The Bushcraft Magazine Summer 2012 by Steven Kirk

Saturday September 15th

Our one-day taster courses cost:

Autumn Forage and Outdoor Cooking Forage for autumn fare with our gourmet wild cook, Carol Hunt. Learn how to make the most of the season’s treats and experience the joys and frustrations of genuine outdoor cooking.

£35 for a single person £70 for a family of up to five. You may camp overnight at our farm in Kent if you wish, at no extra charge. We will provide tea and coffee and a hot vegetable soup as part of the day.

Saturday September 29th & Sunday 30th September

Double Leatherworking Learn the techniques to decorate and then make and sew to completion your own personal items under the experienced guidance and tuition of our craftsman Paul Bradley at an indoor venue in Kent. Attend both courses, or just one, it’s up to you. There will be a small additional charge of £5 for materials.

Saturday October 6th - Sunday October 7th

Bushcraft Magazine Autumn Event Book in for a weekend of courses and a chance for bushcrafters and adventurous families to share skills, and swap stories. Taster courses, demonstrations and mini-workshops include Animal Tracking, Atlatls, Archery, Catapults, Ferreting, Fire and Forge, Fire-by-Friction, Green Woodworking, Hedgerow Brews, Spoon Carving, Star Gazing, Storytelling, Wild Cooking, Wild Forage and much, much more. See our website for full details.

Costs for the weekend, including 3 courses/ workshops/demos per day, camping and firewood: £55 per person, £100 family of up to five. Single all-day ticket £30 per person (accompanied single child under 11 FREE); Family of up to 5, £60.

Saturday October 13th

Shrimping and Sandy Shore Foraging

Learn to use a shrimp net and collect shellfish in a beautiful sandy bay on the south coast of Kent under the experienced leadership of lifeboatman John Ruffhead. Bring warm clothes and waders or be prepared to paddle. No bare feet, please, because of Weever Fish.

Sunday October 14th

Woodland Fungus Foray

Forage in ancient woodland for an incredible variety of fungi with our expert Steve Kirk. This is an opportunity to learn about fungi in general, as well as to identify and sample any edible species we find. Bring digital cameras and notebooks.

Keep up to date and book online at www.bushcraft-magazine.co.uk

Saturday October 27th

Spoon Carving

Learn the skills and try out the tools under the guidance and tuition of our skilled craftsman Paul Bradley at our farm site in Egerton, Kent. Make and take away your own spoons.

Sunday October 28th

Woodland Fungus Foray

Volume 8 Number 2 Summer 2012 The Bushcraft Magazine is published by:

The Bushcraft MagazineTM .

Egerton House Cottage, Egerton, Ashford, KENT TN27 9BD Founder: Huw Woodman Editor: Steve Kirk Advertising: Matthew Selfe Webmaster: Paul Bradley Soup Dragon: Cathy Hill E-mail: info@bushcraft-magazine.co.uk Advertising: mafro@bushcraft-magazine.co.uk

CONTENTS 6 HOW TO MAKE A MODEL BIRCH BARK CANOE Craig Grant can, can you? 11 WILDERNESS FIRST AID Matthew Selfe is on a crash course. 12 RELIEF IN A LEAF Steve Kirk offers some foliage for first aid. 14 IN PURSUIT OF A STRIPED TORPEDO John Ruffhead knows how to tackle a mackerel. 16 PURPLE POWER Steve Kirk comes to seize a berry, and to praise one. 20 OUCH! VENOMOUS CREATURES Steve Kirk with some points to avoid. 24 A PLATTER TO FLATTER Kevin Warrington thinks square to get round a problem. 29 GETTING THE RIGHT TAN Axle does. No sun necessary. 34 THE LAST WORD Lloyd Hooper has it. REGULARS 2 COURSES 4 CAMO PAGES 18 WEATHER LORE 26 STAR LORE

EDITORIAL Let’s talk about our national obsession, the weather. Our perspective on meteorology seems to be dominated by short term memory and optimism. In other words, we remember the last couple of years and hope this one is going to turn out as good as or better than them. Without personal records and observations (and very long lives to look back on) we forget that the British weather can be or do practically anything. This year we appear to have had the wettest April, June and July on record across the UK (some data are still provisional). Since 1766, only June 1860 has been as wet as this June past. To me, all of that is quite impressive, unexpected and unique. In practical terms, however, it has caused the cancellation and postponement of hundreds of events from May onwards, not the least of which was the Bushcraft Magazine’s Annual May Meet. Being optimists ourselves, we have re-scheduled a slightly truncated version for early October, (see Courses, p2) when we will have the usual mix of outdoor activities, with some additional autumnal offerings; so, to use a weather-based adage, ’It’s an ill wind, that blows no good’. A quick glance through these pages will reveal the prospect of re-connecting to the landscape through activities that are both outdoor and with a workshop element – tanning a hide or building a birch bark canoe, for instance. Alternatively, get outside and embrace the weather – it can’t rain all the time, and if it does, dress for it. I suspect that, even if belated, like this magazine, the sun will eventually shine. Summer starts now. Steve Kirk. editor@bushcraft-magazine.co.uk

Haiku With every gust of wind, the butterfly changes its place on the willow. Basho (1644-1694)

My Favourite Bit of Kit… I fell in love with this panier coquillage - seashell basket - the instant I saw it, you guessed, in France; Île de Ré, to be precise. The stiff frame and fixed handle are ideal for the pursuit of shellfish; the design so simple, yet so perfect. The 17mm gauge steel mesh allows undersized critters to drop through and the basket is light on weight but heavy on duty. I saw others, also tempting, in steel mesh with a rattan frame, but not quite so cool. The French take their seafood collecting seriously, with many examples of regional cuisine, well stocked fishmongers and live shellfish stalls in their street markets in the towns and villages bordering the coast. The baskets can be ordered online (search the French term above) with a host of hand tools designed to harvest a variety of creatures. Better still, go to Brittany or Bordeaux, buy there and pick up some tips from the locals.

Steve Kirk

Caught on tape... A large number of rabbits I have shot recently have been infested with tapeworm cysts. We first saw them when I took a couple of rabbits along for a game prep demonstration. They develop between the muscles on the rabbit and have mostly been found in the hind legs or on the saddle. The cysts form a pocket in between the muscle walls and fill up with a clear fluid which makes identification easy, especially when it’s in the legs as you can noticeably see the difference in size between the one with and without the cyst. When you cut into the soft tissue it can literally erupt, squirting fluid like a scene from Alien. The rabbit is the middle part of the tapeworm’s life cycle, only being completed when the rabbit is caught and consumed by its predator, normally a fox. The cysts then hatch into tapeworm inside the fox and the tapeworm lays its eggs. These are then passed in the fox’s excrement. If that is in a field where the rabbits like to graze they consume the eggs from the contaminated grass. These eggs then form the cysts inside the rabbit’s body and the cycle is complete. Since that day I have chosen not to eat any rabbits that have had these cysts, but have been informed by a vet that it would be safe to eat after thorough cooking, but would be best to discard the infected joint. This is only a decision that you can make though.

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For Adder-Bites, Irish Stone This stone had been lent "all up and down" to individuals who had got envenomed, or who had cattle so suffering, and she (an old lady of 78 years) could testify that its application stopped inflammation, as she remembered effectually rubbing the face of her husband, who had been stung with a bee. The charm which, as she had heard them tell, came from Connaught, is a water-worn flint, lentiform, of a dark colour, blotched with white. The banks of the river, the Tyne, are said to be greatly infested with adders. Extract from Monthly Chronicle, March, 1889. " Charms for Venom"

A rest for our forests Campaigners to save our woodlands breathed a collective sigh of relief this summer, when the government accepted the recommendations of the Independent Forestry Panel not to sell off our national assets. Earlier large-scale and widespread protests to save our forests forced the government to put their sale on hold but despite appearances, we were not ‘out of the woods, yet’. Fortunately, in the end, the panel recognised that the value of our natural heritage transcended mere short-term economics and seems to have shown a good understanding of the man and woman in the wood. Bishop of Liverpool and the panel’s chair, the Rt. Rev Jones, said in the report's foreword "We need a new culture of thinking and action around wood and woodlands". The report included some very forward thinking ideas, including; measurably increasing the quantity and quality of access to public and privately owned woodlands; ensuring that every child "has an element of woodlandbased learning"; the protection of current funding for woodland management and creation; increasing England's woodland cover from 10% to 15% by 2060 and creating a charter that the public forest estate should be "held in trust for the nation".

Suze

Well, we’ll brew some oak-leaf wine, and drink to that.

With your first swallow of Suze you might be forgiven for thinking that you had taken medicine, rather than sipped an aperitif, for it has an agreeable, smooth but bitter taste that takes a little getting used to. It is extremely popular in its country of origin, France, and practically unheard of elsewhere. The distinctive flavour comes from the root of the wild Yellow Gentian, Gentiana lutea, which is harvested from the Auvergne region, macerated, then distilled. Gentian root is widely held to be one of the best strengtheners of the human system, stimulating the liver, gall bladder and digestive system; so when Parisian distiller Fernand Moureaux created Suze in 1889, it was the natural choice of ingredient for an original, non-wine based, appetiser. There are many ways to enjoy this drink; diluted with water; in a variety of cocktails; or, my favourite so far, neat with ice. Suze is steeped in modern French culture and has even been painted by Picasso. The brand is now owned by Pernod .

