K is for celebration day .. this is my 600th post .. and I sincerely hope someone somewhere, and a few!, will kick me over the 500 follower mark - I've been waiting oh so patiently ... now I'm impatient! ...
Kelp forests are the holdfasts of the seas ... so called as their gnarled, root-like structures of large brown seaweeds hang on tightly to rock.
Kelp forests are the holdfasts of the seas ... so called as their gnarled, root-like structures of large brown seaweeds hang on tightly to rock.
 |
| Kelp covered rocks |
Unlike
true roots, the rootlets of a holdfast do
not take up water or nutrients – these are absorbed through the whole surface
of the seaweed.
The leathery
fronds and tough holdfasts keep off
the sun and lessen the force of waves and winds ... while numerous small plants
and shore animals are protected by these great sheaves of waving kelp. Kelp is also excellent for gardeners ... we used to bring home bucket-loads from the bays in St Ives for our grandmother's garden ...
 |
| Depiction of a "Kettle" |
“Kettles”
or Fish Weirs used to catch fish since the early aeons of man and his habitat
... the monks and kitchen overseers to the early large properties would have
created fish weirs as a fish larder on tap ... down at the shoreside ...
 |
| Remains of an ancient Stone Fish Weir trap in the Menai Straits, Wales |
 |
| iphone shot of an illustration of Bathing Machines - early 1800s on Newquay western beach, Conwall |
Then we
have K for Kulture ... how the
pursuits of swimming have changed on our shorelines in the last few hundred
years ...
Those
early days when there were separate areas for women and men, where this was not
possible ... bathing machines became de
rigeur ... so some examples of what life could be like ...
 |
| Ilfracombe - with various sheltered coves |
In 1810
a local Ilfracombe entrepreneur saw the potential of the two sheltered coves to
be used separately by the ladies and gentlemen.
 |
| "Mermaids" |
The "Mermaids" at Brighton swim behind their bathing machines - this engraving by William Heath, c 1829
 |
| Family beach gathering |
A family visiting the seaside with canvas beach tents for convenience - mid 1920s
Girls' Crystal Annual - the 1954 Kulture style ..
 |
| Belly Boarding |
Dressed to win the Belly Board Surfing Championships in 2009
 |
| The kelp ladies ... |
Getting 'kelped' up ... having fun down at the beach ...
That is
K for Kelp, Kelp Kouture, “Kettles” and Kulture
changes ... keeping kitted out in the best fishy way possible ... from Aspects of British Coasts ...
Hilary
Melton-Butcher
Positive
Letters Inspirational Stories
44 comments:
Hi everyone .. kicked over to 500 and 600th post .. a Kay of a good day! Thanks to Viola/Mary of Homeless Chronicles in Tampa .. a new member of the A-Z team ..
http://homelesschroniclesintampa.blogspot.co.uk/ lots of wonderful zeroes today for all you heroes and heroines ... thanks so much for all the support!! Happy Weekend - Hilary
Congrats on those 500 followers and 600 posts is pretty good going, well done. It's amazing how the seaside has changed - separate areas for men and women and those wonderful bathing suits. When I visit the beach now most people seem to be in wetsuits! Happy weekend :)
Bathing machines, what a palava :). The family beach gathering looks like they're about to go on safari or something :)
Tasha
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Congrats to your numbers.... the 600 posts and 500 followers. Your posts always glow with new information for me. Here's to 600 more.
I wish I had some of that kelp for my garden right now. I'm digging up new gardens and revisiting the old and they need fertilizer.
Families have always loved to spend time at the seaside. There is something positive about that salt air.
Onward and upwards! I always enjoy your posts Hilary, they are really insightful and informative. I never knew kelp was good for the garden, need to get me some.:)
Congratulations on 600 posts and 500 followers! I can't wait to hit 500 myself :-)
I've never seen an actual bathing machine. How do they work - isn't it constricting to swim inside one of those contraptions?
Congratulations allround.
I would love to frolic by the sea and I’d love to gather kelp for my garden. I never knew that it is good as a mulch, I’d have thought there was too much salt in it. How wrong can you be.
Kulture is another new one to me. Must look it up.
Congratulations Hilary - I'm pleased to be in the 500.
Oh where did you find that 1800s illustration of Newquay beach?
Hi Hillary,
Congrats!!
Great Going 600 with the 500 !
Amazing!
Keep it up
Good wishes
May this reach soon to a 1000 :-)
May you have a blessed weekend
~ Phil
Congrats on your 600th post! I've also just become a follower. I think that makes me 501 so yay!!
Interesting post today by the way. I really am learning a lot.
