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  1. boatman

    Quite wisky

    Sort of hand craft related. In the kitchen but simplifying as I have given up the electric whIsk in favour of a fork or a very basic hand whisk. Makes better omelettes and batter so must consider for pancakes et al in the open. I think it was Jack Cox in his books on camping that admired the...
  2. boatman

    Traveller's food old style

    At the South-West Reenactment Market, Stretcholt, near Bridgewater today I tried the sort of food our ancestors ate. The rosemary custard tart and the appl pie were great but what will be the basis of my marching rations was exceptional. Prepared by Piero Gallico The Traveller's Pack was simple...
  3. boatman

    Not a lot

    Went up to our wood today. Needed hazel for our reconstruction of a Bronze Age coracle. Cut some that I hope will do and spent the rest of the time just sitting reading and listening. Cold day with a little rain but terrific being there. Pleasant chat with a couple of woodland farmers. They...
  4. boatman

    Go A Viking in British Columbie?

    Opportunity to live in an off grid out of this time world. A "Viking " village to be established in British Columbia.I have my doubts about how successful it will be but and interesting experiment. http://algard.simdif.com/images/thumbs/sd-20170114-014735.jpg?1484857573...
  5. boatman

    Tramping, the gentle art

    Just rediscovered a gem of a book I knew of years ago. Published in 1927, The Gentle Art of Tramping by Graham Stephen, is both an expression of the joys of the open road and a description of the world that vanished in depression and war. As an introduction try another book, one of snatches from...
  6. boatman

    A great day in our wood with our Medieval Combat group

    What could be better, decent weather, bows, swords and food along with the fun of a group of friends being silly? I laid on a couple of animal faced foam targets and our 3D deer. Some were experienced archers and sone beginners but by the end of the day all were hitting what the aimed at. Mixed...
  7. boatman

    It's only a buzzard and pheasants are expensive

    Justification please for this by shooters and supporters of landowners. https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/natural-england-issues-licence-to-kill-buzzards-to-protect-pheasants/ What is so stupid is that if there is an empty Buzzard friendly (apart from gamekeepers)...
  8. boatman

    Helping to create a fire striker

    Reading Wayland's excellent review of a new fire starter kit reminded of a few years ago when we were doing a prehistoric display at Trelissick Gardens, Cornwall. Among other exhibitors was a blacksmith. He had made some fire steels and a purchaser wanted to test them so they asked for us to...
  9. boatman

    Forests and how we have treated them, a man made landscape.

    Nice video on the historical use of woods and the land in the past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVPUFMwm73Y
  10. boatman

    Lay bag

    Forgive me if these have been mentioned before but the Lay Bag seems interesting. Five second inflation, well off the ground and lightweight. Seems promising. I did even wonder if one could use or adapt one as a mattress and a form of pack raft. https://en.laybag.com/
  11. boatman

    The system works for swords

    A good news story. One of the members of our reenactment, medieval combat group, was walking through Penzance the other night with his sword carrier over his back with two hilts poking out. A police car went by a couple of times and then he was stopped, politely, by a constable. Being...
  12. boatman

    Traces of our Johnny Appleseeds

    A friend of ours who lived in a woodland cottage for years also spent some time touring around Britain on her motorbike. One of her food sources were the wild apple trees seeded from discarded apple cores, presumably. She is plotting the location of such apple trees from, at first, London to...
  13. boatman

    A Pilgrim's sleeping bag

    Some will have followed a modern Pilgrim's journey, He has now assisted in the development of a waterproof sleeping bag that could be massiveley useful to the rough sleeper and may be available to the recreational out door sleeper eventually. His blog here...
  14. boatman

    Last Eel Man

    Maybe should have been in Lovely Grub or elsewhere but this report is of a tragedy. The end of a way of life and a tradition and the loss of knowledge. https://www.rt.com/news/329598-last-eel-catcher-uk/
  15. boatman

    The other Georgian Coat

    In 1811 Sir John Throckmorton bet that he could have wool shorn, processed and made into a coat in one day. He succeeded and sat down to dine wearing it that night. Slightly meanly, the sheep providing the wool were roasted for that dinner...
  16. boatman

    Just because I like it, Archery

    If you can hear this call, down the avenues of time; if you can smell the dank forest incense and your hand itches to draw a cloth yard shaft across a sturdy bow,then you are one of the immortals. In you we have the heart of a true archer. To you, I hereby bequeath all the yew trees of this good...
  17. boatman

    History and its relevance to bushcraft

    Recent discussion on Magna Carta etc reminded me that knowing, even in outline, some history can add to the pleasure of a trip.Of course one can just go out into the woods and fields and do camping and crafty things but some sense of history and an awareness of how where you are came to be can...
  18. boatman

    Painful way to improve archery

    Despite my ongoing left shoulder problem I could not resist getting back into shooting arrows. I found that having to compensate and concentrate on each shot actually did wonders for accuracy. Had used very light bow at our have a go at a local estates open weekend quite successfully and...
  19. boatman

    Fear of Farming

    Book I have just ordered covers some of the topics we have discussed in terms of re-wilding and whether agriculture was a mistake. "The environmental crisis is one of the most pressing concerns to face the population of the world today. The debate centres on the way in which our current...
  20. boatman

    An unfortunate weekend

    Last Thursday started a three day camp in our wood. As we were planning to do stuff I had chairs and a table and we used tents. Wood is lovely at moment and we had pleasant words with our farmer neighbours who like to see owners caring for the wood. Lot of archery against animal face targets...