Sunday 9 February 2014

request

My request this morning was to do a happy post, because happy posts make someone sad but the grim story makes them angry.

Well, yesterday I did a post about my first Battle of Flowers, which was a happy-ish post.
I wonder what to do today?

Low Water Fishing?

Low Water Fishing is done at low tide on a spring tide.
You follow the tide out, because Jersey tides are big and swift, and you want to fish as far out as you can, before the tide comes racing back in, it is amazing to actually watch the tide come back and approach you as you work, and you have to have a compass with you in case fog comes in suddenly too, which can be very dangerous.
You can end up wandering in fog and caught by the tide.

It tended to be cold and windy out there, a long way from the sea wall, a very long way, the spring tide goes out very far and we could walk out almost to the LeBreton rocks.

We would look for Razorfish holes, and then we would scoop them, some people apparently use scoops but we used our hands, I was shown how to ease the razorfish out of it's hole, as they can be very good at escaping and digging down.
I was also shown the salt method, which is very easy, pour salt down the hole and they pop out, I was told that this was a waste of salt and that the scoop method was the real technique.

So, we would collect the Razorfish in a canvas bag, and we would look for mussels and also just look under rocks to see what was about, crabs, lobsters and blenny.
It was such fun, out there in the cold wind, looking and just being out there where people rarely ventured, no tourists ever went out there.

When we had got enough razorfish and mussels, we would go home and cook these things with pasta, and have a lovely meal, with a few grains of sand included :)


8 comments:

  1. Lovely post, thank you.

    I can almost smell it.

    Your happy posts make me sad for what you have lost.

    Your other posts make me angry for what they have done to you.

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  2. aww! :) I never thought the day would come that people actually heard and knew some of my story, until last year, everywhere I looked and asked for help, I was met with denial, blame, and the record that the diocese got me being used against me, I have been treated as mad and bad, and even now, I have barely shared my story.
    One of the good things that has come of the past year's events is, I know I am better off not being in Jersey, because the treatment of the poor and vulnerable there is so awful.

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  3. I agree with Polo and am glad you have some happy memories. I hope the weather isn't too awful where you are?

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  4. Hi Emma, thank you. The weather here is pretty bad, the wind and water is doing some damage, we are just lucky that we live atop the hill and wont flood, but I am also lucky to be off the streets in this weather.

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  5. That was lovely. Really enjoyed that. I know you have many unhappy memories, but please share some of these very happy ones. I used to go razor fishing when I was young using salt just as you describe, and it brought it all back for me.

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  6. Hi Tony. It's good to hear from you. The happy posts certainly seem popular, I hope no-one minds that the purpose of the blog is really to share my side of the bad things, but I am happy to do some happier posts too.
    Yes, I miss razor fishing, I guess I will have to do as my old friend said he would do and check the tides and come back to Jersey when there is a spring tide so I can go razor fishing :)
    I was told not to waste salt, just to scoop the fish, there's a technique to doing that by hand though, they are good at escape! :)
    Where did you razor fish?

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  7. I used to go razor fishing down at St Aubin's Bay, near the Harbour and Fort. Sometimes there were cockles there as well.

    More happy posts may well draw people to your site, and when you share the bad things, they will notice as they stand out more. One reason I make my blog a mix of all kinds of things. Then when I make a serious point, people notice because it stands out like a bright flower.

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  8. Thank Tony. We used to fish at Grev d'Azette, walking out from the slipway.
    I see what you mean about happy memories.
    I need to share the bad because it is the only way of telling my story, but people seem to like the happier posts :)

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