The description of some fish as ‘coarse’ was thought up by those archetypal snobs, the Victorians, and applies to any species that wasn’t gamefish. But what a misnomer it is. There is nothing coarse about the freshwater fish in our rivers. Pike, perch, roach, rudd, chub, dace, barbel and carp (of which there are three different sorts) are in no way coarse, and perch and pike are particularly beautiful. The former has a huge dorsal fin and black stripes running down a silvery bronze body and the latter is the shark of fresh water, with a body built for speed and a head full of needle-sharp teeth. I hope, but do not believe, that the Victorians described them as ‘coarse’ because they are mostly inedible. There are recipes for pike and I have tried them but, without exception, they all taste of mud. Catch all the coarse fish you like then, but always return them gently to the water. It’s a lesson I learned young, when I caught my first ever fish – a very small roach – at the age of eight. When I had it on the bank, I jumped up and down with over excitement and insisted that I wanted to eat it for my supper. My uncle tried to dissuade me but I was adamant. He then looked me hard in the eye and taught me a great fishing maxim: “If you kill a fish you must eat it. You never waste it.”
Thus, one of the smallest and certainly unluckiest freshwater fish in Britain was hit on the head and taken to the kitchen. My uncle then showed me how to gut it and prepare it for cooking and it was duly fried in butter. I will never forget it. The first mouthful was so disgusting that I spat it out. “Oh no, you don’t,” said my uncle. “You are going to eat every single tiny bit and that will teach you never to kill a fish and not eat it.” I have never made that mistake again.
この記事は The Field の September 2021 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は The Field の September 2021 版に掲載されています。
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Rory Stewart - The former Cabinet minister and hit podcast host talks to Alec Marsh about the parlous state of British politics, land management and his deep love of the countryside
The gently spoken 51-year-old former Conservative Cabinet minister is a countryman at heart. That's clear: he even changes into a tweed waistcoat for the interview, which takes place at his London home and begins with a question about his precise career status. Having resigned from the Commons and the Conservative Party in 2019, the former diplomat and soldier has reinvented himself, first with an unconventional but promising run as an independent for the London mayoralty (abandoned because of COVID19 in 2020) and then as a media figure, co-hosting one of the country's most popular podcasts, The Rest Is Politics, alongside Alastair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor.
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