MY MOTTO IS: MAKE DO & MEND’
Nancy Birtwhistle may have won BakeOff but she’s just as well known for her nifty home hacks! Here, she shares her secrets…
As my name was announced as the winner of the Great British Bake Off, my mind went blank. ‘ Wait, was that MY name they called?’ I thought to myself.
It was 2014 and at 60 I had just won Bake Off. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood had said my name, and I was completely overwhelmed. It was one of the best experiences of my life and it all started because I wasn’t enjoying my retirement! Born in 1954, I grew up in Hull. When I was a child, everyone made their own bread and did their own baking. You didn’t buy new, you relied on hand-me-downs and repaired them with a needle and thread.
The post-war mantra in Britain was Make Do And Mend, so that’s what everyone did. My grandmother Elizabeth – known as Bessie – has always been the main influence to my success. She’d lived through the First and Second World Wars, and when I reached my teens in the late Sixties, she taught me how to sew and bake – showing me some nifty tricks. The first thing she taught me to make was a custard tart, and then a loaf of bread.
‘Rub the butter paper over your freshly-baked bread to give the crust a lovely sheen,’ she’d tell me. I still do it to this day as it works a treat!
She also taught me how to do pastry and her motto was to never throw away pieces you didn’t use – I like to keep mine in the freezer until I have enough for a tart case or pie. Making pastry is easier and nicer than shopbought, which is often made using palm oil. My grandfather Wilfred also taught me to grow food from seed. These were all skills that equipped me well for when I married and had to run my own home. I have two children, now 46 and 44. When my son was born in 1978, babygrows had hit the market and cost £2.50.
Just purchasing a couple would be out of my budget.
Instead, I bought a flannelette sheet for a double bed. I made a total of 14 babygrows out if it that featured a little motif for each day of the week. Very rewarding!
Once both of my children got older, I eventually obtained a position as a GP practice manager and by the time I retired in 2007 I had worked in the NHS for 36 years. During that time, I’d remarried and met my husband Tim, and we now have a blended family with nine grandchildren and
a great-grandchild!
I’d always looked forward to my retirement. ‘I can’t wait to spend time in the garden, and with family and friends,’ I’d tell my children. But I struggled without a routine.
Then I started watching season three of Bake Off on BBC Two. I’d watch them do their technical challenges and the next day I’d time myself to complete them. My family were so impressed with my different creations and it was even better when we could eat them after! I decided to apply for the show and couldn’t believe it when I was invited to appear as a contestant in 2014! I never imagined I’d win, and a decade on I’m still incredibly proud of myself.
Life has been a whirlwind since then. I started documenting my journey on social media – @nancy. birtwhistle – and would video my home hacks. They get such a good response from people of all ages. From using shredded English ivy instead of detergent to clean white T-shirts, to unclogging sinks with soda crystals and hot water – people kept asking for more and more!
By 2016, I decided I wanted to live a greener life. It was a Sunday, and my grandchildren and kids were over for dinner when one of them told me they had secured flights to Italy for £9.99. You can’t even take a train journey for that! I looked at their faces and decided I wanted to make a change and become greener and eco-friendly. I created my own magic cleaner spray, which is non-toxic and, in my opinion, the best cleaner I’ve ever used!
Now, as I turn 70, I’m more passionate than ever about helping people live sustainably on a budget. There’s a lot of greenwashing out there, and my generation have done a lot of damage to the planet, but I’m going to use my platform to promote the Make Do And Mend mentality.
I’m the author of several bestselling books, including a new one called Green Living Made Easy – which is being published by One Boat in paperback on 9 May – and have built a loyal social media community who want to know cooking and cleaning hacks, while living sustainably.
We have to be better for our grandchildren and, believe me, it’s so easy to start!