NATURES BOUNTY, HANDLINE CAUGHT MACKEREL, A SUSTAINABLE FISHERY THAT BENEFITS MANY AT VIRTUALLY NO ENVIRONMENTAL COST, A PRIME EXAMPLE OF CORNISH FOOD PRODUCTION AT ITS BEST.
Many years ago the late Rev. J Taylor,Senr., wrote the following lines upon the mantel-piece of a friends house in Redruth:
“Cornwall ! thou barren spot of ground where scarecely aught but rocks and furze are found. Thy produce won’t supply thy sons with bread, nor wood for coffins for them, when thy’re dead.”
Under this, a clever but unknown wit wrote-
“Cornwall ! thou wealthy spot of ground where richest ores in shining heaps are found, thy very dust is gold-thy dross is tin, thy riches, not without, are found within.”
I am sure that currently our riches lurk within as all around us seems, daily, to deteriorate and turn to dust, our salvation will be in our own hands. How can we fail when the land and sea around us is capable of producing such bounty if allowed to. Whatever happens food will always be wanted and the Cornish are past masters at producing the very best.
THE PRODUCE SHOW, A SHOWCASE OF THE BEST OUR FARMERS CAN OFFER.
A measure of the state we are in was graphically articulated by the Chairman of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee at its recent quarterly meeting. David Muirhead MBE is a solicitor who also has extensive practical experience of Cornwalls artisinal fisheries. He is not given to dramatic outbursts or gestures, for years he has quietly toiled away for the good of the industry both at local and national level. When he is reduced to expressing his pent up frustrations and exasperation with recent fisheries management policy describing it as “beaurocratic crap” someone further up the food chain really ought to sit up, listen and pay attention.
In the midst of the current turmoil the scandal of MP’s expenses continues to erupt spectacularly when it is revealed that the Home Secretary’s husband had the temerity to order “adult entertainment” and claim the cost on her expenses. Whoa! hold hard there, its a free country, if he wants to experience “adult entertainment” he is quite naturally perfectly at liberty to do so but most certainly not at the expense of long suffering taxpayers.
LONGHORN CATTLE REARED BY A TRADITIONAL FARM BUTCHERY NEAR TRURO, IF ONLY POLITICIANS AND BEAUROCRATS PRODUCED SUCH CONSISTENT QUALITY.
This bizarre episode is symtomatic of the skewed priorities of many who orbit around the top of the political tree seemingly oblivious to the outrage they quite rightly generate. Currently we as a nation seem to be staggering from one monumental “balls up” to the next as those who presume to govern us seem to have collectively lost the plot.
Back at local level our new Unitary Council will be a reality very soon, given the shake up that appears to be going on behind the scenes let us hope that it will be a very successful organisation, any less is unthinkable but the recent past will nonetheless be hard to beat as an example of how not to do things.
Let us all wish Cornwall Council well as it launches into difficult dangerous times, hopefully the new start will set Cornwall on a better path than the one we have been travelling for the past several years.
A CORNISH LOBSTER LIVING DANGEROUSLY, IF IT GOES IN THERE IT WILL CERTAINLY END UP IN “HOT WATER” BUT SHELLFISH ARE A STAPLE OF THE LOCAL RESTAURANT TRADE.
