Today is officially Yorkshire Day, so being the proud daughter of Yorkshire parents (Ilkley Moor Ba' t'hat, tha' knows) I thought I'd celebrate with a sneaky giveaway...
Both my parents were born and raised in lovely Ilkley, West Yorkshire, before moving down to the Black Country for Dad's job when they got married. Consequently my sister and I grew up knowing that we could 'play cricket for Yorkshire one day' (allegedly), that Yorkshire was God's Own Country and that it was, officially, the 'right side of the Pennines'. We watched Emmerdale (both Farm and not) because it was filmed not far from Ilkley (where my grandparents and uncle still lived) and drank Yorkshire Tea, largely because the artwork on the box featured the Cow and Calf - the twin rock formations on the top of Ilkley Moor. We visited most holidays and certainly in our early years spent most of our free time in the lovely Dales.
This has fostered a lifelong love of the county in me and is why, when I wrote what became Fairytale of New York, I made sure that Rosie's parcel from home that her brother brings contained Yorkshire Tea, both as a nod to my heritage and also because it's still my favourite. A year after Fairytale of New York was published, the lovely people at Yorkshire Tea found out I'd name-checked them and sent me a box of goodies, including a box of 'Miranda's Tea' (see picture above) which now has pride of place on my desk!
So, if you'll forgive the tenuous link, I'm offering two signed copies of Fairytale of New York as a special Yorkshire Day giveaway... Want to win one? Just leave a comment in the box below!
