Boatmen's Food

[Tam & Di]

Phylis's tart recipe prompted me to look at this category and contribute, but I suppose it might also have gone into History and Heritage.

 

Working boatman's fare, if not fish and chips, tended to be stuff that was cheap and could be left simmering on the range, though I liked the idea I just saw in one recent posting here of using the ash pan to roast stuff wrapped in tin foil. One born-&-bred boating family I know would occasionally take "enthusiasts" with them on trips in the 60s when they were a-willow-wrenning. Being sly and rather mean they would feed the "anorak" on bred and dripping or bread and cheese, telling him that was what they always ate. Then when they had packed him off into the motor's cabin for the night they would quickly cook their own proper meal!

 

Tom Humphries found another use for his cheese ration and milk (evaporated, of course) when instructing a particular unhandy trainee during the war. He eventually gave up on telling her to steer a bit to the left or a bit to the right - he placed the cheese on one side of the slide and the milk on the other and told her to steer to the milk or steer to the cheese instead. She got on fine after that, apparently. We were also regaled with stories of how to poach ducks and pheasant, but the duck ones in particular are probably not appropriate for a family forum in these more politically correct times. We ourselves did work to a wharf where we tied beneath the over hanging gantry roof of a grain silo. I was able to lie in the empty hold and shoot an occasional pigeon directly above me with my air rifle - grain-fed pigeon is very tasty, and we didn't even have to walk anywhere to pick it up. Di is rather more pragmatic now, but at the time she would be alternately egging me on with "Quick, shoot one" and "Oh, no!, no! Don't shoot it!". Mind you, she was always very pleased when I did. This was next to Cadbury's factory on the Berkeley ship canal where we could get bags full of broken biscuits for free too - our kids loved going there.

 

A handful of our own recipes and reminiscences from that period, plus writings on our current cruising grounds, can be found on Di's website http://www.foodieafloat.com

Edited January 19, 2011 by Tam & Di

[Speedwheel]

Does it involve some greasy back fat and a piece of string?

[canaldrifter]

Phylis's tart recipe ....

 

I read that as 'Phylis's tart comment' for a moment.

 

Tone

 

Edited to make clear to certain site crew that this is a joke, not a serious comment, hence the smilie, I might add.

Edited January 19, 2011 by canaldrifter

[Tam & Di]

Does it involve some greasy back fat and a piece of string?

 

 

I'm afraid so - and large fish hook and house brick.