In praise of the silver darlings of the sea

-

Yesterday was all about local specialities. I began the day with a breakfast of seaweed picked from the local beach. Laver, as it's known, is easy to spot but takes an age to cook - about 4 hours. For that reason it's not top of the list for camper van breakfasts. But it's a local North Devon delicacy so you can't live here without trying it at least once. I have bought it a few times from the local chippy, where they sell it deep fried in batter. I've never been particularly sold on it. Can't think why. So I thought I'd cook it in the traditional Welsh way rolled in oats and cooked in bacon fat. It was really very nice indeed. A bit like you would want a girder to taste if you had to eat girders. Full of iron.

Next up, a trip to Clovelly, a small fishing village a few miles down the road. It's a very beautiful place that now relies on tourism rather than the sea. Despite this massive shift in the village's industrial fortune there are still some devoted souls who work very hard to keep the community and traditions alive. And it's that spirit that took me there yesterday, as they celebrated the 'silver darlings of the sea' at the annual herring festival.

Today, of course, things have changed. The harvest is no longer quite what it was, but those that are caught are landed in a way that will ensure we will be able to enjoy a few cold smoked kippers in the years to come. So there's every reason to take a wander down the quayside to snap up a couple to take home. And, unlike the laver, they only need a few minutes under the grill. Another good reason to keep them on the camper van breakfast menu.

Comments

  1. cheapo16 February 2011 at 21:08

    O, we left the home grounds in the month of June
    And to canny Shiels we soon was bearing
    With a hundred cran of the silver darlings
    That we'd taken from the shoals of herring

    I love the song, despite being a veggy myself. But this beautiful tune rings in my mind as I read the lyrics. It really is superb.

    Cheapo Pete.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What do you call yours? #mycampervaniscalled LOVE!

-
Image
A few weeks ago I (with the help of my friends at the Caravan and Motorhome Club) asked the good people of Twitter and Instagram to tell me what they call their camper vans. Here are the results! There are so many great names - and so many different names - and it proves to me that you lot really are a funny, creative, soulful and joyful bunch. Thank you! I will announce the winner in the next day or so. But please do comment and share. One thing that’s clear in all this is that camper owners LOVE their vans. Whether it’s the number plate that spells Rosbif (handy for breaking the ice on French campsites) or a name that tells you a little about shocking MPG (Juicy Lucy), it seems that every camper needs a name that has a story, a name that tells you how it rolls, a name that celebrate its quirks and foibles or a name that tells you how it feels to drive. If you don't want to read the full list here's the top line... Of the 200 owners who told me their van’s nam...
Read more
-
Image
 THE INTERVENTION *The story that didn't make it into Take The Slow Road: France The following year. So good we went back. For many, France has been a proving ground for adventure. It’s so close, and yet so far, a foreign country that’s next door, a culture that’s so familiar and yet so different. Getting there is easy, as is escaping if it all goes wrong. It’s safe, with an edge brought by language, misunderstanding and mutual trust and distrust. We are as alien to them as they are to us: incomprehensible, frightening, friendly, fun, playful. So, for the slow road adventurer, especially the new one, it’s perfect. A chance to get far enough away without being so far that an overnight drive couldn’t whisk you straight back home. It was the place myself and so many other young guns, surfers and searchers made their first forays into the forests of Aquitaine or attempts on the girls of Bordeaux. It was wild and free and I loved every moment of it. Mostly. It’s 1985. We’re fresh ...
Read more

Countdown to a camper van adventure

-
Image
On Monday 7th February at 6.30pm my TV show, One Man and His Campervan hits BBC2. It's going to be a wierd and wonderful night. It will be the first time that I've appeared in anything like this (apart from being a little blue man in an Erasure video back in 1991) so I haven't a clue what to expect. Will anyone watch? Will anyone like it? Will anyone even notice it was on? I hope so. I also have higher hopes for the TV series: that anyone who watches it will be inspired to fire up the old van/car/bus/bicycle and take a look at Great Britain for themselves. I always knew that there was more to it than just a few great surfing beaches. It's a very cool place. With very cool people. And a lot of very delicious food. You don't even have to be a Michelin starred genius to enjoy it. All you have to do is want something more than beans on toast. Ambitious? Maybe but not really. Although it can sometimes take a little effort to get off the sofa, go to new places and eat ne...
Read more