TBM

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You can get the whole story at www.suze.com/ (en Francais) You can order Suze in the UK from http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com

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How to make a mode A model birch bark canoe is one of the most challenging and rewarding things to make! Model canoe building brings together several traditional bushcraft skills that would normally be practised on a larger scale, including gathering and processing the materials, carving, sewing, steaming, and gluing them. It is a real test for any maker, so I hope you are feeling ambitious! It is best undertaken in phases, which is how I have laid out the process. This canoe is not a scale model nor is it based on any particular design or tribal style. 1

Phase 1 1] The first thing to make is the building block; this will be the platform that the canoe will be built on. It needs to be a solid base and flat. For this I use an old piece of board â&#x20AC;&#x201C; plywood, chip-board, or even MDF. Traditionally, full size canoes are constructed on a flat piece of ground covered with sand. The building block needs to be larger than the intended finished canoe.

2] Then cut a piece of board the shape of the canoe, this will act as a former/mould that sits between the bark and building block. The former can be made from the same material as the building block, but must not be too thick as it will hinder the building process. Mark the centre of the canoe on the building block and in the former, so they line up, when the bark is in place. 3] Prepare your bark sheet as you would for making containers; remove all lichens and high spots and strip down to a desired even thickness. For model canoes, I prefer thinner bark as it is easier to form.

Place the bark on the platform; try to keep any eyes and splits in the bark on the outside of the sheet.

Photos aÂŠ Craig Grant

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Use the best piece of bark you have for the centre of your canoe, smaller pieces can be used for the bow and stern. Make sure you have enough bark on both sides of the central line. Model canoes due to their size can be made from a single sheet of bark or made from smaller pieces, all depending on what you have available.

4] When you are happy with this, place the former onto the bark and line up. Begin to fold up the sides of the bark, hot water or heat can be used to make the bark more pliable.

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del birch bark canoe You will need the following materials and tools: birch bark 3ft sq or suitable alternative (cherry bark) spruce roots up to 10 meters or suitable natural cordage as fine as possible pine resin cedar or suitable alternative (pine, hazel, ash) pegs stakes

Craig Grant

Tools: small folding knife awl clamps or pegs building block cordage (string) kettle or stove and pan drill & bits wood base for the building block axe 5

TRADITIONAL SKILLS

5] At this point you will need to place some weight into the canoe-former to stop the bark from pulling to one side; anything heavy can be used for this e.g. stones, or a clamp can be used to hold the former in place. 6] Begin to raise the bark from the centre of the canoe, push down on the former when raising the sides of the bark.

Start on one side then repeat on opposite sides along the canoe. Doing this gives better symmetry and also stops the bark from moving around when forming the sides. 7] Mark and drill holes into the building block at a slight angle and stake the sides inside and out. For this build I used screws and wooden stakes. Place strips of wood between the pegs and bark. This helps the forming of the canoe and protects the bark during work. 8] Outside stakes can be lashed to the inside stakes to keep the sides of the canoe straight and uniform. 8

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When the bark is raised, gores can be cut to allow the bark to take a more uniform shape. Remove this access bark and tie the sides together.

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9] Carving the gunwales, (pronounced gunnels) I find it best to use splints from the same sides of the log and cut them longer than the length of the finished canoe. Taper or split the ends. You will need 4 in total (inwales and outwales)

10] When you are happy with the length lash the two inwales together at both ends. Hold or tie the inwales together. At this stage you can mark where the ribs will go. This is completely up to you. I prefer to mark them when the thwarts are in place.

11] Take a small strip of wood (traditionally Ash) for the centre thwart. Place this in the centre of your model and open it out until you have the desired width of the canoe, then mark and cut Drill two holes into either ends of the thwarts, this will fit and be lashed into the inner gunwale.

12] The majority of smaller canoes had 5 thwarts within them; the larger canoe models have up to 12; it is entirely up to you. For this canoe I have used 5. The thwarts slot and are sewn into the inwales giving the canoe great strength.

13] Additional strips of bark can be added to raise the height of the sides of the canoe. Sew using spruce root, along the entire length of the canoe.

14] Measure and mark the height of the inwales. I peg the inwales to the bark, once you have the desired height drill into the bark and inwhales and peg. Once this has been done peg the outwales to the inwales.

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15] Trim off any excess bark before the next step. Using a triangular awl, drill and lash the gunwales together.

16] Work your way from the centre out, lashing opposite side as you work to the bow and stern. Leave the ends of the gunwales unlashed.

17] You now should have something that looks like a canoe! 16

18] With the thwarts placed evenly along the inside of the canoe, bring the ends of the canoe together and secure with a clothes peg. 19] When building model canoes it seems to be more trial and error, take your time. Things can be adjusted as you build, natural materials have forgiving qualities.

Make sure you have lots of spare parts e.g. gunnels, thwarts and odd bits of bark to hand if needed. Use other sources of building methods and by doing this you develop your own system of construction! For the next part of the build we will go through the processes of stem pieces, sheathing, the ribs and the gumming of the canoe.

Craig Grant Craig was born in Plymouth, Devon. He spent the majority of his youth in the woodlands in and around Dartmoor National Park. This is where he began to learn his bushcraft skills and his passion for Native American cultures began. Craig works freelance providing bushcraft sessions and demonstrations, for all ages and backgrounds.

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Wilderness First Aid Matthew Selfe

Into our camp walked a rather unwell looking fellow...

We had to stretcher someone with a broken leg out of a ravine

I threw petrol onto our camp fire

Paul managed to cut his thumb off

We began by looking at how you access both your patient and your surroundings; first making sure that you are safe to approach the scene and then setting your priorities for the patient or patients. We were soon to find out that Alison was a dab hand at theatrical makeup, when into our camp walked a rather unwell looking fellow. Andy quickly showed him to a seat and we as a group were asked to make a diagnosis. Shouts of heart attack, indigestion, asthma and angina were all quickly fired at the patient sending him into a panic. “You mean I‟m having a heart attack? I‟m going to die?” This was our first lesson. We are not there to make a diagnosis, but to assist the patient until the ambulance staff arrive. The consequences of thinking out loud also meant that we not only had a sick patient on our hands, but now a panic-stricken, sick patient. The day continued with the group being presented with more situations for us to treat as though they were genuine. Although the course is billed as a wilderness first aid course, it covered wider scenarios such as car and motorbike accidents, heart attacks, strokes, angina and diabetes. Spinal injuries, fractures and

It was quite easy to see the group‟s progression throughout the day, and it soon became apparent that everyone should have some form of first aid training; not just those who decided to attend a course. Day two began with bacon sandwiches and freshly brewed coffee, and it only got better from there. We had to deal with car crashes, remove people from burning vehicles and stretcher someone with a broken leg out of a ravine using nothing other than wooden poles and our coats. And that was just the morning. In the afternoon the two groups were sent off to make their own accident scenes and we also had the chance to become the victims ourselves and have Alison make us look as gory as we wanted. Imaginations ran riot and the climax of the weekend was when I threw petrol onto our camp fire burning my arms and my friend‟s legs. The explosion blew a stake of wood through another member of my groups chest killing him instantly and Paul managed to cut his thumb off. I must say that the other group dealt with the scene superbly. I came away from this course a changed man. I have always enjoyed first aid, but learning in this way really enabled you to jump right into the situation and find out for yourself how you would deal with a real life situation. There is no better way of learning then getting hands on and this course really allowed you to do so. Course Provider - Emergency Life Support Team. Website - http://www.elst.co.uk Emergency Life Support Team are HSE (Health and Safety Executive) approved for all first aid courses. The Wilderness First Aid is a 16 hour course. Qualifications - Emergency First Aid at Work - Wilderness First Aid. (HSE Approved) Their next course is being run from Bedgebury Pinetum on the 1st and 2nd September. Readers of the magazine can get this for £100 (normally £130).

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A MATTER OF COURSE

We were presented with more situations

The course was held in private woodland in the beautiful Sussex countryside, which made for a superb setting. As we arrived on the Saturday morning we were greeted by our hosts and tutors for the weekend, Andy Sullivan and his wife Alison. The day began with brief introductions. There were people from all different outdoor backgrounds including scout leaders, forestry workers, teachers and bushcrafters! This was followed by Andy giving an overview of his career as a fire fighter and working for the NHS. Andy is passionate about first aid and this really came across over the weekend, making for a much more enjoyable learning experience.

sprains, hypothermia, hyperthermia and tooth injuries were also covered and all in good detail.

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Andy Sullivan

At the end of June, Paul Bradley and I set off towards Hastings to complete a wilderness first aid course. The course is run over two days and qualification is made through on-going assessments over the weekend. Once completed, you are qualified in both emergency first aid at work and wilderness first aid. We both felt it was time to refresh ourselves; especially as I hadn‟t held a qualification in over 15 years!

