Monday, 23 February 2015

Boats In The Bay. Looking Out From Our Smallholding Kitchen Window.








 One of the myriad of oil tankers that come in and out of Bantry Bay.  They go to and fro from Whiddy Island oil terminal.  This picture was taken a couple of weeks a go.  You always know it's going to rain when the houses on the Beara peninsula look close.  Cloud caps on top of Hungry Hill are another indicator  that it's going to rain.  Shiny rocks and the terrier eating grass are also certain indicators that it's going to rain.  I always wonder how much oil the tankers use transporting the oil.

Boats fishing this very morning after the storm last night.  Perhaps the local chip-shop will have some Cod tonight?  Every time we go in they want to sell us Hake or Haddock.  They call the chip-shop the "Chipper" in Ireland.  You can't get pies or baked beans though!

I think the fishermen are heroes.  They are the farmers of the sea!
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13 comments:

  1. Sol23 February 2015 at 03:52

    its really dangerous being a fisherman isnt it. When we were in Northumberland everyone in front of us in the chip ship had gravy on their chips. I have never heard of it before... have you?

    ReplyDelete
  2. northsider 23 February 2015 at 04:57

    Yes Sol they are terribly brave people, the fishermen.

    I think gravy on your chips is a northern English tradition. When I lived in Chester they called a bag of chips a: chip batch. I miss pies like meat, meat and potato and steak pies, pasties too. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anne Wilson23 February 2015 at 08:25

    It would be good to get any fresh fish in Ireland, I can't believe that we live on an Ireland surrounded by sea, the rubbish that is sold in the shops must make fishermen cringe, it's all filleted and not a whole fish in sight let alone fresh, it's all chilled or ice glazed. I was bought up in what was then a small fishing town Poole in Dorset, the fish was so fresh it was still flapping.

    ReplyDelete
  4. northsider 23 February 2015 at 10:57

    Yes I know what you mean Anne. We miss meat and potato pies and steak puddings and pasties. I also miss English real ales. There seems to be a budding craft beer industry emerging in Ireland. Sometimes we make our own potato pies and pork mince pies. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Twiggy23 February 2015 at 12:46

    Wish I was there looking at the view. Our chip shops sell gravy. It's funny we sometimes have a chip butty ( breadcake and chips). We went toNorthumberland many moons ago and asked for a breadcake, they thought we were nuts :)
    Twiggy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. northsider 23 February 2015 at 23:36

      Hi Twiggy. We once went in a chippy in Sheffield and asked for chip muffins. The girl behind the counter said:

      "We have only got flour cakes".

      They were the same things. Just regional name variations.

      Delete
  6. Twiggy23 February 2015 at 12:48

    PS I read your comment about Slaughtered Lamb to Mr Twigs and he understood straight away ( I didn't doh!). I said you must be kindred spirits, he said no every man remembers that movie because of Jenny Agutter, cheeky monkey !!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. northsider 23 February 2015 at 23:34

    Hi Heron. A lot of the chips in Northwest England used to give you fish scraps and they sold a vast array of different pies, puddings and extras like mushy peas, curry sauce, gravy... Then one day we started buying Doner kebabs and pizza.

    ReplyDelete
  8. northsider 23 February 2015 at 23:41

    Watch 'American Werewolf In London' Twiggy. In the Yorkshire pub scene. You will see the name of your beer and a very young Rik Mayall. My hero was Brian Glover. Remember 'Kes'? Funnily enough. Jenny Agutter also starred in another Yorkshire film: 'The Railway Chidren'.

    'Rita, Sue and Bob Too', 'Little Voice' and 'Brassed Off' are 3 more of my favourite English films set in your beautiful Yorkshire. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. cumbrian24 February 2015 at 03:30

    Sadly our traditional fish & chip shops are now a bit of a rarity; Chinese, Indian, Kebabs, Pizzas, etc seem to be all the rage now. Not to mention McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, etc. Same as our little local bakeries, the superstores and Greggs have taken over.

    ReplyDelete
  10. northsider 24 February 2015 at 04:43

    Hmm... I think they are all OK but I do miss traditional English style chippies and pie shops. Even some grocers use to sell hot pies and soup in a container when I lived in England. We often go in McDonalds when we go to Killarney, Tralee or Cork. It's very cheap, quick service and very clean. Used Subway a lot when I went to Poland. Trainstations in Vienna are a bit like Greggs and very reasonable.

    We are going to make individual meat and potato pies for tea tonight with baked beans. You can't get Meat and Potato or Meat pies in the chippies here. Thanks Cumbrian!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Vera24 February 2015 at 10:59

    We had a sudden urge to have fish and chips from a fish and chip shop today. No chance though, not here in SW France. It might have been because it is cold and wet here at the moment which made us want a 'fix' of a chippy meal.

    Loved your comment about the fishermen being the farmers of the sea.

    ReplyDelete
  12. northsider 24 February 2015 at 11:44

    Hi Vera. Gosh I didn't think that you couldn't get fish and chips in SW France. We made meat and potato pies today because we can't buy them here in Ireland. I would love my own little lake for Coarse fishing. Perhaps we should dig one?

    The fishermen are the farmers of the sea. There is another world under water to harvest and explore. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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