General Chat

Maggie. I do try to have fish once a day and it has made me the man I am today. And I like tinned mackerel on toast and Admirals Pie, both of which are considerably less than £1 for a decent meal.

I also like to buy fish bargains in Morrisons. And there are so many different flavours to enjoy and so many different ways to cook it and serve it. I try to avoid farmed fish, as that seems very unnatural to me. Frozen at sea fish seems best - waters are cleanest in far north, and they are filleted and frozen as they are caught.

Best if you have access to a sea fish port and know the local fishermen and can buy direct from them. But many of us buy "fresh fish" which is a long way (and sometimes time) from swimming round and has not been kept frozen or filleted immediately. Bit like eating mouldy cheese and cuting the mould away and believing it is ok :-(

Hi John,
I know what you mean about 'fresh' fish.
Rule of thumb - if you can smell it - don't buy it :-|
I miss not living by the sea/a fishing port, I could live on fish.
When we lived in Mevagissey, every morning, when the boats came in, our cat would go down to 'welcome' them. She'd come back, fish in mouth and give it to one of us to cook it :-0
It was duly put in a pan, cooked, and, if we left it to cool for too long, there'd be a 'clunking' noise from the kitchen as she pushed the lid off the pan and removed 'her' fish :-D

When I lived in Shetland, one place we lived, we were on a voe, 16 miles from Lerwick, and had 2 buses a week - but it was a 3 mile walk to the bus stop :-S
One week, I couldn't be bothered going shopping, so harvested mussels and seaweed from the rocks. It was delicious :-D

I make my own fish pie, but I guess you'll be ok John if you have survived so far after eating FF fish pie. Actually it is called 'Admiral's' pie so maybe......????

Can't remember which programme it was on but somebody was demonstrating about fish (may have been country file). She held it close to her face and said 'you can smell it from her, that is fine'. Then she held it down low towards her knees and said 'but if you can smell it from here it is not'.

Maggie - Mevagissey is one of my favourite places on the planet.
I have spent a lot of time around the Charlestown area.
I love the Rising Sun at Portmellon and over the other side I always enjoy regatta week at Fowey when I am usually found at the aptly named Galleon pub on the terrace at the back overlooking the estuary

Erroll,
I didn't live there long - about 18 months, I was 9 or 10. however, I loved it. School was run by the widow of the late headmaster, almost like a 'Dame' School. I used to collect Trolls and buy clothes for them.
I went to buy something in October, and the woman who ran the shop said to me 'You'm still here then?' 'Yes', I said, 'I live here'.
'Oh', she replied, 'Then them dolly clothes b'aint be 2/11, if you'm be local they're 2/6'!!
When, much later I started genealogy, I discovered my grandmother's family had ben tin miners (both men & women) lived for generations in the Kea/Probus/Ruan Lanihorne area.
We went on a family holiday back to the area a few years ago. Unfortunately both the old squint fishermans cottage we lived in, just off Tregony Hill and the fish factory next door had been demolished and replaced with new flats.
But, my nephew & I found the graves of my great grandmother and her brother. :-D

I have often been to the Ship Inn on the corner of Tregoney Hill and the Harbour Tavern which has had a terrible time due to flooding - I think the landlord is leaving

Our seas around our coast are becoming more and more fished out. Cod is struggling hence having to buy atlantic cod and not local.

The fish quotas (which I believe are being changed) also have an impact.

So in many cases the costlier fish is that which is in short supply.

It's very sad indeed that our fishing communities have nearly all gone.
My Maternal side of the family were all Northumbrian fisherfolk,my Granma and her three sisters all fisher lassies and men foyboatmen or on trawlers.
So I remember how plentiful the North sea was for fish, and going down to North Shields fish-quay on market day there were literally hundreds of boxes of any kinds fish you'd like to buy.

One of the stories I've passed onto younger family members is of when we would come home from school and find assorted fish (some very expensive now) lying in the bath! (no fridges then) too many fish for us to eat so Mam would give some away to neighbours...who in return would give back their home baked stotties :-D...
I often think my ancestors would turn in their graves if they could see how things have turned out for the fishing industry :-(