Bushcraft Magazine

Greater Plantain Plantago major

Greater Plantain Plantago major Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata

Greater Plantain, Plantago major, would be my first choice for most minor wounds, with Ribwort Plantain, Plantago lanceolata, a close second. Both have similar properties, an ancient and distinguished reputation that goes back to our Saxon forbears and are still used worldwide by natural peoples. Greater Plantain likes to be trampled and is found on and beside the much trodden track, while Ribwort Plantain is a plant of grassland, meadows and pasture. The cell walls of fresh leaves first need to be broken by bashing, tearing, chewing etc. to release the juices. Plantain leaves may be then applied to an open wound, swelling, scald, burn, bruise, bite or sting to promote healing. A poultice of the leaves can draw poison from a wound and was traditionally used as a remedy for venomous snakebites amongst the Cherokee, Chippewa, Mohican and Ojibwa tribes. Plantain contains the glycoside Aucubin, a powerful anti-toxin, and the plant‟s efficacy against rattlesnake venom and the necrotising bite of the Brown Recluse Spider Loxosceles reclusa in America, is acknowledged by modern science. The leaves may be mashed or ground to a paste with cool water and then applied as treatment for sunburn. Throughout its range, including Britain, the mucilaginous (pleasantly slimy) leaves of Common Mallow Malva sylvestris are traditionally employed as a soothing medicine to heal minor wounds, burns, bruises, as well as insect bites and stings, among other things, and to reduce both internal and external inflammation. Mallow‟s active ingredients include polyphenols, which have proven anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial effects. Mallow leaves are particularly safe and beneficial when rubbed on irritated mucous membranes such as in the eyes or mouth and will relieve conjunctivitis.

Common Mallow Malva sylvestris

Common Mallow Malva sylvestris Yarrow Achillea millefolium

Yarrow Achillea millefolium is excellent as a wound healer and, as well as having antiinflammatory and antiseptic qualities, can staunch both external and internal bleeding by causing tissues and blood vessels to contract. Chewing the leaves of Yarrow will relieve toothache and an infusion (a tea), or decoction (boiled for longer) can be drunk to cure diarrhoea. Old names for it here are Soldier's Woundwort, Bloodwort and Sanguinary, whilst in Gaelic it is: lus chosgadh na fola, “the plant that stops bleeding”.

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Yarrow rivals plantain in its efficacy and in the variety of its general healing applications. It is used as a remedy from here to the Himalayas and by more Native American tribes than any other herb. Although it is common in grassy areas and meadows around the world it may be worthwhile carrying some of the dried plant in your rucksack.

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If you‟ve ever found yourself out in the field with no first-aid kit and with a cut or scrape, burn or bite, there are natural alternatives to steroids, antihistamines, antiseptic creams, antibiotics and the like. They are all to hand and tend to be green in colour.

Steve Kirk Blackberry or Bramble Rubus fruticosus As a remedy for minor burns and scalds, bramble leaves have a long tradition of use in this country. Their efficacy has been tainted somewhat by association with the „superstitious‟ charms that once accompanied their application e.g. gather nine leaves and put them into a vessel of clear spring water, then pass each leaf over the scald and repeat three times to each leaf, ‘Three came from the east, one with fire, and two with frost, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost’, when, more properly, it should be seen as an endorsement from our ancestors of long ago, pre-dating even its Christian „spin‟.

Sharp-leaved and Round-leaved Fluellen, Kickxia elatine and Kickxia spuria Sharp-leaved Fluellen Kickxia elatine

Round-leaved Fluellen Kickxia spuria

Although not particularly common plants in this country, Sharp-leaved and Round-leaved Fluellen, Kickxia elatine and Kickxia spuria, are friends to fresh wounds and sore skin. They may be found in Europe, south and east to the Mediterranean on cultivated land with light soils. Fluellen stops all sorts of bleeding and helps repair cut or broken skin of any kind. I have found them beneficial when stuffed in my socks to soothe sore, blistering feet, scrapes and irritations. The specific compounds they contain are little studied, as yet, by modern science but iridoid glycosides that have been discovered in them are known to speed up the body‟s healing ability.

PLANT LORE

A compress of crushed fresh leaves is still used in central Italy to cure boils, to clear up bruises and to heal damaged skin, typically by the astringent actions of tannins in the herb. In northern India and Pakistan an infusion of leaves is taken to arrest diarrhoea and the indigenous Micmac tribe of North America put it to similar use.

Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica

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Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica is well known as a fibre and a food. Medicinally, it is popular in many cultures for lowering blood sugar levels, removing threadworms and treating urinary complaints, when taken internally. The stings are known to alleviate rheumatic pain and arthritis. Its wound healing ability may come as a surprise, however. A traditional remedy for nose-bleed in this country was to self-administer a bruised leaf (which may still sting) to the roof of the mouth! In North America the Abnaki people powdered the leaves and use them as a snuff to the same effect. In a 17th century Russian text, known as The Herbal Book, it says 'we chew raw nettle, mash it and apply it to fresh wounds, and so we clean and heal the wounds.' For old, infected wounds, it advised to crush both the nettle leaves and seeds, and add salt. In such a situation with nettles to hand and no alternative, we would do well not to spurn them, perhaps?

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John Ruffhead

In Pursuit of a

The hot sunny days of high summer herald the potential for rich pickings to those in the know. It‟s not only the sun seekers who head towards the beach on the hot days in high summer, mackerel use the clearer water that results from the calmer weather to move inshore for easy pickings.

“droppers”. Each hook has a couple of coloured feathers whipped to it. Any bright or reflective material will catch on a good day, I have frequently use strips of cheap carrier bag! One end of the string of feathers is tied to the main line of the rod, the other end is attached to a suitable casting weight for the rod (3-6 ounces).

As a result of commercial fishing boats removing entire shoals (500 tonnes) with a single shot of the net, mackerel are not as plentiful as they once were. However when you find them they will often be easy to catch in numbers. In the summer months the water becomes warm and clear. Mackerel are sight feeders and use the combination of improved visibility and the natural barrier of the shore to their advantage. They will crowd shoals of baitfish near the beach, knowing that the prey will have a vastly reduced number of escape routes. As takers of fish, we can use this knowledge to our advantage to harvest these fantastic fish.

The feathers are cast out as far as possible and then retrieved whilst pumping the rod up and down . This makes the feathers twitch and jerk in a way that replicates the movements of frightened prey fish. The mackerel will attack aggressively and usually hook themselves, often several at a The ideal spot for catching mackerel from the shore is time. anywhere where you can cast into clear and relatively deep water (20 ft plus). This will include rocky points and headlands, piers and groynes but also steep stony beaches such as those found on the south coast at places like Chesil, Hythe or Dungeness.

Right Place, Right Time

The key ingredient is that the water is clear – mackerel can‟t feed where they can‟t see. Mackerel will tend to come within casting range during the few hours that span the high water period. The ideal tides are those where high water falls in the morning or evening; which is good news because mackerel are delicious for breakfast or supper!

How to do it

Part of a home-made mackerel rig using the plastic silver wrapper from a cereal bar.

You will obviously need a rod that will cast well. A beach caster is ideal but a pike, carp or spinning rod will do fine. Mackerel can be taken on float fished strips of fish such as mackerel , herring or sandeel fished in mid water. This technique will also pick up the green boned Garfish.

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The favourite technique for taking lots of mackerel is by using feathers. These can be bought cheaply, or made, and consist of a string of 5 or 6 hooks on short

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Remember that the mackerel may be feeding at different depths so vary the depth of retrieve by allowing the lead to sink for a few seconds before retrieving it. If you count the lead down to the bottom, say 20 counts, then allowing it to sink for 10 counts before retrieving should see you fishing in mid-water, whilst a count of 15 will put you near the bottom and so on.

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f a Striped Torpedo Fishing with a single spinner or lure will take fish one at a time and show you just how hard these little fish can fight. For the ultimate in mackereling fun try using trout fishing fly tackle!

can be frozen, they lose a little flavour and flesh quality and should be eaten within a month. For long term preservation, smoking will give superb results and if the smoked mackerel are then frozen they will keep well.

Please, if you find the fish are plentiful, only catch what you know you can use before they go bad. These beautiful and delicious fish are under huge commercial Mackerel make delicious and very healthy eating but go pressure and we owe it to them not to waste what we off very quickly. They are at their best for only a few take. hours after catching or 24 hours if well refrigerated. One thing is for sure, once you have eaten mackerel Although fresh from the sea, you will never again eat it from a they tin!

Photos a© Steve Kirk

Don’t over do it

FISHING SKILLS

Pan-fried Mackerel with fresh Damsons Ingredients; 4 small Mackerel – heads off and cleaned Olive oil 2 cloves garlic 2 handfuls Damsons Sea salt Cracked black pepper

Place the fish in the pan on top of the olive oil and garlic. Loosely stuff the fish cavities with wild plums and sprinkle them into any surrounding spaces. Drizzle over a little more olive or vegetable oil to

get them cooking. Cook without moving them for 6 minutes, then turn them over for another 6 minutes. When almost done, crack black peppercorns all over the fish and sprinkle with crystals of sea salt. Serve with freshly toasted bread. Leave damsons in pan and use a few to garnish.

Steve Kirk

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Method; Drizzle olive oil over the frying pan and heat until moderately hot. Finely grate the garlic cloves and sprinkle over the pan. Turn down the heat to medium.

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Purple Power!

Steve Kirk

Blackberry Baked Egg Custard in a large roasting tin or ovenproof dish. Pour in hot water into this until it comes about halfway up the egg custard bowl.

Ingredients; 200g fresh Blackberries 3 eggs 50g sugar ¾ pint milk ½ tsp mixed spices (cinnamon, nutmeg etc.)

Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour. If your egg custard is deeper than 3cm it may need a little longer. A skin should form Method; on the surface and the custard Pre-heat oven to 180°C (150°C fan should wobble slightly. -assisted). Cool and serve decorated with a Set aside about 20 Blackberries. few remaining fresh berries. Take the rest and mash them thoroughly through a sieve into a bowl, to collect the puréed juice without seeds. Pour the milk into a saucepan. Stir the Blackberry juice into the milk and heat until almost boiling. Combine the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat them together. Pour on the hot Blackberry milk beating all the while with a whisk. Transfer to an oven proof bowl of a suitable size. Add about a dozen Blackberries, then sprinkle with mixed spices. Stand the bowl

liquid to the saucepan. Add the Handful dry Carragheen, (approx. carragheen, bring to the boil and simmer for a further 40 minutes, 35g ) or until the seaweed has 500g fresh Blackberries dissolved. If it takes too long to ½ litre water dissolve, strain it through the 1 tablespoon honey sieve once more after this time.

Ingredients;

Method; Add the fruit, water and honey to a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Turn down heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 40min. In the meantime soak and wash the carragheen, trimming off any holdfasts or encrustations.

The

After the 40 minutes, strain the contents of the saucepan into a bowl through a sieve, pressing the pulp with the back of a spoon to extract all of the juice. Return the

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Pour into individual bowls. Allow to cool, then set in refrigerator overnight. Serve with a dollop of thick double cream as a dessert, or with muesli and cream for breakfast. This should be enough for four, but it is more economical to make in larger quantities, using the same proportions of fruit and seaweed etc.

Blackberry Carragheen Jelly

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There is so much more to the humble Blackberry,

than the traditional crumble, jam or summer pudding. It adds colour to everything it touches, (including your clothes and skin, of course), but as well as making sweet and vibrant desserts, it combines well in savoury dishes. Try stuffing your roast chicken with fresh blackberries, for example, or add some to a rabbit casserole, for a visual and taste sensation.

Photos© Steve Kirk

Blackberry or Bramble Rubus fruticosus, is an aggregate of micro-species – while they are all recognisable as the same type of plant, a closer look reveals that some are hairy, some smooth, some have small leathery leaves, others have large papery ones, etc. The flowers and the fruits differ too. Use your bushcraft to find the bramble patch with the most succulent fruits with the least pips, in your area. Also which variety is the first to ripen…

Blackberry and Apple loaf-cake the eggs and the zest. Stir the baking powder into the rubbed-in mixture in the large bowl, then quickly and lightly stir in the egg mixture until it drops lightly from the spoon. Don't overmix.

Ingredients; 250g self-raising flour 175g butter 175g light muscovado sugar 1 small eating apple, quartered (not cored or peeled) 2 large eggs, beaten 1 lemon, finely grated zest 1 tsp baking powder 225g blackberries

Gently fold in three quarters of the berries with a metal spoon without breaking them. Spoon into the tin and level. Cover the top with the rest of the berries pressing them half their depth into the mix. Bake for 75-80 minutes. After 50 minutes check if it is browning too much and cover loosely with foil if it is.

Method; Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4/fan 160°C. Butter a loaf or cake tin. In a loaf tin, the middle of the cake is more inclined to cook than in a cake tin. Rub the flour, butter and muscovado sugar together with your fingers to make fine crumbs in a large mixing bowl. Coarsely grate the apple down to the core and mix in with

Leave in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out, then cool on a wire rack. Many servings. Delicious with a little single cream. Keeps in a tin or wrapped in foil for a couple of days. Adapted from a recipe in Good Food magazine, September 2002.

Ingredients; 500g fresh chicken 2 slices bacon 15g butter 1 onion, chopped 150ml ketchup 75g brown sugar handful fresh Blackberries 100ml stewed apples 200ml verjuice (Blackberry vinegar)

Mix the ketchup, brown sugar, and blackberry vinegar together. Add to this the onions from the oven. Spread a layer of apple sauce over the chicken and bacon and pour the blackberry Method; mixture over this. Bake for a Preheat oven to 200°C further 20 minutes. (180°C fan-assisted). Place butter and Serves 2-3 people. chopped onion in a medium baking dish. Cook in oven for 15

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The

Sweet and Sour Blackberry Chicken

minutes, stirring occasionally. Move onions to one end of dish. Add the chicken, spread it out and bake for 25 minutes. After first 10 minutes lay bacon slices over the chicken and then continue cooking.

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Incus: This is Latin for anvil, and is the meteorological term for the horizontal spread of cloud that occurs at the top of a Cumulonimbus cloud as it reaches an inversion, usually the tropopause. At this point frozen crystals of ice spread out in a long plume that is carried downwind, but if the rising air is sufficiently strong it will force some air upwind. This creates a short spur at the back, a long spur at the front and a flat top in the middle with a neck that tapers downwards to a spreading solid base. When seen from the right angle it resembles a blacksmith‟s anvil made of cloud.

THUNDERSTORM FEATURES

upper wind direction

overshoot

downwind extent of anvil

Cumulus congestus - Towering Cumulus: These clouds are indicative of strong convective activity. A bubble of warm moist air is punching up through the atmosphere and although condensing on the outside as it rises, if the cell has enough energy it will reach all the way to the stratosphere and become a thunderstorm. Sometimes, however, they simply „run out of steam‟ and detach from their bases because they are not sufficiently well fed at ground level to keep it up. Also, on occasion a moderately strong convection will meet strong horizontal winds at a mid-level height that will topple or shear their tops off , or they may meet a stable layer where they condense and spread into Stratocumulus or Altocumulus.

warm air

arcus - shelf cloud

The

Photos and illustration© Steve Kirk

cold air

Arcus – Shelf or Roll Cloud: The front lip of the Cumulonimbus cloud underside is shaped to a large extent by the strength of the outflowing down draught of air. Often it is shelf-like, sometimes stepped and occasionally with a long, detached rotating roll cloud. This one has a strong horizontal rotation just inside the shelf, visible on the right above the tree.

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pannus

rain/hail

Mammatus: Nobody really know how these pendulous, breast-like (hence mamma, Latin for breast or udder) cloud formations occur but they are an amazing sight. They most often form upon the rear section of a thunderstorm anvil, particularly when the storm is decaying, so they are a welcome and intriguing sign. Many cloud types can support mammatus but after a thunderstorm they may cover the entire sky.

expansion of anvil upwind

mammatus

pileus

Pileus: A fast-growing tower of swelling Cumulus (the outside of which is cold) may meet a warm moist layer of air on its way up and for a while push it ahead of itself. This layer condenses into a cirriform (hair-like) hood. â&#x20AC;&#x17E;Capâ&#x20AC;&#x; clouds (Latin pileus) may have several layers where they bump into moist air at different levels. They quickly dissipate, or are pierced or absorbed by the main cloud. Pilei are an indication that the updraught of the cloud is very strong and is likely to develop into a thunderstorm.

velum

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The

lightning

Velum: These are accessory clouds, ones that are born from another cloud type. They may result from the temporary spreading of the top of a rising cumulus before it bursts through a cool layer, or from it pushing up warm moist air from lower levels in a similar way to pileus. From our usual viewpoint these clouds may seem opaque and narrow, but they are horizontally extensive in nature and translucent as can be seen in the aerial photograph. Their name comes from the Latin for curtail or sail and refers to their draping manner.

WEATHER LORE

/hail

Orphaned Anvils: As the vertical energy that fuels the circulation within the Cumulonimbus cloud decreases because, say, the inflow of warm air dies out, the top of the cloud may fall back and the Cirrus plume become detached from it by the strong horizontal winds; it is then known as an orphan anvil. It may persist as a patch of dense Cirrus for some time after the rest of the thunderstorm has dissipated and even produce precipitation in the form of falling ice crystals, which usually evaporate before reaching the ground. These are known as virga.

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Ouch! Venomous C Compared to many places in the world, the UK is not a dangerous place. When it comes to painful stings, bites and envenomation we are not overwhelmed by risk. Nevertheless it is better to know where potential problems may arise than to tramp the great outdoors in blissful ignorance. Then we may practice awareness, caution and avoidance. However much care we take, accidents will occasionally occur and then it is always good to know what to do in advance. Of the larger venomous creatures, there are two potentially problematic backboned animals; both are legless, one is terrestrial and the other, marine. The Adder, or Northern Viper Vipera berus is Britain‟s only poisonous snake. Despite its widespread, if patchy, distribution across England, Scotland and Wales, most of us won‟t even have seen an adder, let alone experienced any kind of close encounter with one, though the natural aversion of snakes that seems to be shared in our collective unconscious will

have led many people to misidentify the harmless Grass Snake Natrix natrix, or even the Slow-worn Anguis fragilis, actually a legless burrowing lizard, as one – as part of our instinct „to be on the safe side‟.

