REMEMBER these?

I think they have gone out of fashion today, but you never know!

The Garibaldi biscuit is one of the oldest biscuits on the block and was first sold in 1861 by the creator of the biscuit, Carr’s of Scotland, the famous biscuit makers from Carlisle.

The biscuit was named after the man who played a prominent role in the unification of Italy – he was known as the ‘’father of the fatherland’’ – in the second half of the 1800s.

He stormed across Italy in a bid for independence, I fondly remember from my school history lessons.

I suspect he particularly stuck in my mind because of the famous biscuit named after him in memory of the limited rations that the famous Red Shirt army carried with them.

The famous Giuseppe Garibaldi visited Britain in 1854, when the whole country rose to greet him apart from Queen Victoria and the Royal family.

When the revolutionary sailed into Tyneside, cutting quite a dash and dandy in his red ruffle-fronted silk shirt, poncho sombrero, and floppy handkerchief, he was greeted with huge enthusiasm and excitement.

He was so popular that some local hotels even made a profit selling his bath water, and hundreds of Italian cafes and tavern owners renamed their establishments to Garibaldi.

The Garibaldi biscuit, youiwill find, is flat and rectangular, then there is a top and bottom layer.

These layers have an overly sweet dough that is crisp when it comes out of the oven.

The top is glazed with egg white, and in the middle there is a squashed currant filling.

Because of this filling, generations of people have grown up calling the biscuit ‘’fly cemeteries’’, ‘’fly sandwich’’ or ‘’dead fly biscuit’’. It is a close relative to the Chorley and Eccle’s cake.

I did wonder if Garibaldi stopped off in Lancaster on his way to Scotland.

My favourite version of this creation myth is that Guiseppe ‘’invented’’ his biscuit.

Apparently he accidentally sat on a Yorkshire currant and mint pasty - which is a plumper version of the same idea.

I fondly remember too my Nana always keeping a packet of squashed fly biscuits on the top shelf of her tea cupboard, which often guaranteed interest when we used to visit her.

To be honest, I’d always rather put my hand into her biscuit jar and pull out a malted cow biscuit or party ring, but I came to love them over the years.

They did remind me of the Garibaldi, which is crisp with the right texture and is eminently suitable for a good dunk in that all-important steaming brew of Yorkshire tea!

Crumbs of knowledge, I know, but this biscuit deserves a comeback.

Sadly many of our regional bakes around the country are in danger of vanishing.

But whatever happens, the indulgent Oreos and Maryland cookies of this world cannot and will not oust out the good old Garibaldi ‘’fly’’ biscuit.