Well this was to be a brief update after the hiatus of
November and time away (it got longish) … I’ve been trickling along at a
snail’s pace … with ‘interruptions’ of a funeral to help arrange and …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj41IXyDe9mhKowli2I93gljVG1uzOyjfts7JJPyY_jav6XxReYTkepih7B5va1PQQaIb_gX_nX5RNTtzswcim5x0Ts6zoSZyhhZV71tgdZ0CRppeAvSFmC747kd-Uym6KPQF3IgcdD90tk/s320/7+legendary+Great+Blizzard+of+1891.JPG) |
Top half of issue Nov 1982 - this is the Great Blizzard of 1891
(link below) sent to me in South Africa by my mother |
… taking over the organisation of a monthly dinner for
+/- sixty - seventy … but with us both having incompatible software – ne’er
mind … next year we start afresh: or rather I do … and I think we’re almost
there!
I’ve got used to having ‘meetings’ or get-togethers in
buses, or for some reason charity shops … I’m donating or friends and I are
just quickly looking for a missing item – that we might find which won’t cost
us a fortune. Free buses are a boon, for
those without a car …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb-jrlLnV469Ot4sb4CZld81mOxiiAHduSyYcD0XFv1m5pYjTzeWQzHVl51nbJ3-Qudn2z1KBgi_QDiIK1At5RWJRfMNtrDAJ5bQaQaSqqyJNNTYIMfw8kdKvYXD-pr8V_cJWqZBpx0Lya/s1600/8+cooked+snails.jpg) |
Escargots served in their shells |
Snails came up via the Beeb … but then the muddled grey
cells also came into play … I thought I’d spotted a snail article in that November 1982 Western Morning News Souvenir compilation –mostly photos …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyYZ4ZH4Q1y2PrLQfYktVkmdmAVQoKkH-GrStxRVShH5D3nqrSipsIUxvGGx0YafOGcBPEkEdK4knQbjA-vuLYK8dIFBtHkWK05bPE4Axu92uQUVvcB3kjskwbjAm7VhHJjBu_TH56Hh2/s320/8+Frog+catchers+Cornwall+1930s.jpg) |
Frogcatchers (1930s) ... on sale
out of a Sunlight soap box! |
… but it was about frogcatchers in the 1930s in
western Cornwall – they were, I hate to say it, used in medical research –
which frankly after the Depression was a useful evil for those who were able to
earn a few pennies to feed their families.
Back to the American snails – ne’er a story to be
missed … one of those ‘believe it or not’ slithery tales … Taylor Knapp, a chef,
who after spending time in Europe realised there was an opening to put fresh
(cooked and rather than tinned) escargots on the menu …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfW0e87tLWbM9FemJvCHuHcVTVEZU-_0ehZsEgcXoS1HIh9k9nJZm6bSQ68l5hr3PenECLRTscxKC_JRHgsNUchzaiRphCfsFuPHJg4buhB0kWkj4uFPomrczBomyzUWhPrrCtIU0W774/s1600/7+Snail+caviar+%2528close-up%2529.jpg) |
Snail caviar! |
… but he couldn’t bring in live products for reproductive purposes … however he found some little grey snails in California –
which with regulatory approval could be bred.
These slow moving slippery critters had been around
since the 1850s … they’d got past the US Customs Service, which had been in
existence since 1789 and were happily breeding in California.
George Washington, (and I have something to
tell you about him too,) signed the Tariff Act of July 4, 1789 – appropriate
date.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHUsPAg-1OVty3UyMxG81BHa3iy7ASrwL5UP7Eb87ds2nWNXziXoihF5zUC_Tw9d-TaLHol6AkzpQBqvOgb1hL91PFHVhyusbWEWDlpLcPH0DQLJSFgYLn_s_knw4vm58vwWc38QgFCrGb/s320/8+Escargots+with+French+bread.JPG) |
Escargots in a snail dish with herby bread |
Taylor fund-raised, worked to set their living
quarters up – a greenhouse – Alcatraz style – passing the USDA’s strictures and
hey presto – fresh French escargots could be on the menu.