shyly slides from view. Identification The most distinctive feature of this viper‟s head is the red eye with a vertical slit pupil, like a cat‟s, an indicator of the snake‟s semi-nocturnal habits. Many books then suggest that an X or a V mark on the head is a good means of identification but this is not particularly helpful as there is a black V- shaped patch, albeit just behind the head, on the Grass Snake. So the next thing to look for is the thick, dark zigzag pattern down the back, like a series of diamonds (or playing card „spades‟) joined at the tip, dark brown in females and black in the males. Other snakes have small markings that could be described as vaguely zigzag, the Grass Snake and the rare Smooth Snake Coronella austriaca, but not like the continuous indented stripe of the adder. On the continent other vipers are somewhat similarly marked and, just to be awkward, a harmless mimic in the grass snake family, known as the Viperine Snake Natrix maura has a very convincing adder-like pattern. Treat the adder with respect and you will come to no harm. Do not place any part of your body closer than 30 centimetres, the snake‟s striking distance, better still double or treble that. And don‟t, like the foolish majority of the 100 or so people (mostly men) who are bitten in Britain each year, prod it or attempt to pick it up. In Sweden the annual

The

number of hospital cases is Adders favour warm, dry places such as heathland, chalk slightly higher in relation to downs or the edges of wide woodland rides. In Scotland, a smaller human population and more of these are accidenGrass Snakes are rare, so the adder is the most likely snake tal encounters. In France only about 50 people a year reyou will meet there, despite the cooler climate. In Europe ceive treatment for either Adder and Asp Viper envenomait is a northerly snake, occurring in Scandinavia, even tion. Some people are „lucky‟ and receive a „dry bite‟, a within the Arctic Circle. Its ability to fully gestate within defensive reaction of the snake, designed not to waste its body and give birth to live young enables it to overvenom. Otherwise, two needle-sharp, retractable fangs will come issues that would otherwise prevent the incubation swing forward at the front of the mouth to inject a yellow of eggs. To the south of its range it overlaps with the Asp liquid into your blood stream, and you will immediately Viper Vipera aspis, a similar though chunkier snake with regret it. an upturned nose, equally placid, but with a more potent venom. Other species of viper occur south in Spain and to The venom of Vipera berus contains complex organic the east in the Balkans. compounds that have the ability to break down body tissue in a number of ways. Certain proteins, known as Meeting an adder is not an occasion for fear, as it would proteases, destroy other proteins. Others, known as be with so many tropical species, for it is not a naturally peptide hydrolases and enzymes known as hyaluronidase aggressive snake and will only bite if provoked, cornered, catalyze the chemical breakup of water in certain complex stepped on or handled. A typical basking position for the carbohydrates. Phospholipases are cytotoxic; that is to say, adder is coiled like a rope or perhaps stretched out on a they kill cells. In doing so they cause internal bleeding by log, with the body flattened to maximise the area in reach destroying the thin layer of cells that lines the interior surof the sun. Half cloudy mornings are best, as the snake face of blood vessels, typically resulting in early and takes longer to achieve the critical temperature to be fully extensive swelling and loss of blood volume active. Such occasions are an opportunity for a good, safe (hypovolaemia) and blood pressure (hypotension). There look, otherwise you will merely glimpse the snake as it also seems to be a component of the venom that is toxic to

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Steve Kirk

attempt should be made to cut or squeeze the wound to remove the poison as this is likely to introduce infection into already damaged tissue, increase shock, and speed up the absorption of poison. Use of a ligature or tourniquet above the bite to try to slow the spread of poison is not recommended as this can do much more harm than good. Medical attention should be swiftly sought.

In the course of my work I have met two people that had suffered severe adder bites. The first, an old man, who was in his twenties when he received his bites, perhaps serves as an example. He and a friend were working in forestry, planting trees. They found a black adder coiled up in a basking spot in the plantation

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Photo: Anne Riddell

What is characterised as „mild‟ by the medics is still not fun for you or me. There follows the true case history of a mild bite, that is unlikely to have entered into this year‟s national statistics.

Evening of day 1

The

Medically, bites are classed as follows. Minor: No local swelling occurs. This would be from a „dry bite‟, a puncture of the fangs without venom being injected. Mild: Local swelling with or without gastrointestinal symptoms occurs. Redness and a persistent burning sensation are typical. Intermittent and abrupt stomach pain and diarrhoea accompanies an adder bite in about a quarter of cases, as does giddiness, nausea and vomiting. Hypotension – abnormally low blood pressure – occurs in about a third of patients. Moderate: Extensive swelling (oedema) and shock lasting less than two hours. Zagreb antivenom is usually administered at this level of distress , which can progress to the next stages. Severe: Characterised by shock lasting longer than two hours or other signs of whole body (systemic) envenoming. Fever, heart arrhythmias, and fluid or bleeding in the lungs occur in about 5% of cases. Fatal: Deaths are rare and are often associated with individual heart conditions, anaphylaxis (extreme allergic reactions) – either to the venom or to the antivenom – or as a result of a child being bitten. The last UK death, sadly, was that of a 5 year old boy in Scotland in 1975. Just 14 people have perished in over one hundred years. In Sweden, the mortality rate is nearly four times that of the UK, though in recent decades it has decreased considerably.

SENSE

the heart but this has not yet been isolated and possibly where they were occupied and resolved to capture it to a neurotoxic (nerve-damaging) element that can cause show their mates. The plan was that his friend would breathing difficulties. hold open a sack whilst he grabbed the snake by the tail and flicked it in. As he caught up the snake, his All of this is plenty powerful enough to kill a mouse, friend froze and failed to open the sack mouth, forcing bird or lizard, the adder‟s natural prey and to begin the him to hold on for longer than anticipated. The adder process of digesting it, yet when you consider what turned back on itself and struck him twice in quick adder venom can do to human tissue, it is a wonder succession on the knuckle. He did not describe his that the majority of bites don‟t have worse consesymptoms, but I dare say that he was not really aware quences than they actually do. It may be that the com- of them, spending as he did, the next 3 days in a coma, bination of a small amount of venom of relatively low and awakening in hospital. He showed me his knuckpotency being injected into the large body mass of an les which were still distorted and misshapen to that adult human being, mitigates the worst effects someday. what. The same would not hold true for a child and the The second was a young boy who had spent a similar period of unconsciousness but who went situation is considered to on to make a full recovery. be potentially more serious. However, the effects of any bite are unpredictable so that a visit to the A&E First Aid department of a hospital should follow as a matter of The limb or other bite location should be immobilised course. immediately to prevent the poison from spreading. No

SAFETY

s Creatures

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Photo: Anne Riddell

Circumstances: Working in bramble and honeysuckle undergrowth in coppiced woodland. Felt what I thought was a stick underfoot and then felt two sharp lancing pains to lower right leg, followed rapidly by two more. Could not see anything through undergrowth.

Day 3:

Injury: Within minutes was conscious of burning sensation in lower leg and saw a red wheal appearing. Discounted bramble thorns, wood ants, bees, wasps and other invertebrates as potential causes – felt this was possible adder bite. Wheal grew larger, more painful and itchy as day went on and ankle swelled up.

Progression: Evening of day 1: Large red wheal spread from back of leg to front, approx. 5cm wide x 3cm tall; burning, very itchy, ankle swollen. Day 2: Wheal deeper red, 7 x 5cm with paler red area round outside, as before; very sore to touch. Felt slightly light headed. Day 3: Wheal purple, approx. 14 x 8cm with paler red area spreading down foot, up and round leg; two small raised red points approx. 7-8mm apart now visible at back of leg; wheal still burning, ankle and foot feeling very swollen and tight, itching furiously (as if being continually stung by a swarm of bees); worse that evening. Still feeling light headed. Day 4: Woke up to find lower part of wheal now black (standard confirmation of adder bite), although swelling only slight now. Attended own GP surgery – neither GP nor district nurse had seen an adder bite, could not find venomous snake bite on NHS database so could neither confirm nor record it, nor find recommended treatment. GP Googled picture of puff adder victim, showing swollen purple flesh splitting, and agreed I was not displaying that level of injury; suggested it might be a grass snake bite (!) and gave me a tetanus jab. Asked how I was treating it and asked me to monitor it and come back if I was worried. Day 5: Swelling only slight but tissues aching, wheal pale reddish/ purple but colour deepened when standing for a while. Very itchy in evening. Day 6: Wheal now purplish red round outside and yellowish/ orange in middle; two red points still clearly visible; still slight swelling and ache but less itchy. Day 7: Steve applied greater plantain poultice to wheal and made me drink plantain tea – burning feeling ceased within minutes and itchiness gone. Reapplied poultice at night. Day 8: Discolouration, burn and itchiness virtually gone.

Day 7

The

Day 15: Very, very slight discolouration just visible between affected and unaffected skin. No other symptoms.

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Photo: Steve Kirk

Day 9: Two more poultices applied (day and evening).

