I'm an eater not a baker... but sour cherry pies are my favourite - hard to get sour cherries anymore, just those big sweet ones. And of course, cold tart apple pie, leave the cinnamon out of 'er! Strawberry rhubarb, yessir. And one I've come to love, cranberry apple pie!

My one grandmother used lard, not much sugar, and baked her pies four at a go, eight pies at once, in the coal stove oven. Her pastry was not flaky at all, but thin and soft, and her pies were mostly eaten at breakfast.

My other grandmother made delicate flaky pastry, and made the best mincemeat (venison and beef together, usually) on the Island, kept it in 'stone' jars in the cold cellar.