Ray Mears Goes Walkabout - Your Views

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May 12, 2007
1,663
1
68
Derby, UK
www.berax.co.uk
I'd like to see him doing a camp-craft and wild food series in the UK. Stick him in an old series III, dragging a trailer round. Different spot for each episode. Could have him looking at camp-craft skills, old poachers stuff, local forraging knowledge etc, all from the comfort of a howling moon trailer tent.

Can't have him trying to copy are Hugh.

Bernie
 

Nightwalker

Native
Sep 18, 2006
1,206
2
38
Cornwall, UK.
www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk
Well I didnt expect it to get that off topic! :eek: But glad we're getting back on track. Unfortunatly I got quater way through my recording of the third episode and the signal dropped out. :( By the sounds of comments a lot of you would be saying thats not a bad thing!? :rolleyes: Still, I will watch it again to check it out.

One question: During the episode with the BushTucker Man Ray showed him some Cramp balls (fungi), Ray said the latin name for this fungi, he said something like 'Genus Concentrica'. Now I dont know that many Latin names for things, but there was one I thought I was sure about; Daldinia Concentrica is that not the latin-name for the cramp-ball/King Alfred's Cakes Fungi? Is there more than one latin name for this fungi perhaps?

I always enjoy seeing a new Mears show hit the box, however I must admit I have been a little disappointed, it hasnt kept me as interested and captivated as most of his previous shows. That is just my personal preference, I understand that he is putting a major focus onto History and the paths of people from the past, I'll still watch, its still entertaining and educating in places. As you can probably guess im more interested in bushcraft skills, tricks & nature in general than certain parts of history.

With all the past straying comments about Ray & Woodlore its been very tempting to post, taking sides and expressing views, but I'll try not to wonder off topic.

What I will say is that I highly respect the man that he his, the work he has done and his ethics to life.
 

firecrest

Full Member
Mar 16, 2008
2,496
4
uk
Well I don't think the subject has exhausted itself, its simply that its being approached from the same angles. For instance the survival of the 16 year old girl was reminiscent of his earlier survival series tracking the lives of individuals. Only he didnt go into very much detail, interviewing only one person about her and not really recreating the setting or atmosphere of her story like in his Survival series.
There was a series on channel 5 recently interviewing a different person/group each week of people who had been in survival situations, from mountains, sea and a beach in mexico. That series was great! It was great because it was done as a story with a acting and strong narration.

And survival stories aside, I think there is plenty of subjects people could tackle. We need not keep pestering poor old Ray anyway, I spend more time watching things on Youtube than on tv, which is more informative (I mean so long as Im watching bushcraft, not sneezing pandas and stuff!) There is other people out there can do these things as well.
Id love to see a TV presenter, or random person off youtube go and show us an entire trip from start to finish, like a trek across the appylachians like bill bryson did, or Euan Mcgregor and Charlie Sheen biking though africa. - It was interesting because we got to see the whole thing, their ups and downs, people they met, mood swings and beautiful scenery slowly changing as they crossed a continent.
 

firecrest

Full Member
Mar 16, 2008
2,496
4
uk
anyway, if we want to have a field day about whats crap on TV, big brother is on at 10. good lord I hate that with avengance, my parents have it on constantly.
 

Zammo

Settler
Jul 29, 2006
927
2
48
London
Maybe thats the problem Ray has exhausted Bushcraft and needs to approach it from a different angle to keep it fresh. What that would be though is the million dollar question...
 

swagman

Nomad
Aug 14, 2006
262
1
56
Tasmania
Dose Ray cover the sad afect that europeins settling in oz have had on the indigenous
people?

ie the problems with alcohol and crime.

And dose anyone agree that although exploring the world had to happen we have done
alot of damage to the other cultures we admire.

