THREE North Yorkshire cheesemakers gave cheeses to Chelsea Pensioners when the Dairy Council's annual Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses took place at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea last week.

Ribblesdale Cheesemakers of Settle provided their Wensleydale; Shepherd's Purse from Thirsk sent a Yorkshire Blue; and Wensleydale Dairy Products of Hawes gave a Blue Wensleydale and Wensleydale and Cranberry.

The tradition dates back to 1692, when the hospital instructed a local cheesemonger to provide pensioners with cheese as a Christmas treat and, in 1956, the Dairy Council began presenting the war veterans with cheeses each year.

The North Yorkshire cheesemakers gave their cheeses as a sign of respect for the war veterans, and to showcase the range and quality of British cheeses.

* Shepherd's Purse is also out to disprove the old wives' tale that eating cheese before bedtime causes nightmares.

It has produced the perfect antidote - a feta-style ewes' milk cheese flavoured with the subtle taste of local lavender.

Katy's White Lavender is named after Katie Bell, sales and marketing manager of Shepherd's Purse and daughter of the founder, Judy Bell.

"The marriage of ewe's milk and lavender is the perfect combination for soothing, calming and healthy effects," said Miss Bell. "The uses and benefits of lavender have been appreciated for thousands of years and we felt it was the ideal partner for our ewe's milk cheese, which is low in fat, easier to digest than cow's milk products, is highly nutritious and can be eaten by allergy sufferers and vegetarians alike."

As well as a great taste, the new cheese is said to help relieve anxiety as the lavender works as a gentle sedative and has calming, soothing and healing properties.