By my reckoning, it’s 34 years since I last crunched my way down the little shingle beach, beyond the boatyard at Felixstowe Ferry, in my trusty “Bullseye” thigh boots and clambered aboard the dinghy which was tender to Dougie Goodall’s fishing boat “Swallow II”. Little did I realise, as we rowed to the mooring, that… Read More Back to the Future
It’s exactly a year since I first made my acquaintance with this most famous of Buchan ports. In that one, defining visit, I came to realise that as I toured the quays, vessels and market floor of this iconic and alluring fishing harbour, I’d sensed for the first time, a real purpose in my writing.… Read More Peterhead Revisited
It’s funny, but often in life, things can completely pass you by. Very occasionally, something will appear, slightly out of context and place to catch you off guard. This was definitely true for me just lately and although rather taken by surprise, it developed into an extremely rewarding and very worthwhile experience. For a long… Read More A Bewitching Hour
Situated in the heart of Docklands and a mere line’s cast from Canary Wharf, one of the last vestiges of the City of London commerce scene, remains alive and kicking in the form of Billingsgate Market, the iconic, bustling, and historically alluring centrepiece of the capital’s fish trade, carrying out its business five days a… Read More An Inspector Calls Time
“Them’s whelks!” As big band leader and Cockney icon, Billy Cotton exclaimed, in his piscatorial parody, “The Whelk Song” known and loved by the thousands of listeners who tuned in to his regular Sunday lunchtime “Band Show” through the 1950’s and 60’s on the BBC Light Programme. Having grown up in 1970’s seaside Suffolk, my… Read More Them’s not Winkles…..
As Govenek of Ladram (PZ 51) crewman Stanley triumphantly declared, in the much acclaimed, recent Channel 4 series “The Catch”. This month sees the airing of yet more revealing and rolling adventures from the UK’s most dangerous civilian profession in the new ITV series “Trawlermen Tales” which features yet another erstwhile Newlyn fisherman and hakemeister,… Read More “All Hail the Hake”
Over the course of the last year, I’ve enjoyed seeing, catching, preparing, sampling and indulging in an glistening array of incredible seafood. Ever one to contemplate my doings, I’ve looked back at 2015 and picked out a few gems from a year that’s seen me travel from a shivering March market in Peterhead, to a balmier… Read More Three Fish
It’s a flat calm, save a gentle, glassy, swell rising and falling barely noticeably. The trip’s nearly made, the last string hauled, baited and stacked and as the bow swings round and the dhan pitched back over the side, revs increase and the gear shoots back in the indelible routine, that accompanies every outing. Pot… Read More #SeaYouHomeSafe
It’s no mere coincidence, that having endured ghastly mild and loathsome, unseasonal weather for the first autumnal weeks of this year, my desire to get stuck into proper winter food has coincided with a much needed and heralded temperature plunge this weekend. I happen to be one of those diehard weather traditionalists that expect frosts… Read More East Coast Comfort
Ever since I travelled the 580 miles to Aberdeenshire, on a cold and slate grey morning, last March, to meet with the charismatic Peterhead skipper and Scottish fishery ambassador Jimmy Buchan, I’ve harboured thoughts of returning. The reason for this is twofold: Firstly to visit new friends and catch up on the Northern North Sea… Read More Scotland Delivers
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