More photies coming v soon we hope...

Hey Vix, (and all)

ty Vix for your slideshow - very pleasing to see such memories of a fun occasion. I am uploading another slideshow from the S&D with more fun and hearty frolics. If anyone has photies they want to share, but don't get on with blogger then please email me the image/s or let me know so I can solve it.

Great photies S&D ty.....

We still have a few knives and plates etc that dont seem to have found their home - please let me know if you are missing any items...

Menu

I just thought we should include an overview of what was made, lest we forget...

Fish paella

Potato gratin

Homemade sloe gin

Grog (beer/cider)

Bacon & rolls for breakfast

Apples for apple juice

Grapes for grape juice

Grog

Pear dessert

Fish pie

Fishy goujons

Fishy battered surprise

Blackberry cassis

Grog

Roasted tomato salad dressing

Potatoes for roasting

Sparkling wine grog

Green Salad

Onion tart

Grumpy Grey’s Cider

Smoked deer

Haunch of roe

Fizzy grog

Home-smoked fish pie

Quiches

Rabbit curry

Onion dish

Salad

New pots

Homemade pickled Chinese cabbage dish

Kim Chi (Korean prawn/crayfish fried rice dish)

Coleslaw with June’s cabbage

Apple and custard cake

Grog (sparkling)

Homemade bread and rolls

Homemade chutney

Tomato dressing

Grog

Plum and Walnut tart

Relish

Exotic potato dish

Sparking grog

Wine press

marinated rabbit parts

Fish cakes

Walnut pesto dish

Rabbits and partridges

More grog

Lady Chatterley’s lover

Many beer, cider, hedgerow vins

Groggy

Roast veg with home-grown lemons

All manner of blackberry and apple joys and crumbled-themed desserts

Epic lump of pork

Groggier

Many delightful cup-cakes pillaged from local hedges (did anyone but the kids taste these?)

and last, but not the least (given the hours of preparation involved) chicken feet....

Pint of thai lemsip please

Grand food, grand people, grand time, grand dancin... grand, grand, grand!

Thanks to all for - all the wonderful food, wonderful drumming, wonderful dancing, wonderful preparing, wonderful clearing, wonderful costuming, chanting & wonderful etc wonderfullness etc....

Can any photos that are fun or capture any sane elements of the day/night get uploaded - please?


Grand indeed!

Oh Deah oh dear

Ok all we now have one deer with 5 legs! It's true!

Decorations, Country and Western and Oh la!

Does anyone have any nautical decorations, for the shed I have been crafting with cardboard and wrapping foil... but wondered if there might be any borrowable items - such a life jackets (hint WT) or any netting etc.

I can assure you that any borrowed items will be nailed carefully to the walls and ceiling of the barn and returned promptly...

On a further note of musical importance, does anyone have country and western albums? or Hawaii beach music stylii albums?

The men folk bang their drums

In a secret location some where in the village of Rocklands, at the back of DGs house in his secret workshop, 3 of the men folk constructed 2 drums and a self contained drum oven with (and get this) hinged door and lock fastening. Yeah, you know wha Im sayin - this is some mean feather plucker of an oven.

We are obviously very proud and so wish to bang the drum on our success!

Photos which we know will excite all who look at them are soon to follow. These show the various stages of metalwork construction.

Anyone wishing to know more about the variants and metal fatigue stresses or indeed the sheer stress on cubic close packed lattice iron below 800 degrees centigrade feel free to email me. We had great discussions over the probable variants that may happen to the drum during cooking. Obviously we know its a steel drum, but the iron ferrous changes only affect the iron within the steel drum (and not the steel).

Having heartily debated this and other equally important design considerations we cut the end out and stuck it back with a hinge and then adjourned for a well earned double pint with a 4th fellow hunter offering much praise and considered drum banging.

The oven will also appearing on its own rather risque calendar. Pre order copies are available from Feb 2010?!

Sorry can't make tonight of to Palma. I'll see if I can scrape some exotic creatures of the tarmac when I get there. 

Ladies...

Might your menus make it here? For the men's delectation?

Those with ovens, do remember to take things out to save burning them...