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…It is no coincidence that the Lesser Weever Fish has „viper-like‟ in its Latin name. Echiichthys vipera is a small, (up to 14cm) abruptly tapering, laterally compressed silver fish with high-set eyes and a deep, downturned bulldog mouth. Along the back is a double dorsal fin; the first part is black and looks like the small sail of a Chinese junk; the second runs the length of the body tapering towards the tail, as does the anal fin. Other fins are in typical fishy arrangement, though the pectorals are quite large and support the fish at rest. While weevers are found on sandy coasts all around Britain, most people never see one. However, every summer many people find them – by feel! The fish has the awkward habit of following the tide in and out and burying itself in the sand with just its eyes, mouth and first dorsal fin protruding. The rays on this fin comprise stiff spines covered with a fine membrane that ruptures as it penetrates skin and delivers venom along grooves from glands on the spines – usually into the sole of the foot, toe or ankle – Ouch! An additional, equally poisonous, spine is located above each gill cover and is probably more of a hazard when handling the fish. Weevers are occasionally caught with rod and line but more frequently turn up in shrimp nets, when precautions must be taken, (such as sorting your catch with a spoon). The concealing habit is to assist in catching prey and the venomous accoutrements purely defensive. No malice to humans is intended. Nevertheless in the course of the summer many accidental injuries are inflicted upon bathers, surfers and innocent people venturing out for a paddle. Exact figures are hard to come by, as in areas where these fish are common, such as the surfing beaches of Devon and Cornwall, first aid is readily available and only a small proportion of cases present to A&E or a GP, but in summer 2000, 40 people were recorded as being stung around Swansea and the Gower Peninsula. The venom contains proteins, including serotonin, which is a hormone and neurotransmitter found in many tissues of the body including the central nervous system. Among the numerous effects it can have on the body are narrowing of the blood vessels, thus restricting bloodflow, and the stimulation of the muscles that surround the linings of the digestive system, airways, and circulatory system. Adrenaline is also present, increasing blood pressure and heart rate. Kinin or kinin-like proteins from the clear part of blood cause blood vessels to leak and interact with substances in the body to cause pain and swelling, while histamine has some contrary and some similar effects, creating immediate hypersensitivity. Pain is excruciating and the onset of symptoms, rapid. Redness and swelling may be

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Photo: Steve Kirk

localised to the foot (or hand) or spread up the whole limb. Inflammation may persist up to two weeks but it more often subsides after a few days. With a complex poison that is doing a variety of unpleasant things to your body tissues, treatment is difficult and there is no known antidote. However, prompt first aid, pain relief and antihistamine can all help. Extreme cases have resulted in hyperventilation, delirium, loss of an unborn baby and have also led to heightened immune responses to other stings, in other words triggering anaphylactic sensitivity on another occasion. Death is rare and many of the reported worst cases come after a sting from the Greater Weever, Trachinus draco, a similar-looking but altogether larger and more venomous fish that inhabits deeper water. First Aid

longer it appears necessary to heat-treat the limb. It appears that several of the venom‟s components break down with heat, to the relief of any victim. Ice cubes and cold compresses are a bad idea as they increase the pain. Any more severe or persistent symptoms should be treated at Accident and Emergency or by a doctor. Avoidance Thousands of people paddle every year and never step on a weever fish but on sandy shores, especially in the south-west quite a few do. You could shuffle your feet, but that is no way to get about. If you are wearing jellies, wellies or pumps you should be quite safe. There is still a risk with flip-flops on as toes and sides of feet are exposed for an oblique encounter. That is why we insist that no-one goes barefoot when attending our one-day shrimping courses.

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The

Aspivenin pumps are used by some lifeguards in North Cornwall to draw out the venom, but otherwise first aid in well-known weever „hotspots‟ is standardised as follows: As soon as possible, immerse the affected part in water, as hot as can be tolerated without scalding the patient. Keep it immersed for 20-30 minutes. The longer the delay in initial treatment, the

Bushcraft Magazine

A Platter to Flatter

Kevin Warrington

All photos by the author

Before moving to Lapland, I spent at least six weeks each year at my cabin. I was 50km from the nearest town and so had to make any items I required from natural materials. A couple of these items included wooden plates and bowls. I knew that trying to create a round plate from a cross section of a log would not work because as the wood dries and shrinks, it cracks and splits. This is a prime example of having to “think outside the box”. Does a plate actually have to be round?…Of course not! I have made several plates and bowls now and here is the method I use. The tools you will require are an axe, a knife, a spoon gouge, a wooden baton and sandpaper. Each item takes between one – two hours to make.

The

If you do not have a spoon gouge, another method of hollowing out your plate or bowl is to use hot embers from the fire. Place an ember on to your piece of wood and hold it in place with a small stick. Blow the ember and the wood will start to burn. Move the ember around, burning out the inside of the plate. Every so often you can use a knife, piece of flint or other stone to scrape away the burnt wood

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Firstly you require a log (I usually use Birch) about 25cms long, which you split in half. Take one half and split again, giving you a piece of wood 25cms long and roughly flat on both sides.. Use an axe to work both sides to give an even thickness to the piece of wood (15 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 20mms thick for a plate & 25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 30mms for a bowl). I like to have a large base when making a plate, because then I can use the base as a chopping board when preparing food

Draw the shape of the outside of your plate or bowl on one side of the piece of wood and then draw the same shape but a little smaller inside your first drawing to give the inside of the plate. The area between the two marks will be a lip to your plate.

Once you have roughed out the inside, use the gouge in your hand to achieve a more even and better shape.

When you are happy with the inside, turn over the piece of wood and shape the outside of the plate using a knife.

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The

If you wish, you can sand your plate smooth (I use 80 grit, then 150 and finally 340), but I often leave them un-sanded to show my work.

TRADITIONAL SKILLS

Use the gouge with a baton to begin removing wood from the inside of the plate.

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In the same way as the Plough is a star pattern visible within a larger constellation – the Great Bear – and the Sickle is a shape recognisable within the Lion, Summer Triangle is the name given to an informal grouping of stars, an asterism, this time made up out of the three brightSUMMER TRIANGLE est stars in adjacent constellations. The Stars are Deneb, in the Swan; Altair in the Eagle and Vega in the Lyre.

On a moderately clear night the triangle is easy to find, though initially, surprisingly large. Deneb, the least bright of the three, is the tail of the Swan or the head of the Northern Cross, another asterism, which is found within the Swan, itself a conspicuous constellation. The Swan is oriented along the line of the Milky Way. At a right angle to the right of the swan‟s head, the star Albireo, is the brilliant star Vega. Deneb and Vega form the base of the triangle. The apex, Altair is more distant but still the nearest bright star on the other side of the swan‟s head. Within the bounds of the triangle it is worth looking for Sagitta, the Arrow. This constellation is both small and faint, yet amazingly distinct under normal conditions. It was regarded as representing an arrow by many ancient cultures, including Hebrews, Romans and Persians. Ptolemy the Greek recorded it as one of the 48 original constellations. According to the 1st Century Latin writer, Gaius Hyginus, in his „Astronomica‟, this arrow was one of the weapons of Hercules. Hercules used it to kill the eagle that was continually eating the liver of Prometheus as part of his punishment for stealing fire from the gods. The ancient Greek, Eratosthenes, writing 300 years earlier differed, saying that with this arrow Apollo slew the Cyclopes who forged the thunderbolt which took Aesculapius‟ life. Thus, beliefs differed in time and place. The adjacent faint constellation of Vulpecula, the Little Fox, is not so easy to find and sadly, has no such stories to tell. It was placed there, merely on a whim, by the 17th Century astronomer Johannes Hevelius; but therein hangs a tale. Originally he called it „the Little Fox with the Goose‟ (in Latin Vulpecula cum Anser), and even illustrated it thus in his own catalogue but then later astronomers separated the goose from the fox and made two constellations from one. When the International Astronomical Union was formed in 1919 to formalise the stars for modern astronomers they merged them again … but this time left the goose out of the name. Vulpecula still commemorates the goose, however, as its primary star is known today as Anser, meaning Goose.

The

Just outside the Summer Triangle, close to Aquila, lies the faint but distinct kite-like shape of Delphinus, the Dolphin. The stars

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This eye-catching arrangement of stars is useful as a seasonal marker. In Spring, the triangle sneaks into view in the early morning in the east, but as the season progresses, rises higher, sooner. During the summer months around midnight the Summer Triangle lies virtually overhead at mid-northern latitudes with the apex pointing east. Thereafter, it slips away in the south and west during the evening throughout the Autumn.

THE SUMMER TRIANGLE in the Milky Way and the Eagle and the Swan follow its course. In Dark Sky areas or on especially clear nights, it is simply stunning.

Another story has the god, Apollo, elevate the dolphin to its special place in the sky after one of these creatures bore the poet Arion from the Sicilian Sea to Taenarum. Arion, who had become wealthy through his unsurpassed skill with the lyre, had had to fling himself into the waves when his own servants plotted to kill him and steal his money whilst on a boat journey home. The poet had pleaded to sing a last song, his own funeral dirge, but the wonderful music is said to have attracted dolphins from far and wide and they swam alongside the boat. Calling upon the gods Arion jumped over the side and so escaped in the way described.

The name of Altair itself derives from A’Tair, a contracted form of Arabic words meaning the Flying Eagle. It is the 12th brightest night-sky star. Altair is just 17 light-years away. Deneb comes from Dhanab, Arabic for tail. Appropriately enough it marks the tail of the Swan, though the term was originally Dhanab ad-Dajajah, “Tail of the hen”. It doesn‟t seem to rank too high as far as the brightest stars in the night sky go, a mere 19th place, until you consider how many there are up there, and then it‟s quite impressive. The light from Deneb has taken anything from one and a half thousand to nearly two thousand years to get here, making it the most distant first magnitude star of all. All that way and still that bright? Yes, it is big and one of the most luminous objects out there. Remember, there‟s small and then there‟s far away.

