Maybe that was all part of the initial plan to keep us cooped in our little boxes :bluThinki
British bushcraft - a dying art?
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Maybe that was all part of the initial plan to keep us cooped in our little boxes :bluThinki
Why did they tar the geese's feet
Makes perfect sense when thinking about it. They are still used in some places in the mountains on the continent I think, moving cattle up into the mountains' summer pastures. Quite fascinating actually.
Good Point!
We have the Marches, the reivers, the catarans...... I don't think we'd get away with claiming them as just us practicing traditional bushcraft skills though
:evilgrin:What about tracking, Hawkeye? Do you know of continuous tracking skills? what about the ghillies?
WW1 was a huge upheaval in society; the loss of so many young men. I doubt there's a village or town without a cenotaph. By then though the connections between traditional rural skills and urbanisation had fractured for a huge proportion of the population.
cheers,
Toddy
There is one but I can't remember which it was.
The story goes that some of their men were shot as deserters (There was a lot of this due to shell shock and the like.)
Because they weren't allowed to put their names on the memorial the whole village agreed not to have a memorial at all.
Actually Toddy there are villages where amazingly all the men returned from WW1. I think they are called the Thankful Villages. In some cases there are villages, such as Middleton -on-the-Hill in Herefordshire, where all the men returned from WW1 & WW2.
As I understand it it was to give some protection against the hard surfaces of drove roads - the trips could take a few days to complete.
Y'know, that must have been a hurt that never healed
Thankful villages? I like the sound of that
I don't know of any where I live though. Even the cenotaph from the drowned village of Bothwellhaugh was moved, and is still given it's poppy wreaths on Armistice Day. It's quite a salutory lesson to go into some of the areas I work, and there are more names on the cenotaph than there are children in the school
cheers,
Toddy
Why did they tar the geese's feet
Makes perfect sense when thinking about it. They are still used in some places in the mountains on the continent I think, moving cattle up into the mountains' summer pastures. Quite fascinating actually.
They tarred the feet Joel, so they could make the walk to London,if they didn't they wouldn't make it.
Bernie
As Toddy said earlier,
" The change between being a rural society to an urbanised society happened within two generations here. An awful lot of knowledge was just no longer relevant or important. "
Mechanisation was the major factor in the mass movement of people from the countryside to the towns and cities.
When they moved to work in the mills and factories they left behind the skills and traditions of a rural way of life.
The introduction of the tractor lead to the demise of the use of horses and also the tradition and lifestyle of those who worked with them. Including the Ploughmen - the original horse whisperers.
Long Stride
" The change between being a rural society to an urbanised society happened within two generations here. An awful lot of knowledge was just no longer relevant or important. "
Mechanisation was the major factor in the mass movement of people from the countryside to the towns and cities.
When they moved to work in the mills and factories they left behind the skills and traditions of a rural way of life.
The introduction of the tractor lead to the demise of the use of horses and also the tradition and lifestyle of those who worked with them. Including the Ploughmen - the original horse whisperers.
Long Stride
When people invoke Godwins Law, a thread has already gone too far overboard. Nobody should compare the murder of 10 million people to the right to hunt this animal or that animal with this weapon or that weapon. Sorry BCUK, Ive been here 2 days and I'm disappointed.
EdS
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
this a bit heated.
For the record the biggest demo was agains the Iraq war not the anti huntinglaws
Now back on topic:
home brew for a start - cider a particualr British brew.
Hedging and coppicing linked to domestic tree/wood/shrub products ie brooms.
Jam. The WI can not be wrong
For the record the biggest demo was agains the Iraq war not the anti huntinglaws
Now back on topic:
home brew for a start - cider a particualr British brew.
Hedging and coppicing linked to domestic tree/wood/shrub products ie brooms.
Jam. The WI can not be wrong
Yes back to the thread topic:
Lost British bushcraft doesnt just have to be typical things we might associate with the subject such as foods and alike, I think we often don't realise how much Folk tradition we have lost in this country. Before the last century for instance, child birth was done at home usually midwifed by a local woman, not unlike the many indigenous peoples from other parts of the globe. people worked locally, usually specialising in single trades, cottage business or roles whereas todays society sees people who stick to one specialised subject losing out to those who are jacks of all trades. I come from a long long history of peasant weavers, ending with my grandparents. Weaving is a skill dating back to hunter gatherer times, though it changed over the years, it has always been present.
We have also lost a lot of small local knowledge - My mother said as a young woman (and Im giving a bit away here about my family) her grandmother used to brew her `Pennyroyal` on a few occasions, which was a herb that induced early abortion, like the morning afterpill. Its actually deadly if done wrong. She remarked her dad came in once and sniffed the tea and said "ahh that herbal brew, I remember that smell from somewhere!" Apparently the women never told the men what it did, but I suspect its use went much beyond my great grandma's time and a far wider demographic than just my family. Women have their secrets!