I hope that we the mighty hunter men will create ovens from sods of earth and oil drums that you may prefer to use as incinerators of what i am sure will be decadent menu items that may or may not include...

"Flaked snails served on a wet bed of wilted par-nibbled rossa leaves"
"Deep fried crispy salt and chilli rabbit fur in marrow jelly"
"Lumpy monk jack served in a rubberesque gravel pastry"
"Chickens foot, served with cheesy chilli and a selection of nail clippings"
"Pan squarked pigeon entrails with drizzled ling juice dressing"
"Seasonally adjusted mixi rabbit goujons stuffed with barley seed sausages"
"Home blighted tomato curry, with natural colourings and cat territory essence"
"Tyre print pheasant burgers with home made brown sauce"
"Wasped apple and fish head stew with chocolate gravy"

Ce soir

Who why where when what withand how.

Tonights Hunters?

Who can make it?

What? on earth shall we do this eve?
Why? Beer
Where? The Pub
When? ASAP
What? Bitter or Cider
How? Glass
With? Fellow Hunters

Oh and Houston "we have a rabbit" (TY Alex)

Steel drums and percussion

A big thank you to Dave for the supply of two steel drums.

I was going to attempt making an oven to slow roast fodder from one and then use the other as a two piece combination set brazier/steel drum. Does anyone have anything to cut steel? I also need to add a hinge so may be after some techynickle advice as blutack may (though I might be wrong) not hold under the high temperatures required for cooking...
I was hoping to create a buried oven of sorts.



I also imagine that shipwrecked damsels and hunters would perhaps while away the time waiting to light the beacon fire, with some form of music. I'd be interested to see if we can create simple instruments for our gatherer tribe fireside. Sould be a chortle (which i think makes a superb name for an instrument)...

Elderflower Surprise

I have elderflower cordial too, although I cannot promise to source the water to dilute it with from a naturally carbonated stream. Also good with gin...Saucy Sassy Skull Snapper got any?

Can I make a plea that we take lots of photos of the gathering (did anyone take any last year?) so we can sell them to coffee-table magazines and fund our self-sufficiency dream/nightmare (delete as appropriate).

Order! Silence one is speaking...

I'm also doing an onion tart, green salad and Grumpy Grey's cidre!
Mary's / Inga's email anyone?
Heather said she can get rabbits.
Children's table and chairs from playgroup shed - Sassy would you be so kind as to collect with trailer? Anymore easily transported garden tables?
Jane - no sorry, no best pitch for you!
You'll probably stay 'til Christmas, given your track record!
Andrew - upload to The Blog, please
And anyone contacted Chris - Foodie Carnivore - Evans yet?
Mrs D Gatherette xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Decorative rambles

Now my dearest darling Vixster that's one hole too many! You crazy wild woman! Could Ridgeon's please be here before noon on Sat - the crane will be arriving arriving at 12.06 hrs precisely! The erection must be up by 15.00hrs - that's when everybody's coming - N'est pas? re the bales - the wheat bales are free of charge - the barley @£1.50 / bale. Which is it to be? And my beautiful, lonely dog is eating the kitchen right now - she's called - MABEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and her lead is on the table! (reminder enough?) love xxxxx

The hunters return from Whitby and look forward to productive evenings out

Great time had by all and I hope some photos will follow.

You should see the one of Clive having battled for hours and single handedly landing what can only be described as a Terrific Turbot!

Much fun was had over a stunning breakfast listening to the fellow fishermen (not us) debate old sailors favourite questions of contemplation on board a boat such as "if a man says something witty & insightful, but there is no woman around to hear it, is he still wrong?" or "why are wrong numbers never engaged" - which tenuously links to congratulating Stewart and Sam on their engagement! Congrats !!! (great link there)

The catch was a superb haul! Well done all and thanks from us all to DG and SG for their organisation of said trip. Photos will follow v soon.

OK so are any happy hunter gatherers around perhaps Friday early eve... and some time on Saturday. There is much to do, so please if you are available over this weekend get in contact.

There was also some mention of collecting and processing KKs grapes?

Look forward to replies and to photos...

Thank you to Vixorange

Once again a sterling invite mustered by Vixorange.