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The

All of the little constellations have a number of deep-sky objects associated with them, though nothing clear to the naked eye or well-defined with binoculars. In fact, this part of the sky can be, on occasion, so overwhelming with stars that it is difficult to separate the bigger, brighter constellations from their stellar backgrounds. The Summer Triangle is embedded

The stars that form the triangle are quite something. Vega‟s name is derived from the Arabic Al-Waqi', meaning "The Stooping" Eagle. It is the fifth brightest star in the sky and in the northern hemisphere only Sirius and Arcturus ever outshine it. Because of the star‟s distance from the Earth, the light from Vega began its journey to our eyes 25 years ago!

STAR LORE

of this region are mostly beyond the range of binoculars or the unaided eye. However, the attached stories are much more accessible. A sea-nymph called Amphitrite was courted by Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the sea. Initially she was afraid and fled, hiding among other Nereids. Poseidon sent out many messengers to track her down but only the dolphin succeeded in finding Amphitrite and persuaded her to return, eventually to become the sea god‟s bride. Out of gratitude Poseidon placed a dolphin among the stars.

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Getting the right tan by Axle

Fleshing Fleshing, put simply, removes the parts of the hide that will most likely decompose. This reduces the likelihood of the process failing. You need a hide that is as thin as possible, whilst also being clean. You don’t need to be clinical about this, but leather is the upper epidermis layers of skin. Lay the hide out, hair side down and make sure as much of the sinew, fat, tendons, flesh and other bits are cleaned from the hide. A sharp knife with a gentle shaving action works best for me, but every hide is different, the more you do, the more you understand different species and signs within the hide. Work either on a flat table or with the hide draped over something that gives a gentle curve. Work in a small area at a time and move methodically around the hide. If this is your

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Preparation I would opt for the simplest methods to carry out any part of this. So I would recommend at this first stage that we need to kill off any ticks, mites or other nasties that may be living on the hide, in order to protect yourself, as well as to make the work a little easier. You simply need to roll the hide and drop it in the freezer for 24-48 hours. This will kill anything that acts as a potential problem to health. You can opt for this method for storing hides for many years should the need arise and when you want to process hides in batches. It is a simple method that will not have a knock on-effect to the tanning process. Once the hides are removed from the freezer avoid direct sunlight, keep them in a plastic bag and allow

them plenty of time to thaw out before you try to unroll them. If they are not completely defrosted they will crack, making the hide split. This makes the finished result more work and if it’s to be used for clothing or bedding, then it won’t be as good.

BUSHCRAFT SKILLS

You need an animal hide; your local abattoir can supply a fresh cow hide for about £30-50 if you want a go. You will have to do a lot of work to it to get it ready, so be warned. Saving money means hard work. It would be a good idea to take some large plastic bags with you to keep the hide in and to protect your car. The smell can put some people off too, but the salting process keeps the smell to a minimum. This is only a short lived aroma, some vapour rub under the nostrils can block the smell of a fresh hide if you are of a weak constitution. It’s important to note at this point that this method does not work for oily skins like beaver or buffalo. A different method is employed for treatment of those hides. The method below will work for any mammal and even reptiles like crocodile.

All photos by the author

I’ve always been a person who likes to experiment and do things the old way. I have done hides into leather in the past and used animal brains, ash and water to turn them into a basic form of leather. With the price of leather always varying I wanted to try a hair on hide as an alternative. This makes the kind of hide popular for clothing, bedding and wall hanging. So this experiment does away with the lime bath to remove the hair.

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Once it’s all cleaned, cover the entire hide in salt Use normal table salt

Loosely roll it up ...

...and put it in a container with a lid

This step should be allowed to work at its own pace.

You will notice that some of the salt has clumped together to form a thick crust in some areas

The

Remove the salt crust with a fleshing knife

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first go, you will miss some areas and we can correct that later on. It is certainly not a problem at this stage, when you first start you can miss a few areas until you get your eye in. Also remember to wash your hands afterwards!

autumn or winter hide that there is more fattier areas than in summer months. The exact species, season and diet affect the hide at this point. The more you do once again, the more you learn to read a hide and how to treat it.

Curing Once it’s all cleaned, cover the entire hide in salt. I know this can be messy and don’t do it on grass or in the garden as it will kill all of the plant life the salt lands on. Now this must be normal table salt; non-iodized, regular, run-of-the-mill, no-additives salt. The anti-caking agents will not help you on this, so please read the pack. You can get a large 1.5kg bag from Tesco for about £2, you need at least three of those for a regular hide of a deer. A cow hide would need four to five as a rough guide and you can’t over salt a hide. Cover the entire hide in a thick layer of salt. Loosely roll it up and put it in a container with a lid to keep critters out. Place the container in a cool dark area like a garage or shed doing nothing else to it for 24 hours.

Once the hide has had all of the crust removed, take some time to see if any more areas of flesh have appeared. If they have, take some extra time to remove the sinew type flesh that has appeared. Once you are completely happy, lay the hide out and salt it once again. You need a good thick layer all over the hide, same as before. It’s better to have a little too much at this point than not enough. Now you can roll it up once again loosely, at this point and leave it in the container once more; or if you have a safe working area where it can be left alone flat, you can leave it there. Different hides at this point take a different amount of time for this next curing stage. This small deer hide will be done in 24-48 hours. If in any doubt leave it for 7 days. You can’t go wrong and it certainly won’t damage the hide if you leave it longer.

Curing kills any bacteria as well as drying the hide out. The process breaks down the hide, removing fats and oils that won’t tan. It is an important step, so it should be allowed to work at its own pace. The hide should not be forced at this point by sunlight or heat. It won’t allow the follicle layer of the skin to grip the hair and most likely hair loss will occur after tanning, leaving bald spots. Fleshing Once More After you take the hide out of the container you will notice the smell has changed to something more pleasant. Any odour discovered after the salting stage is a sign something is wrong. Unroll the hide somewhere flat and loosely move it around a little. You will notice that some of the salt has clumped together to form a thick crust in some areas. This is quite normal and all part of the process. Thicker areas like the neck and around the rear, or fattier areas like the back will form thicker crusts than other areas. You need to remove the thick areas of salt crust and the best way to do that is by the same method you used for fleshing. You may find that on a late

Hydration So far we have cleaned the hide and by doing so sterilized the skin, killing any bacteria. We have broken down the fats and oils, as well as removing collagen from the skin and allowed it to shrink on the follicle layers gripping the hair. If we were fur trappers or traders we would stop at this point and scrape the salt off the hide and it would keep this way for many years. But as we are going to be tanning, we need to make the hide workable once more. To do that, we rehydrate it again. I know this may seem illogical to make it all wet again, but as the skin cells have gaps in them by removing the oils, we can fill those gaps with preservative and the hide will become leather. Too dry and it won’t accept the tanning solution, too wet and the cells swell up making it difficult to get the tanning solution to penetrate. You need to take a large clean container and fill it with warm water. It’s important that you don’t use boiling water, you don’t want to cook the hide and spoil it at this point. So fill the

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Lay the hide out and salt it once again

If in any doubt leave it for 7 days

Remove the salt crust after this stage

It would keep this way for many years

Take a large clean container and fill it with warm water

Tanning Tanning can be done in different ways and some are simpler than others. I don’t think you can find a cleaner or simpler way than using ‘Tannin’ which can be extracted from the bark, roots and leaves of oak trees. You can buy it in the form of an oil that contains tannin itself and other mild chemicals to aid penetration into the skin. This is the simplest of all the methods and the one we are opting for today. The oil is a dark golden colour, similar to golden syrup, but a little thinner. Shake the bottle for a good few minutes to make sure the oils are evenly mixed in the bottle. This is important! Make sure you are wearing gloves. I cannot emphasise enough that this chemical mix turns hide into leather, the skin on your hands is only a hide on you, so mistreatment of the chemicals here can lead to problems for your skin. Eye protection is also advised.

hide in sections – either loosely divided into six or Simply put the hide in the water and as simple strips across the allow it to sit for 4-6 hours width of the hide. Work by pouring on some of the oil and massaging and rubbing it into the hide a little at a time. An average deer hide needs about 8oz of tannin oil so don’t pour it all on at once. Try to divide Keep changing the water and rinsing it up mentally as you work to remove any salt still in the hide the hide. You need to pay special attention to the edges, the neck area and rump, making sure the oil is massaged well into the hide, and also has a thin coating sitting on the surface afterwards. Some people like to pull the hide Wring it out like you would your laundry through a metal hoop and fingers to make sure the hide is really well coated. Whatever works for you is best and as long as you work it methodically over the entire hide and into the edges it will be fine. When you are confident everything is treated with the tannin oil, lay the hide down on newspaper on plastic or a nonwooden table, so the chemicals won’t soak into it. You just need to leave the hide alone in a warm place until it is completely dry.

