HUNTER-GATHERING: wild & fresh food

A sign of the Times…

It seems Treehouses have become all the rage this year, I for one can see/ have felt the attraction, so when the Sunday Times asked if they could pop down, The last thing I expected was to be on the front cover of the home section…

Although it happened some time ago now, I have debated over whether or not it would be considered vulgar to post it on the blog. Mainly because my ugly mug is in the foreground! For me the Treehouse is the star of this show and without it, I would have no roof over my head.

I have added the article for those of you who wish to have a read, but then if you have been following the blog…you already know what life in the trees has been like!

As I approach my final month in the woods and the seasons begin to turn, I am filled sadness at having to leave my arboreal home…what will become of it? I have a few ideas…we shall see.

The Hunter-gatherer gets a little press action...

Its not every day you get to see yourself, something about you or something you’ve written on the pages of a magazine. In my relatively short time on this planet I have had a few appearances that I have been pleased with…others not so much- Shipwrecked coverage in the likes of More/Heat magazine were amusing to say the least, I even once made the press board outside the village shop in my early 20’s (not for the right reasons I can assure you…), So here are a few of the clips for your perusal, just click on the picture of the scanned in pages and you can zoom in and have a read.

My latest appearance in this months Reader’s Digest is one I am proud of and represents something I feel more of us should be doing, especially considering the present state of the economy. This Summer I might be doing a little survival/foraging/cooking bits at Safari Britain, a wonderful yurt and bell tent setup deep in the Sussex downs. They run weekends and various country-style activities, well worth booking yourself into for a brief stint.

Eloquently titled “Extreme Camping”, the RD article involved me taking a writer- Rebecca Tyrell, her 11 year-old son, one of his friends and a photographer on a survival packed weekend of wild camping on Dartmoor. We had amazing weather on the first day, the fickle Devon weather took a turn for the worse and we had two days of torrential rain...nice. 

I have since learnt, I somehow turned Louis, the writer’s son, into something resembling the love child of Ray Mears and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Foraging has become one of his favourite activities as well as dealing with his finds back in the kitchen. I wonder whether his father, Matthew Norman- the food critic for the Gaurdian, may have less enthusiasm for the sway of his son’s palate?

After a brief stint working at Olive magazine, I had a handy bit of publicity for the blog in the magazine and was shocked by the difference it made and has made since in daily hits. Despite their unhinged admiration for everything “foodie”, I can’t thank them enough.  

Enough of this self-absorbed twaddle, the next post will be much more informative I promise! This last picture has little to do with this post at all, I did notice a fellow blogger Alex-the author of just cook it, recently got some Kittens- this ones for you mate, our cat did something stupid, make sure they don't jump off anything too high....