 2019
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

19 April 2019, 16:00 - 17:00

Good Friday and Hot Cross Buns - History


In many historically Christian countries, plain buns made without dairy products (forbidden in Lent until Palm Sunday) are traditionally eaten hot or toasted during Lent, beginning with the evening of Shrove Tuesday (the evening before Ash Wednesday) to midday Good Friday.

The ancient Greeks may have marked cakes with a cross.

One theory is that the Hot Cross Bun originates from St Albans, where Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, a 14th Century monk at St Albans Abbey, developed a similar recipe called an 'Alban Bun' and distributed the bun to the local poor on Good Friday, starting in 1361.

In the time of Elizabeth I of England (1592), the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor. As a result of this decree, hot cross buns at the time were primarily made in home kitchens.

Further attempts to suppress the sale of these items took place during the reign of James I of England/James VI of Scotland (1603–1625).

The first definite record of hot cross buns comes from a London street cry: "Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs. With one or two a penny hot cross buns", which appeared in Poor Robin's Almanac for 1733. Food historian Ivan Day states, "The buns were made in London during the 18th century. But when you start looking for records or recipes earlier than that, you hit nothing."

Good Friday and Hot Cross Buns - Traditions


English folklore includes many superstitions surrounding hot cross buns.

One of them says that buns baked and served on Good Friday will not spoil or grow mouldy during the subsequent year.
Another encourages keeping such a bun for medicinal purposes. A piece of it given to someone ill is said to help them recover.
If taken on a sea voyage, hot cross buns are said to protect against shipwreck.
If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fires and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly. The hanging bun is replaced each year.

Good Friday and Hot Cross Buns - Other Recipies


In the United Kingdom, the major supermarkets produce variations on the traditional recipe such as toffee, orange-cranberry, and apple-cinnamon.

In Australia, coffee-flavoured buns are also sold in some bakeries. There are also sticky date and caramel versions, as well as mini versions of the traditional bun.

The "Not Cross" bun is a variation on the "Hot Cross" bun. It uses the same ingredients but instead of having a "cross" on top, it has a "smiley face" in reference to it being "not cross" in the sense of not angry. The not cross bun was first sold commercially in 2014 by an Australian bakery, Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, in response to supermarkets selling hot cross buns as early as Boxing Day (26 December).

In the Czech Republic, mazanec is a similar cake or sweet bread eaten at Easter. It often has a cross marked on top.

Good Friday and Hot Cross Buns - The Cross


The traditional method for making the cross on top of the bun is to use shortcrust pastry; however, more recently recipes have recommended a paste consisting of flour and water.

The Venue


The Cross in Hand Inn.
Heathfield Road,
Hand in Cross,
Heathfield.
TN21 0SN.

Other Details


Times - From 16:00 to 17:00
Place - in a room towards the back on the left after entering the bar
Parking on Site

Event Activities


Event Marker so you know you are in the right place!
Event Log - to Sign if you want
Container for the leaving of, discovering of, exchanging of trackable dog tags or coins
Large Plate of Buttered Hot Cross Buns for Sampling
People to talk to about the pastime
People to assist with ideas about caches that you are struggling with

How to play Noughts and Crosses or An Excuse to play with food

A video related to Meeting and eating Hot Cross Buns has been uploaded
It is a Game of Noughts and Crosses
Noughts and Crosses - The Movie is at - https://youtu.be/JjzVUpcU5EQ is the link to the excitment

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Vg vf Tbbq Sevqnl

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)