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We have a couple of self-seeded elder trees in the garden, but I have to confess the most I ever do with their fruits is to pop a couple of the berries into my mouth every time I walk past (one is by the back gate).
Feeding yourself from Nature's bounty seems to be a dying art. My sister and I used to go blackberry picking as kids, but it's seems rare to see anyone raiding the bushes, plastic bag in hand nowadays. My two (OK, me as well!) will pick berries to eat if we pass a blackberry patch (and we ate loads of wild whimberries on a Shropshire walking holiday a couple of years ago) but I really ought to reinstate the specific mission to gather enough berries for a crumble!
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A shame some of those seasonal activities seem to have disappeared.Blackberrying was such an important event to look forward to like rosehip gathering and dragonfly watching.
I still make blackberry and apple pie if I find enough but sadly those lovely plump ones seem to be no more.Most have been sprayed out of existence in NZ in the wild.Every kind of berry imaginable is cultivated here but they don't taste like the wild ones.
LG
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Yes, cultivated blackberries may look huge and inviting, but the flavour is such a disappointment!
Not sure how 'ard JW was, but he was my great great uncle, running the business with my great grandfather. Is there any chance of sending me a photo of that stone jar? email me at [email protected]
cheers
quote:
Originally posted by noel
I've got a stone jar in my cloakroom, it's "J.W.Deakin,Bolton. Pure Herbal Beverages". The jar contained Sarsparilla " The blood tonic".
It says on the jar " anyone illegally using or detaining this jar will be prosecuted".
Come on then J.W.Deakin , let's see if yer 'ard!!! [  ]
The significant owl hoots in the night.
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I've gathered loads of blackberries and frozen some this year, legs covered in scratches now. An English friend who was over and into mushrooms gathered chanterelles and boletus and we had them as an 'entree' with toast last week ( we're still here!).French pharmacies keep a big mushroom book so anyone can go in and they'll tell you if what you've collected is safe . I think the earth nuts are the same, William, and I will look up exactly which plant it is.....here we are, 'Pignut'- conopodium majus- groundnut, catnut, earthnut, earth chestnut, yennett, jog-journals.Dark brown tubers, eaten raw has the taste of hazel nuts. Cooked, taste of parsnips.Has declined because of loss of long established grassland and open woodland ; And it's now illegal to dog for tubers unless the landowner has given permission . So, William, put away your long knife on your country walks!
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We're coming into the chestnut season now, there are really big ones over here . I recall gathering them also on Worden Park, but the best ones were behind a fence. Our neighbour, Agnès invites us round for cider and chestnuts, and you can buy special pans to roast them in on an open fire (there's an old song there for Lady G.!) .The pans are just like frying pans but with round holes in, I wondered what the heck they were when we first came to Brittany.
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In the 50s, the chippy opposite the Public Hall was run by a dapper (well, camp frankly) little man who asked if you wanted "Anythinkon". I think he was called Davidson or Davison and lived down Fox Lane somewhere.
The one opposite Westgate was run then by a very kindly couple called Wheeler. When I ran errands on Saturdays mornings (for a shilling a week!) for Fred Finch, the baker further down in Towngate, Mrs Wheeler would save the mushy pea slops and bits of batter ("bottoms" she called them) and give them me for free in a bowl to warm me up on winter mornings.
Colin Damp
Plymouth
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My friends Dad John Hindle used to go every Saturday morning to Forshaw's to get some barm cakes and a chocolate cake for mum.
Remember one day my mum left the cake on the bottom deck of a serving trolley. 10 minutes later when she went to cut it, no cake.!! One Toy Poodle with mouth covered in cream hiding under the chair.
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I looked after a friend's Labrador, Sadie, one Christmas. Came down one morning and wondered what was wrong with her, as she was grovelling low to the ground, tail between legs....... I then noticed that all that was left of each of the chocolate decorations on the Christmas tree was a peice of string and a bit of silver foil hanging there!
Looking forward to my trip to Parkinson's when I come over in November. Met a French bloke yesterday who asked did we miss Le Cheddar Cheese? And a French lady who said she'd been given roast beef that had been boiled first, and chips the same when in England. put her straight right away. They often have some horror story to tell about English food, which I strongly defend!
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Yeah, you tell 'em, Caroline! I reckon English food has vastly improved over the last 20 years.
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