Oh and p.s. my join this site button is working again if you are still interested. =D
LittleCely from LittleCely's Blog
Congrats on the 600th post, happy to help you by adding to your followers, though thought I had already done that, last year during a-z? Anyway, if so blogspot might have nixed it. Loved the pictures, happy a-z
Traveling Suitcase A-Z
Interesting terminology. I have heard kettles described as fish garths.
BTW if you add your blog's URL to your gravatar profile, more people might find your blog. (and it's well-worth finding!)
Sue at http://suestrifles.wordpress.com
Congrats on your numbers Hilary. Interesting post as usual. I never did understand the Victorians and their bathing. People were dressed almost as much as in drawing rooms, why did they have to be separate. Daft wasn't it? What would those Victorians say about today's attire or on some beaches, lack of it.
Not only was this packed with fun information, it was fun to read! I've always thought I'm glad I didn't have to wear swimming costumes like these! My son (the same one who likes arrows) loved, when he was young, to play with the bits of kelp that would wash up on shore. He also liked finding the little animals that lived in the kelp. Every visit to the shore was a great adventure for him...
Oh, and Hilary, congratulations on your 600th post!! Wooo hoooo! I just past the 50,000 viewers mark and wish I had as many followers as you have!
YEAH to 600 posts and may you reach 500 followers ASAP!
Kept Kouture... too funny!
Never heard of a fish kettle before, but I do remembering kelping up once in a while
Woot! 502 followers and 600 posts! Not too shabby, Hilary.
I got such a kick out of your kelp ladies and those swimming machines? Brilliant idea. I want one.
Happy K Day!
Ohhh, congrats on the 502 and 600. Yay.
You're blog is the best. I dream of 500 followers one day, but it's blog friends like you that show up often at my blog that I treasure most.
Great post, BTW.
Considering your posts are so informative and fun, 600 of them is an outstanding achievment!
I could have sworn I became a follower of yours long ago. Darn Blogger!
The ghost of Mark Twain read your post on beach culture and snorted, "I never thought to see gals sunburned in places I see them now!"
Hi Hilary, Congrats on your 600th post. Wishing to see many more beautiful posts as this :)
Kelp forests look kinda scary, though good :)
Some wild outfits there.
And congratulations - you are well over five hundred followers!
COngrats on your numbers Hillary :)!..Your posts are very infomative and pictures makes it interesting to read ....Kelp are good for garden was something new to learn today !!..Have a great weekend !
I never knew there was so much to learn about the Coast. You are doing a really good job of educating me. I especially like the old pictures
Congrats on breaking that 500-follower mark! YAY!
Hilary, I'm loving your coast posts :) We don't have any kelp here (I don't think), but I believe mangroves fulfill a similar function--keeping at bay the tides so they don't wash out the shore, and providing homes for animals. Shoreline ecosystems are a wonder, aren't they?
Thanks for the visit over at Quiet Laughter yesterday -- I so love finding your name in the comments :)
Congratulations, Hilary, on the blogging milestone. You are one very special blogger. Always nice to read your comments and posts. And here, you give us another gret one. The kelp forest, that's a new one for me, so interesting. Lovely pictures ... and the belly boarding ... how fun.
So are the bathing machines changing rooms? How quaint a day at the beach used to be with men and women frolicking in their own spots!
Congratulations, Hilary, on this lovely post being your 600th! I love it, and the photos are just fabulous. Thank you, my friend :)
Congratulations on the 600th! WOOHOO! And a very interesting post it was :) I had no idea about kettles and have added Ilfracombe to the bucket list. Thank you!
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That poor family from the 1920s just looks miserable. But the pictures are so fun to look through. Congrats on the 500!
Congrats on over 500 followers! Love the bathing machines, lol. Thanks for the awesome pics Http://untetheredrealms.blogspot.com
Hi Hilary,
Congrats on your 600th post and passing the 500 follower mark. As for me, I've had my blog for over 7 years and nowhere near as many followers as you. You are thoroughly deserving of your followers total. Now to a 1000 for you.
I think I need some Kelp after reading your in depth posting. Are you guys only at K for um Klahanie? Sheesh and at gone 3 in the morning, I definitely need KELP!
Gary
@ Suzanne – many thanks .. finally the balance has been tipped! To think of the change we’ve seen .. but it’s easier for us as we have easy access to books and information now – I’d have never known much about this 50 years ago or so ... and yes, in Cornwall wetsuits must be de rigeur ...
@ Tasha – I agree a palava .. but there were ‘servants’ then ... I love that photo on the beach .. it says so much ...
@ Manzanita – thanks so much .. I’m just grateful for everyone who visits as often as they can .. yes, you could do with some kelp for your garden I think .. it definitely improves the soil. The trip to the coast to be revitalised ... does a lot for us all ..