Lost British bushcraft doesnt just have to be typical things we might associate with the subject such as foods and alike, I think we often don't realise how much Folk tradition we have lost in this country. Before the last century for instance, child birth was done at home usually midwifed by a local woman, not unlike the many indigenous peoples from other parts of the globe. people worked locally, usually specialising in single trades, cottage business or roles whereas todays society sees people who stick to one specialised subject losing out to those who are jacks of all trades. I come from a long long history of peasant weavers, ending with my grandparents. Weaving is a skill dating back to hunter gatherer times, though it changed over the years, it has always been present.
We have also lost a lot of small local knowledge - My mother said as a young woman (and Im giving a bit away here about my family) her grandmother used to brew her `Pennyroyal` on a few occasions, which was a herb that induced early abortion, like the morning afterpill. Its actually deadly if done wrong. She remarked her dad came in once and sniffed the tea and said "ahh that herbal brew, I remember that smell from somewhere!" Apparently the women never told the men what it did, but I suspect its use went much beyond my great grandma's time and a far wider demographic than just my family. Women have their secrets!
I'm not surprised, I've been here a lot longer and I'm very disappointed.
Please don't take it as an example of usual behaviour.
As for ancient indigenous skills, that is something my work is very involved with, but the problem is always at which point do you draw the line and say something is native.
Before new ageism?
___________________________________________________________
Before post war immigration?
___________________________________________________________
Before the slave trade?
___________________________________________________________
Before the Norman conquest?
___________________________________________________________
How about the Viking and Saxon settlements?
___________________________________________________________
Or the Roman invasion?
___________________________________________________________
We could discuss "Celts" and Beaker people till the cows come home.
___________________________________________________________
Or Mesolithic post glacial colonisation?
___________________________________________________________
Heck, what about the Neanderthals?
___________________________________________________________
In my opinion British is about being all of these.
It is precisely this rich genetic and cultural soup that makes this nation the treasure it is.
Ever changing yes - but let us please hold onto what we have and let it change by being added to!
If we have practices legislated out of use we will never regain them.
They preserve ancient buildings but ban ancient traditions (hunting with bows, hunting with dogs, trapping, picking wild flowers/herbs etc etc....)
The more that is banned the poorer our Bushcraft will be.
I do not hunt with dogs or bows, trap (or even shoot much these days) but if more than these things get banned then I will never have the oportunity to try those ancient skills either, nor will the next generation and our heritage will be the poorer for it.
And people PLEASE! It is the Welsh Longbow........
If we have practices legislated out of use we will never regain them.
They preserve ancient buildings but ban ancient traditions (hunting with bows, hunting with dogs, trapping, picking wild flowers/herbs etc etc....)
The more that is banned the poorer our Bushcraft will be.
I do not hunt with dogs or bows, trap (or even shoot much these days) but if more than these things get banned then I will never have the oportunity to try those ancient skills either, nor will the next generation and our heritage will be the poorer for it.
And people PLEASE! It is the Welsh Longbow........
Ever changing yes - but let us please hold onto what we have and let it change by being added to!
If we have practices legislated out of use we will never regain them.
They preserve ancient buildings but ban ancient traditions (hunting with bows, hunting with dogs, trapping, picking wild flowers/herbs etc etc....)
The more that is banned the poorer our Bushcraft will be.
I do not hunt with dogs or bows, trap (or even shoot much these days) but if more than these things get banned then I will never have the oportunity to try those ancient skills either, nor will the next generation and our heritage will be the poorer for it.
And people PLEASE! It is the Welsh Longbow........
Very well said John.
Bernie
Whilst I can appreciate the desire to retain some folk tradition this is one practice I do not have a problem with having received some modernisation. Were it not for the wonders of modern medicine and todays midwifery skills I would have lost both my wife and son.
Welsh longbow - Sorry! We English do tend to hijack other peoples ideas etc. and call them our own!
Waylander - Very ood point about what can be considered native. The same argument rages in the botanical world as to what plants can be considered native to Britain.
I think that what is emerging is that although there may not be anything specifically British in bushcraft, there are a lot of regional variations and associated traditions. These traditions should be encouraged and practiced where possible. So just because somebody on a course / TV etc. says it can be done this way it doesn't mean that Old Uncle Tom's way of doing it is wrong.
Waylander - Very ood point about what can be considered native. The same argument rages in the botanical world as to what plants can be considered native to Britain.
I think that what is emerging is that although there may not be anything specifically British in bushcraft, there are a lot of regional variations and associated traditions. These traditions should be encouraged and practiced where possible. So just because somebody on a course / TV etc. says it can be done this way it doesn't mean that Old Uncle Tom's way of doing it is wrong.
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