It is essential to have any hide while being tannin treated in a You want the hide damp position that will not attract for the next stage vermin, but allow the process to take place naturally, ‘Tannin’ oil is a dark golden colour, undisturbed, and in a similar to golden syrup regulated temperature. This drying stage takes between two days and a week to complete. Don’t be tempted to touch or move the hide. Just leave it alone in the warm and allow the tannin solution to tan the hide. You may notice a few small areas with a thick milky solution appear on them. Scrape them off with a spoon or With the head of the hide furthest butter knife and leave it. away from you, and the tail end of the There is nothing you can Try to divide the hide up mentally and use the oil a hide close to you, try to picture the do to make this process little at a time

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Scrape the skin completely free of salt crust and flesh

container partly with cold water, and add hot to make it a little cooler than a baby’s bath water. You only want the hide to rehydrate and relax a little. Simply put the hide in the water and allow it to sit for 4-6 hours. You can agitate it in the water with a stick if it floats to the surface or weigh it down so it’s completely submersed. Keep changing the water every hour or so and rinsing to remove any salt still in the hide. When it moves freely and feels almost like it was fresh, wring it out and remove as much of the water as you can. Don’t worry about damaging the hide at this point, it will take a lot of abuse so wring it out like you would your laundry. Once it’s slightly damp, lay the hide out on some clean plastic and paper or a clean table hair side down once more. You can leave it in a shaded area out of direct sunlight if you can’t wring it by hand or are worried by this. It will shrink and go hard in sunlight so be sure to keep it somewhere shaded. You want the hide damp for the next stage so ultimately you want it similar to a fresh hide in feel.

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Work by pouring on some of the oil and rubbing it into the hide

happen any quicker without making it spoil the result. Don’t be tempted to maintain a constant vigil, just a quick look in the morning; if it’s still shining, it’s still wet, so try again tomorrow.

Make sure there is a thin layer of oil coating the surface when you are done

If it’s still shining, it’s still wet

This drying stage takes between two days and a week to complete.

You may notice a few small areas with a thick milky solution appear on them... ...scrape them off with a spoon or butter knife and leave it

go with something similar to a sheepskin rug shape? Whilst you think about this, cover the entire flesh side of the leather in mink oil and rub it in, paying special attention to the edges once more. Cover it with plastic and lay it out hair side up. You have Conditioning This process gives a supple finish to about 6-12 hours while the warmth the hide and makes it flexible once soaks the mink oil into the leather more. Different areas of the world and aids it being supple. You can have different views on how this give it a few hours and tease it some should be done and if in any doubt more if you find it’s a bit too stiff still try what you feel works best for you. at this point. Once you are finished, On a warm day lay the hide outside cover it in the plastic on the flesh in the sun for an hour or two with the side again and allow it to dry comhair downwards. Once you have it pletely. Mink oil, as I understand it is warm to the touch rub in some an extract from the mink itself, and neatsfoot oil over the leather and deeply penetrates the leather making begin to tease the hide around. You it soft; feeding and conditioning the can use a smooth wooden plank or a leather. smooth metal railing and a sawing action. It must be smooth so it won’t The trimming of the hide can be tear the hide. Pull corner to corner, done now, you need a good strong across the width, top to bottom and and sharp knife to do this. Decide on keep moving the hide around to sof- the details of the hide, do you want ten it. Allow the neatsfoot oil to dry the tail on or do you want to remove into the hide in the sun and warm up that? Look at the leg area and decide once more. where you want to go when you trim that. Work out which side has shrunk The next part is to thin the hide a the most and trim that side first. This little and continue making it soft. way you can fold it along the spine Once again, a metal hoop can help, line laying it over the opposite side teasing the hide through it and using and make it symmetrical. If you want a sawing action to release the it for clothing or bedding just trim off tension. It can take a couple of hours the outer ¼ to ½ inch as the hide to get it really soft like a sheep skin here has typically thickened and will rug. Pick a time when you can do be of little use. this and not be side-tracked with work or home life. Treated with care and cleaned as it is required, this hair on leather hide Now let the hide dry out from all of will serve you and your children for the oil on it and leave it to warm up. many years. Any marks or spills can Now gently rub a natural pumice be removed with a little saddle soap stone over the flesh side of the hide. and treated with leather conditioner Work in small circles with a little or neatsfoot, afterwards. The more pressure to break up the surface of hides you do the easier it is to read the leather and help it relax some the hide and work out what will more. If you don’t press hard enough happen at various stages. You may you won’t break the surface tension later on want to invest in an electric in the leather, if you press too hard de-fleshing tool that can set you back you will go through the hide. This can a couple of hundred pounds. But take a good hour or more, so the ultimately the final finish and time slightly cooler, latter part of the day is saved makes it worth it. I cannot the best time for this. finish without reminding you that an animal has died to give you this hide Finishing so it should be treated with respect. You need to think about how you are going to trim the hide now. What sort If you follow this guide at every stage of shape do you need and are you you will have a successful result. If going to maximise the hide itself or you fold the hide in the salting stage

The

Allow time to do its job

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Feed the leather

Soften the leather

Ready for trimming You need a good sharp knife to trim the hide

The final words can only be that of good hygiene in this process, clean hands afterwards, good sturdy rubber gloves and well cleaned work surfaces will make sure everything works as it should. As the sun sets low in the sky of an evening, a cool

beer and a few hides becomes a rewarding way to pass the summer evenings. So give it a try and see just how easy this is.

I have lived on Dartmoor for a few years and live as closely as I can with the moors. I came here to recover from an injury and found it to be the most homely place I have ever visited. So I never left. I spend most of my time now, making tools for people and writing. I also spend a lot of time walking and camping. I find the camp fire brings people closer together. Perhaps the world needs more camp fires? Axle.

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and get creases which you cannot work with, simply rehydrate the hide and start from the beginning once again. Until the hide gets the tannin oil, you can go back to the very beginning to get it right as many times as you need to, within reason. Nothing is at risk until the tanning process begins then itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s down to the process and your hard work in the preparation stages. So remember, all is not lost in the early stages.

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The Last Word

Lloyd Hooper

On a group bushcraft weekend spent on the Gower coast, we thought we would have a go at coastal foraging. Now, most of our previous exploits have left a lot to be desired; we once found a patch of unusual looking mushrooms on the dunes which none of us recognised, so we only picked one to take back to camp to identify. It turned out to be a morel! Someone went back – and found the rest gone, but we are all friends, so we cooked and cut the one into five pieces to share. This trip, one of our group was a "local", so, armed with tide times, a tub of salt and his local knowledge we were off after our first prey – the razor clam. After being taught what to look for, we were off to a good start with one swiftly in the bucket. Then I noticed that I was being followed by another couple of foragers using the same salt trick as us. I was keeping a sneaky eye on them, thinking they were going to pinch our pre-salted quarry. I soon realised the error of their ways; they were following me and, as some of you may know, I use a walking stick to aid my mobility. The dimple left by my stick perfectly matched the holes left by the clams. Suffice to say, we ended the day with a solitary clam in the bucket (which was cooked and shared again) but it was one more than the other couple‟s. It just goes to prove – sometimes in life you have to follow your own path and not somebody else‟s...

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Back Issues

Spring 2010 Spring Tonic, Spring Leaves. Alchemy with Wood - Charcoal Burning. Make a Kelly Kettle Stand. Death By Leaf? Fishing for Rays. Figure of 8 Loop & the Bowyer’s Knot. Anglo-Saxon 9 Herbs Charm. The Dandelion.

Spring 2011 Living in the Forests of Sweden 2. Shamanism for Bushcrafters. Catch Cod. Make a Birch Bark Container. Cook Wild. Lose Your Mind and Come to Your Senses. Spring in Lapland.

Summer 2009 Beach Bounty. Cold Smoking. Forging a striker. Hunter-gatherer’s Year Summer. The Falconer’s Knot. Leave Only a Trail! Make Your own Sea Salt. Super Sow-thistles.

Summer 2010 To Make A Waxed Leather Flacket. Eating Insects. Understanding Umbellifers. Home-made Firelighters. Drowning. Punkie Dope. Hedgerow Brews. Car Wheel Forge. Drying Herbs and Seaweeds. Home-made Charcoal

Summer 2011 The San of Time. Living in the Forests of Sweden 3. Calibrate Yourself. Woodcraft School Advanced Bushcraft Award. Making the Most of Medicinal Herbs. Cook Wild. Summer in Lapland. The Fire Piston.

Autumn 2009 Wash Like a Nomad. A Fistful of Fungi. Bush Wines. The Taut-line Hitch. Natural Navigation. Make a Pothanger. Hunter-gatherer’s Year Autumn.

Autumn 2010 Eat a bolete. Wild at Heart. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Bottling Fruit. Tasty Trail Treats. Iconic Animals - The Raven. Top 10 Tinders. How to Prepare Herbal Medicines. Natural Healing.

Autumn 2011 Make and use a catapult. Bird Traps. Living in the Forests in Sweden 4. Dining Out in Autumn. Soaps That Grow on Trees. The Death Cap. Autumn in Lapland. The Traditional Tinderbox.

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Winter 2009/10 Working with a Ferret. Hypothermia. The Timber Hitch with the Killick Hitch. Modern Flame Generation. Skinning a Rabbit. National Trust Forest School. Natural Navigation. Tracking Badgers in Snow.

Winter 2010/11 Living in a Swedish Forest. Ötzi lives. Tree -felling. Cook Wild. Fire-lighting with Jute Cord, Flint and Steel. Water Witching. Making Moccasins, step-by -step.

Winter 2010/11 Making Tracks - The Rabbit. How High is That Tree? Rabbit, Beware My Snare. Cook Wild - Winter Fare. A Hardwood Soon Made Easy. Preserve a Rabbit Skin. Winter in Lapland. The Last word.

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Spring 2009 Birch Polypore Paper & Ink-cap Ink. 7 Safe Knife Cuts. Portable Porridge. Hunter-gatherer’s Year Spring. Cockle Collecting. Wild Brews. Hogweed Heaven.

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