Rat's Teeth Anyone?

Yesterday morning I went out to gather a few late variety Chestnuts (Montagne), that I particularly enjoy. Unlike most Chestnuts they completely soften after about 8/10 mins boiling. Delicious.

Whilst out, I also found these Dents de Rat mushrooms. Also known here as Pieds de Biche, they are mildly flavoured, slightly sweet, but very substantial. We tend to use them in stews where they absorb the more important flavours around them. I shall cook them with a large bacon joint with carrots, butter beans, spuds, etc.

With these mushrooms, when you find one, you usually find a bag-full. They can grow in long lines of 20 metres or more, so well worth scratching around. Called The Hedgehog Mushroom in the UK, it's a good one to learn to identify, as, other than the Saffron Milk Cap, there isn't much else around at this time of year.

I have to add that the Dents de Rat is one of Lady Magnon's real favourites. She accompanied me on another forage yesterday afternoon, and we returned with loads.

My Neck of the Autumn Woods.

OK. I promise that this will be my final mention of AUTUMN. But just look at what's no more than 50 metres from my front door.

I just popped out for a spot of early morning foraging (see tomorrow), and was simply amazed by the beauty of it all.

My childhood was spent in the company of Rupert Bear, in and around the woods of his Nutwood village, and these scenes remind me of there. I almost expect Rupert and his chums to appear at any moment.

The Sunday Moan: Leave Them Alone!

I become totally incensed by needlessly attaching tracking devices, or numbers, onto wild animals. This is a picture of some effing university scientist 'tagging' a whale shark.

I have two questions. Why do these people think it so necessary to go around tagging every wild creature they come across? And secondly, who gives them the effing permission to do so?

Of course I can appreciate the desire to understand certain elements of migration, breeding patterns, and species quantities, but on the principal that wild animals either belong to no-one or to everyone, how come MY or YOUR permission has never been sought for tag-requiring-studies?

Why can't we just leave wild animals alone, it's the human intervention that does them so much harm. Our Zoos seem to be filled with named, tagged, and numbered endangered species; all there for 'conservation purposes'. A few years back some zoo-bred wolves and bears were 're-introduced into the wild', onto the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain (at huge expense). These human-trusting creatures survive by eating sheep, so the local farmers shot them. So much for 'zoological conservation'.

Samhain.

Samhain, All Saints, Toussaint, Halloween, October 31st. Call it what you will, it's the ancient Pagan celebration of the end of harvest time, and of the end of summer.

Some dress-up in witch, ghost, or skeleton costumes. Some use it as an opportunity to hone their blackmailing skills (give us some sweets or we'll smash your windows). And some (ahem) try to ignore its very existance, by becoming deaf to the door bell.

Here in France, Toussaint is the time for chrysanthemums. These wretched plants are EVERYWHERE. I'm not even sure if it isn't obligatory to purchase them. Graveyards become carpeted with thousands of potted plants, and their foul smell and horrendous colours invade every supermarket, petrol station forecourt, and roadside lay-by.

Toussaint used to be the time when I quit France for the winter; prefering the much more sedate English celebrations of Guy Fawkes Night (Nov 5). In Sussex, we burn effigies of Guido (Guy Fawkes) himself, The Pope, and usually a most-hated politician or celeb, atop huge bonfires. All accompanied by wonderfully dangerous processions and firework displays.

If Pope burning sounds like your sort of entertainment, you can glean more info about Guy Fawkes Night in Sussex (see picture above) on the web. Google 'Lewes Bonfire Night'. You might be surprised by what we get up to.

Self Portrait No 2 as Student.

Some time back I posted another, quite similar, student-days self portrait (Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man; 8th June 2010), done when I must have been about 22/23.

This one, which I probably painted just days later, I'd almost forgotten about. It's been sitting on a top shelf in the studio gathering cobwebs and cracking-up for years. I think a twelfth generation of mice are still in residence behind it. I couldn't get it down to take the photo, so that's why the elongation is as such; the blue bit bottom right is a fly spray thingy that just got in the way, nothing to do with the picture.

There must be thousands of such pictures stuffed away in dusty lofts, all painted by ex-young-high-minded-aspiring-student-artists.

I wonder what I was thinking about; what my ambitions were? I do remember what was mostly on my mind in those days, but that's another story....

The Pinnacle of Success.

Photo courtesy of Carol Miers.

The roof looks as if it's finished; but, alas, it's not. It's just that I'm so pleased to have positioned the pinnacle that I thought I'd post this picture.

Now then Cro, back up that ladder and finish the back!!

Little Britain - Press Conference Sir Norman Fry number 2 of 3.

I always manage to end up with a blank space when I post anything from You Tube. Just scroll down... It's there, I promise.

I need a little laughter in my life at the moment, so here is some English comedy at it's best. Sir Norman Fry (David Walliams) could be any one of dozens of our 'real-life' politicians. Matt Lucas is perfect in the role of his all-knowing, all-forgiving (ahem), wife.

British politics is such fun; it's filled with characters like Sir Norman Fry, and we just can't wait for the next juicy scandal to come along. Talking of which, there should be another one quite soon!