@ Amanda – many thanks – just happy to keep on blogging .. and if you can get some liquid kelp that’ll help ..
@ Deniz – I’ll check next time I comment .. but it does tick on over –seems to be a bit slower recently .. but there’s G+ etc ... I’m not sure how the Followers and GFConnect works too well .. it’s just nice to see faces/avatars click in!
Bathing machines –they were for changing in ... and then jump out the back into the water –British water – it’s usually chilly! So not for swimming in!
@ Friko – many thanks ... a visit to the seaside .. a little private cove, a good picnic ... and some sun: sounds good to me ... you can get liquid kelp ... but we used to have boot fulls of the stuff when I was a kid!
“Kulture” was my fun made up word .. as you now know ...
@ Bob – many thanks for coming along with me on this ride and fun blogging journey ...
The illustration I found at my mother’s so I thought – a good picture somewhere for the A-Z .. and couldn’t resist the overview of the changes in bathing over the last couple of hundred years .. as “Kulture” ...
@ Phil – thanks so much for coming by so often and for your support ...
@ Cely – many thanks for adding your ‘avatar’ to my Followers – appreciate the support .. and 501 – great!! Thanks I’ll look at your site button .. just tried again .. and it refused me again – but this has been happening a bit on other sites too .. I’ve left it open, so I’ll try again .. just tried again and got through to the page – but it bombed me out at that stage this time .. still open!
@ Sandy – many thanks for adding yourself into my Followers list .. I really don’t understand what takes and what doesn’t work with Blogger sometimes .. Glad you enjoyed the photos ..
@ Sue – thanks for the tip re the URL .. I’ll have a look – and see what I can do ...
Very kind of you re my blog – appreciate that ...
@ Jo – many thanks and glad you enjoyed the post. It was what life was like back then wasn’t it – the same when they went on Safari .. dressed up to the nines ... well remember women were 2nd class citizens ... ? now???? Can you imagine the comments from Victorian commenters!
Thanks to you all .. part 2 following ..
@ Lisa – so pleased thank you. Gosh – am I too glad I’ve been born in this era ... and then don’t all kids love looking around and inspecting all bits and bobs found around - your son is obviously very inquisitive and a great learner .. and we were clambering over rocks inspecting what was around us ..
That’s fantastic about your 50,000 viewer mark ... your followers will come along .. I just let the thing happen .. but teetering in the 490s was a little much!!! I wondered about my viewers .. and that’s 253,000?! Surprised me .. I’ve no idea what it means!
@ Bish – thanks so much – you’re a great supporter .. I couldn’t resist the Kelp Kulture ..
@ Ida – in fact in cooking terms – a fish kettle is used for cooking fish in ... get dressed in kelp would be a great fun time for the kids ...
@ Lee – surprisingly not shabby at all is it! Thanks .. The kelp ladies are pretty extraordinary aren’t they – those were the days when you made your own amusements ...Yes a bathing machine would be rather fun wouldn’t it ..
@ Teresa – thank you so much .. I appreciate everyone’s friendship .. and enjoy connecting – that’s the important bit ..
@ Roland – thanks so much that means much coming from you. Oh I know Blogger has its moments .. but thanks for rejoining ...
You’re right Mark Twain would be horrified at our attire now ...
@ Kaushik – many thanks .. you’ve been a great new supporter during this A-Z ... Kelp Forests so essential to sea life – you’re so right ..
@ Alex – interesting changes in costume over the years isn’t it .. and thanks for the thumbs up .. and well over the 500s ...
@ Julekha – delighted to have met you via the A-Z and so pleased you enjoy my posts .. you can get kelp in liquid form now ..
@ Paula – just delighted you’re enjoying the rather eclectic way I have of writing posts .. and thanks re the old photos .. they do enlighten us a little more easily don’t they ..
@ Guilie – yes I reached another major goal ... and so pleased you’re enjoying my coast! Mangroves certainly secure the sediment and provide protection for much sea life, and breeding grounds keeping their babies safe ... Shoreline ecosystems are a wonder of nature aren’t they and so essential to us...
@ Silvia – it is a milestone isn’t .. I remember getting to 100 followers and being amazed .. then the 100s have slowly ticked along – til now when I’m so chuffed it’s happened during the A-Z .. and so grateful for all my followers.
Thanks for your really kind comments – I enjoy interacting .. being supportive and in some cases ultimately becoming great friends ... and then learning from others ..
I learn as I go – and that I think epitomises my blog for me really .. then the friends = Yay for all of them .. and that bellyboarding photo couldn’t resist it ..
@ Kim – yes they were wheeled out into the sea –so the ladies could bathe in relative privacy ... and change too ... that was Victorian life – but I was pleased to find the info about the separate coves at Ilfracombe ...