Other than the tribe found the other day i cant think of any tribes that now live
without outside influence.
 

crazydave

Settler
Aug 25, 2006
858
1
54
Gloucester
One question: During the episode with the BushTucker Man Ray showed him some Cramp balls (fungi), Ray said the latin name for this fungi, he said something like 'Genus Concentrica'. Now I dont know that many Latin names for things, but there was one I thought I was sure about; Daldinia Concentrica is that not the latin-name for the cramp-ball/King Alfred's Cakes Fungi? Is there more than one latin name for this fungi perhaps?

genus is just the term for the group of concentrica fungi daldina is the specific one for king alfred cakes what he was pointing out was that the fungi was similar in pattern to a uk one but didn't know the local name for it if it was different. :)
 

Martyn

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 7, 2003
5,252
33
58
staffordshire
www.britishblades.com
Yeah, it's a trwo-part heirarchical system of genus and species. Species is the lowest "rank" in the heirarchy. For example we are Homo sapiens. That means we belong to the genus Homo, and we are the species sapiens. There is also Homo neanderthalis. Neaderthalis and sapiens are two different species, but they are related and are both of the genus Homo. The genus is often simply written at the capital followed by a full stop and is usually itallicised. For example H.sapiens or H.neanderthalis. The bacteria E. coli is actually Escherichia coli.

In the above example of Daldinia concentrica (D. concentrica), the genus is actually Daldinia and the species is concentrica. So Ray was wrong. The fungus was of the genus Daldinia, or more correctly, a Daldinia sp. (an unknnown species of the Daldinia genus).
:)
 

BorderReiver

Full Member
Mar 31, 2004
2,693
16
Norfolk U.K.
Maybe thats the problem Ray has exhausted Bushcraft and needs to approach it from a different angle to keep it fresh. What that would be though is the million dollar question...


I don't think Ray has exhausted the possibilities Zammo. The problem with TV is that you have to get your ideas past the producers and they are looking for viewing numbers.

There are a lot of excellent suggestions in this thread for really good bushy programs but we are a specialist minority and the general populace would not be attracted.

I enjoyed the third program, it was different from the first two but still pleasant to watch.
 

durulz

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 9, 2008
1,755
1
Elsewhere
Yeah, I'd agree with an earlier post - what I want to see is Ray in the British Isles. That's something I can relate to and see how he uses his skills in an environment I understand. I want to see where he goes, what he's doing, what he can do and what I could do because of it.
The Aboriginal/Australia thing is getting a bit thin now. Ditto African tribes.
 

firecrest

Full Member
Mar 16, 2008
2,496
4
uk
Wouldn't it be great to see Ray do a programe where he takes politicians to live in the british wilderness to increase their awareness of what little we have left?
 

BorderReiver

Full Member
Mar 31, 2004
2,693
16
Norfolk U.K.
Yeah, I'd agree with an earlier post - what I want to see is Ray in the British Isles. That's something I can relate to and see how he uses his skills in an environment I understand. I want to see where he goes, what he's doing, what he can do and what I could do because of it.
The Aboriginal/Australia thing is getting a bit thin now. Ditto African tribes.


I think RM's main interest is in hunter gatherer societies and there aren't any left in the British Isles.;)
 
May 12, 2007
1,663
1
68
Derby, UK
www.berax.co.uk
Yes, a lot of us do but not in the "old ways" and not to survive.

We have lost a lot of skills and RM is trying to find and record as many skills as possible before they are lost for ever.

Well why dosent he do a programme comparing the way some of us hunt and gather and grow are own today and see how different it is from then,many of us can track and shoot a deer,some can with a bow instead of a rifle,but unfortuantly bow hunting is illegal,a lot of us still have the hunter gatherer skills.

Bernie
 

durulz

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 9, 2008
1,755
1
Elsewhere
Border Reiver - 'I think RM's main interest is in hunter gatherer societies and there aren't any left in the British Isles.'

I don't know. You should see Medway on a Friday or Saturday night. That's pretty feral.
 

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