Glastonbury Cross: Post-Celtic treasure, or hoax?

Did Mahoney really possess King Arthur's casket cross? Or had Mahoney simply a wee bit of the drink taken? (Wiki Commons)

Back in the 1980s, a man with an Irish surname, Mahoney, claimed to have located a cross once attached to the coffin of King Arthur. Supposedly this was unearthed by monks in 1161 as they disinterred Arthur to plant him elsewhere...and had lain at the bottom of a lake since. Or something.

Considering the uncertainty as to whether there really was an Arthur, it's all a little far-fetched. The British Museum, however, didn't reject it out of hand. So there is still a chance....

It's a convoluted tale, but one told quite clearly in History Today magazine.

The good, easy rolls of Waterford: Blaa, blaa, blaa

But never bap. A bap is a similar roll, but still not a blaa.

Nor is blaa a word for feeling bad. Indeed, in Waterford, it's a word for feeling very good. Very good indeed, if eating a lovely, large white-bread roll filled with all sorts of breakfast goodies is your idea of good eating. (Mind, that does not preclude an evening meal of world-class beef at FXB in Dublin or whatever other Irish fine dining anywhere in the world awaits you.)

The blaa is being considered for special status by the EU, meaning only the blaas produced in Cork could carry the name; all other such rolls would be, one assumes, simply blaa-like.

If you'd like to try a blaa, here's a recipe adapted for US measurements from Wikipedia:

A blaa and a blaa split, ready to fill with egg and bacon (Wiki Commons)

Blaa Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups baker's flour, plus extra for dredging 
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 tsp butter
• 2 tsp dry yeast
• Scant TBSP sugar
• 1 1/4 c. (about) water, tepid

Method

1. Sift together dry ingredients.
2. Rub butter and dry mixture together.
3. Dissolve yeast and sugar into water.
4. Add wet to dry ingredients, mix until combined. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Proof for 45 mins. Punch down. Allow it to rest for 15mins. (The short rest times gives the gluten time to relax, making shaping easier)
6. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
7. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, covered. 
8. Roll balls out to an oval shape. You can also flatten them slightly, or place the balls side by side in a square baking dish to proof. Dredge with flour.
9. Allow to rise again for 50 mins. Dredge with a little extra flour.
10. Bake for 15-20 mins at 210c/410 F.

For the soft type it's baked without moisture as this forms a crust.For a crust put some boiling water in a pan at the bottom of the oven prior to baking.

Rocking the Celtic World 

(Copyright Rachel Burch 2012)

Rachel Burch is a Druid, a real one, a member of the UK's Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD). She's also a real Dartmoor and Westcountry professional photographer with a penchant for photographing Celtic sites and Celtic things. Above, a Celtic cross in a Tintagel churchyard. Tintagel is associated with the legend of Britain's last Celtic king, Arthur, and his very definitely Druid wife, Guinevere.

Burch has a selection of Celtic-oriented photographs on offer, linking the Celtic land of the west with that of the east, Cornwall and parts of Devon and Somerset, particularly. Click here to see some of her Celtic work and other images of southwest England.