@ Sharon – delighted you’ve joined the A-Z .. and I’ve caught up with you again ... so glad you enjoy the posts and photos ..
@ Lena – I know I never thought I’d get to 600 posts ... but I’ve had fun ... and I’ve learnt so much along the way .. the fish ‘kettles’ weir type included ... I think Ilfracombe is on my bucket list too ..
@ Lisa – they look severe – I think! However that was life then ... glad you enjoyed the posts and the photos ...
@ Gwen – many thanks .. and aren’t the bathing machines fun to see – wouldn’t like to have used one though ..
@ Gary – you’re well on the way to 500 – I just never worried .. but the teetering in the 490s during the A-Z .. seemed a good opportunity to prompt for some help – thankfully everyone answered my cri de Coeur ...
Yup we’re at K for Klahanie during the A-Z .. midway in a couple of days .. and Kelp is good for us too ...
Thanks so much to you all .. I'm so so grateful and so thankful to have met so many wonderful blogging friends .. cheers Hilary
@ to all of you wonderful bloggers and friends who come by to say hello, comment and keep me company here – an essential to blogging life – much much appreciated! Hilary
Congrats on 600 posts and 500 followers!
That's a lot of interesting K's :)
Hah! Just looking at that picture of sitting in the sand with all those layers of clothes on makes me itch!
You are such a wealth of information, Hilary. I think I will know much more about the English coastline than I will the one I grew next to. Those kettles are quite ingenious. I'd be out there with a fishing pole every day - and probably starve - before I'd think up something like that.
Hilary, Congratulations on the 600th post and the 500+ followers!!! I always find your posts so fascinating. They are not only entertaining, but enlightening. I learn so much from you. Thanks.
I had never heard of bathing machines before. You come up with such interesting things to post about. Congratulations on your blogging milestones!
We were both thinking of kelp at the same time, it seems.
Well done you...not really a surprise that you'd have so many followers. :) As usual a wonderful a the coast and I adore all the vintage images, great post.
Loving the A to Z Challenge Maggie@expatbrazil.
Congratulations on the 500+ and hats off for the 600 posts. That's an astonishing achievement given the work and research you put into every single post and all the reciprocal commenting you do! This seaside alphabet's an ebook in the making.I love beaches with all kinds of seaweed (I feel like I should be more specific now after your posts, but you know what I mean!) They smell like the seaside days of my childhood. I'm off to catch up on LMN now; seems like only two minutes ago it was J! I feel like Adam Sandler in the film 'Click'!
Congrats on your 600th post!
You are an amazing and a prolific blogger!
Girls' Crystal Annual - the 1954 Kulture style... I remember the annual books. They were a popular Christmas gift when we were very young but faded out soon after...
Is that you all dressed to win the Belly Board Surfing Championships in 2009? LOL
Those kelp ladies look trendy (it must have been pretty cool at that time...)
(I'll be lurking from time to time... playing catch-up...)
@ Laura - thanks re the posts and followers I was glad to get over 500 ... and the Ks were an interesting set!
@ River - oh I know .. I'm not good with material at the best of times, but the beach in the 1920s ... not so good.
Thanks re the wealth of info - I've been learning to ... and as being able to use "kettle" as a word for catching fish is fun to know about ...
Looking at the coastline and learning from those ancients we could do more of ... well I'd rescue from starving!
@ Mason - thanks re the posts and followers - it's good to get over the mark ... and I much appreciate your comment ..
@ Marcy - those bathing machines ruled the beaches for a while - modesty prevailed?! Thanks too to you ...
@ Juliet - Kelp and the sea side ... you and your visits to your bach - so lovely in NZ ...
@ Maggie - many thanks .. it's been a fun A-Z and it's good to have the information with the photos here for me to refer to ...
@ Janice - lovely to see you again after a few years .. amazing to have these connections. I've loved being somewhat different - posting as I feel and giving a post that has taught me ... so I hope entertains everyone around the world ...
Thanks re the ebook thought - it's on the cards or on the list now ... the smell of the harbour at Newlyn and the fish market is what spring to mind for me - old memories of our Cornish life ...
I had to read up about the film "click" - I now get it ... funny film!! Interesting I imagine ...
@ Michelle - thanks so much .. I'm afraid I wander along my own path - thankfully it seems to work and I conform in the A-Z ...
I certainly never had the Annual Books ... perhaps we did, but I forgot about them ...
Sadly no - I'm not belly boarding! The kelp ladies were in Australia - but looked just right for the post and fun ..
Cheers to you all - so fantastic to see you ... even if I'm late to my own party! Hilary
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