The farm is in Washington state … so heliculture is
rife on both coasts … and Taylor is aiming to expand his sales beyond the
saturated market of New York.
I don’t want to bedazzle you with a new word at the
end of 2019 – but perhaps heliculture could be brought into posts in 2020?
It is the science and occupation of growing
snails for food. (Blend of New Latin
Helix, genus of spiral-shelled molluscs from Greek helix, and culture.)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRAm3HnCgre_SZ6c5N67EdZKiYkwohR9Xc5-UPV-9ZSybDQH8b2974NRzF5V5wY8txPFE9UQiPrRJ0zBka7VrOzOT50u4fyW82AWZBDEjU0EoF5U65q13mlxhF5n0Z_gFuEOLu2Q3A2Se/s1600/8+Frogs+various.jpg) |
Frogs various |
I thought I’d found more information on frog-catching
in Cornwall … but no – it was ‘the crowning event’, at a Rolls-Royce picnic in
Canada, when live frog-catching in a pond of very rich in muddy clay was the
last children’s game … after the sack race, three-legged race et al … their
enthusiasm brought results: the frogs being released after the count.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-fftq60MwAf-lZ7E0OJsiHnuGu-RsUkAekE4dKL0jnrEf2gMOn6_47jMgf1WbkiRfGxQBqKWBZChEgbM2u_PQliUQnvF6vltiw5DGFGiqGUacDWw0SCxNIopefo4SLLZ0_bxpS7v83p2/s1600/8+Larva+of+the+common+frog+a+day+before+metamorphosis.jpg) |
Frog Larva about to metamorphose |
What the Rolls Royces look like afterwards isn’t told
… but relating back to that era – the maidservants, chauffeurs and retainers
presumably would have had to deal with the mess … while the family carried on
with their lives.
My life at my snail’s pace is comfortable – a few
things get done – then an interlude while I deal with things … and so it goes –
I am sorting my Ma’s and my own papers out – clearing the decks and am finding
all sorts …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZH8NJOr9SPFO2-yHx3idGRoGYyxoFZXIBu3IJrgJxZkM2RII1phPeNTClPg8NfND8GfdbbhexL0tufnFBVbU8LW883iIJlPzmXknlgYeuw7cD6j5isiOQKjaK1JUb1pCpi8uZxgAUIyYH/s320/8+Coach+and+Horses+from+Okehampton+mid+1800s.jpg) |
The bottom half of the Souvenir - this shows
coach and horses pulling out of
Okehampton, West Devon |
… but once done – then that’s it and makes life easier
for me, or should something happen – then ‘things be sorted’ … a number of things going to charity or appropriate
friends/family … it takes time.
I have been out and about a bit … on a number of
tours, to museums and to my goddaughter’s family near Milton Keynes – which
proved a very interesting informative long weekend – where George Washington
came in …
Now to think about the WEP/IWSG challenge about
‘Footprints’ … Christmas and the New Year … after which more posts will be forthcoming …
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjit6-Y4r-jCzaRO89aPQHaxOHyT85rYnwjjCmSkv5XlKpdTWUNWgc6SS-phRtg6OdRmIJ0WikR9DsBM8-KizdS014M9wYRdbAPYCLW-vu-RvzKx6LMNSzqXdS4_NCmkXieabMzIaJeQ22O/s200/13+Footprint+in+the+snow.jpg) |
My wellie boot imprint in
Canadian snowfall |
... interesting ideas for snail recipes too …
sausages, smoked snails with goats’ cheese and fig, snails with Roquefort and
walnut butter in a wafer case, “tikka masala snails” are all loved by the
locals and expanding clientele …
Take care my footprints are on their way …
... and last but not least - of course I could have had frogs legs as an appetiser ... forgot that!
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories