Bettys brews up top tales

THERE were tall tales about fondly-remembered girlfriends and stories about wistful orphans with their noses pressed up against the shop window to see the delicacies inside.

There were lovable dogs and cats, a mouse, a horse and even a brown cow. There were letters from the trenches of the First World War and acronyms of the names of sweethearts loved and left behind. And, of course, there was plenty of Yorkshire dialect.

Our readers let their imaginations run riot when, in conjunction with Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate, we invited them to put pen to paper and tell a tall story about who Betty might have been, to mark the publication of a new book that is raising money for charity, in which some of our best-loved authors offered their own whimsical stories of who the mysterious lady might have been.

Our youngest contributor was only 10, and our eldest – a lady from Bridlington – declared herself a proud “90-and-three-quarters”. They wrote in from across Yorkshire with stories of encounters on The Stray, or apparitions glimpsed in the dreams of Bettys founder Frederick Belmont, or nodded to his Swiss roots by telling of how St Bernard dogs provided inspiration of the name.

The standard of the stories was so high that Bettys and Taylors decided that in addition to the first prize of a silver tea set worth £1,000, there would also be prizes of gift boxes for two runners-up.

All were following in the footsteps of the contributors to Who Was Betty?, who include Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Jilly Cooper, Alan Titchmarsh, Joanne Harris, Ian McMillan and Kay Mellor. Who Was Betty?, which has a foreword from the Prince of Wales, is being sold to raise funds for the Yorkshire Rainforest Project, which aims to save an area of rainforest in South America equivalent in size to the UK. With the Rainforest Foundation UK, the project is supporting the Ashaninka Community of the Selva Central region of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest. Deforestation is being prevented by helping the community to protect their rights and manage their forest land as well as developing sustainable livelihoods, so Ashaninka can continue to be “guardians of the rainforest” just as they have been for centuries.

The winner of our competition was Sarah Wimbush, of Bardsey, near Wetherby, with her imaginative and entertaining story that links Bettys to the Titanic. She receives the new Bettys heavenly afternoon tea experience gift box.

It contains the same high quality silver-plated teaware and cake stand used in the Café Tea Rooms and a selection of delicious Bettys handcrafted cakes, biscuits and loose tea.

The runners up were 10-year-old Charlotte Jackson, of Keighley, who cast herself as an orphan who gave her name to Bettys, and Brian Waddington, of York, who found the name’s roots in Yorkshire dialect.

Each will receive a Bettys celebration gift box, worth £50.

Tamsin Daniel, from Bettys, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the hugely enthusiastic response to the Who Was Betty? competition.

“It’s really heartwarming to read that Bettys evokes such affection and inspires such creativity – we’ve enjoyed reading every single entry. A big thank you to everyone who took time to take part.

“We’re delighted to say too that our new book Who Was Betty? is proving popular with customers and all profits will go to funding our Yorkshire Rainforest Project further.”

The Bettys heavenly afternoon tea experience is part of Bettys new range of Christmas gift boxes and hampers for 2011 and will be available in time for Christmas from Bettys online shop (www.bettys.co.uk or telephone 01423 814008).

Who Was Betty? is available from Bettys six Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate, Ilkley, Northallerton and York or through the mail order service. At £5.99, all profits will go to the Yorkshire Rainforest Project www.yorkshirerainforestproject. co.uk

The winning short story

Sarah Wimbush, of Bardsey, near Wetherby.

FREDERICK stared at the postcard in his hands, his eyes running over the careful handwriting for the hundredth time. He turned the card over to the tinted drawing of a large steamship, its four enormous funnels striking out powerfully against the cloudless sky. He slowly twisted it back and read it again.

“Dear Freddie, I am looking forward to the voyage. We have been busy preparing for the journey....” Frederick looked away for a moment and pressed the corner of his eye with his finger to halt the dampness, after a pause he returned to the postcard, “...however, the master baker assures us we will be rushed off our feet when we finally leave for New York, so we must enjoy the calm now while we can. I think only of when we can be together once more. Your sweetheart, Betty.”

Again, he turned back to the picture of the passenger liner and traced his finger over the name in the left hand corner; RMS Titanic. He slipped the aging postcard back behind the secret panel in his desk and returned his attention to the job in hand. The scattered sheets of paper were covered with ideas for a name of the new tea shop they had planned together more than 10 years before. In among all the scribbles one idea was written over so many times that the nib had punctured a hole through the paper, and he smiled with certainty at the name: Bettys.

And here are the two runners-up:

Charlotte Jackson, 10, of Keighley.

I REMEMBER Mr Frederick Belmont. He was a Swiss immigrant, he was quite the gentleman! Mr Belmont had lived in Switzerland for most of his life but had a dream to make a successful business in London. Frederick or Freddy, as I called him arrived near a train station and took a train to London but soon became puzzled with the trains and ended up in the sunny fresh air of Yorkshire. After several days in Harrogate he found a perfect building to start his business. Every day he would walk into town and look at the building for at least 10 minutes then he would go past the bakery stall and smell the sweet scent of bread cooking. After he would walk past the bench and stare at the young girl selling delicious cakes and buns from an old hand-cart. Uncle Freddy would always get one and give her a penny even though she sold them for half a penny. Shortly after Uncle Freddy purchased the building and had no idea what to call it or what its purpose was. The next day he looked at the building for only five minutes and then went to the orphan, he asked her to work for his cafe and she agreed. A short while after the cafe was the most popular place in town and became known as Bettys which was the name of the young orphan. How do I know this?

Because I am the young orphan, Betty!

Brian Waddington, of York

FREDERICK Belmont opened his first tea room in Harrogate in the difficult days that followed the First World War. He had spent some time trying to think of a suitably pithy title for the business but to no avail. Eventually he started under his own name.

After he had been open a few weeks he had as a customer an elderly farmer from high in the dales who had been taken out by his family as a birthday treat. This gentleman took one look at the dainty offerings on view and in a loud voice said to all and sundry: “What the heck! These bits and pieces wouldn’t keep a flippin’ fly alive, nivver mind a grown man.

“Bet ‘is tea room won’t last three months in Yorksher where they know how to feed folks properly.”

Frederick had considerable difficulty in understanding the broad speech but one phrase rang a bell loud and clear. “Bettys tea room,” as he heard it. Just what he had been searching for!

And so a name was born.