Thank you

bed & breakfast?

http://www.whitbyonline.co.uk/whitby/accommodation/whitby-bed-and-breakfast/

Steve and Ivor

Can someone email me Steve and Ivor emails please... and anyone else not listed as author on the blog ty

Hearties ahoy!

OK all, Shipwreck! (Including Pirates and or similar is set .... "ah haaa, shiver me timbers, pieces of eight" or indeed anything Nautical - is set as the theme for this years gathering ...

Obviously if anyone amputates their lower leg to create a better pirate look - then please can we have the leg marinated until the party - i tend to prefer garlic and chilli with lower leg. (Oh and please shave it before serving - it save picking ones teeth whilst eating)

Toodle pip.

26th September - get your glad rags and tents ready!

Hey all!

The 26th is approaching as fast as a speeding express train filled with cod and driven by wide eyed smacked up crayfish on well oiled tracks?!

erm anyway....

So, with time moving on it's time to get the "gatherers a gathering" please. Who can make a trip to the farm one evening next week - volunteers are required? The mission - to get pigeons and plenty of them and anything else that moves of course.

Other missions that need arranging involve ducks/geese, rabbits, fungi fodder and more...

A final pint would be a good idea to ensure we are on track with our meticulous planning and execution of aforementioned strategies.

Invites will be ready by mid week.

Can anyone also help in the early part of next week getting a very kindly donated crop of grapes. Ivor I think you may have a press? If so, might we be able to use that thus saving veruccad feet of children being used in a wheelie bin as previously planned by the committee. Thanks to Karen K for the grapes - they are grapefully accepted!

Menu - can we add what we are intending to prepare this year so some dishes make the invite?

PLEASE KEEP EYES PEELED for puffballs and the like whilst driving around.

Also please be careful - best not approach any stolen skodas with crayfish at the wheel. You never know what the outcome might be.

Những người đàn ông đã quyết định cho cá. Một lần nữa ...

With some gusto a few hunters had a meet/drinking, the main results of said drink/meeting were as follows.

• We all agreed we were there (after some time)
• We also agreed that some hunters were not - and that was our own fault (being hunters not superb on organisation)
• Those not present were probably hunting anyway and filling their freezers with bounty
• We (from now on including those not physically present) decided to stop
• using bullet
• points
• just for
• the sake of

• it
• We also decided to fish at sea again but try for bigger fish farther off shore (gulp)

We also spent some time debating The Times articles about Crayfish, which coincidentally this weekend (The Times that is) has a superb photo set including a golden bottom from the Bond films! (Noted for you M.McA)

Golden bottoms aside, we progressed to serious matters...

We (the Male folk of Rocklands) need to choose. between..

• obligatory bullet points for no reason
• fishing from Whitby (North Yorkshire - where according to Radio 5 there are Nuclear tests)
• fishing from the South coast (DG has family living locally there to provide a bed before an early start)
• fishing in France (again somewhere to sleep free of charge)
• fishing on our local coast

A few dates were mentioned, any offer of a reminder of any dates mentioned would help me report back... as I can only remember a hazey end of summer time date time thingy.

That's that.... but this is the Whitby boat.. http://www.thechieftain.co.uk/ note: (I can admit to visiting Whitby A&E having fallen off a cliff and onto the beach in 1994 - thus would recommend Whitby and it's hospitals - thus should we encounter problems 120 miles off shore - I can verify superb hospital on return)

This might be last years ride http://www.norfolkseafishing.co.uk/

But this http://www.norfolkfishingtrips.co.uk/ was mentioned as a local alternative...

Though there is some info here on Fishing in Normandy http://normandy.angloinfo.com/af/222/normandy-fishing-and-angling-fresh-and-sea-water.html

Over and out for now...

Okey dokely - time to start talking about 09

Please please can we start suggesting venues and dates. Fellow hunters we also need to think about dates for a sea fishing trip. Whens wheres whys whats whos all need some beer flowing to sensibly arrange.

I await grand responses

Houston ... we have a date

Hiya,

The date is now set for the 28th of March. So lets get a menu shall we.... or perhaps we might just share a pot noodle instead.

All suggestions welcome...