http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager In his weekly food blog Thomas Parkinson talks about foraging for food in London. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:06:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Only the last few bumble bees, buzzing around grumpily and crashing into living room walls, seem to be resisting the arrival of Autumn. Everyone else is getting on with it, particularly the squirrels of Greenwich Park, who are racing against the foragers to gather up chestnuts for the winter. The ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/10/a-bit-of-an-old-chestnut/ Just got back from a fantastic weekend foraging for samphire in Hesketh Banks, Lancashire. My uncle's farm runs up to the bank, beyong which is the marsh and eventually the Ribble estuary which leads out to the Irish sea. We left the farm at about 3 o'clock, an hour or ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/08/samphire/ I’ve been struck down with porcine flu, but in spite of that I’ve been harvesting thunderbolt plums, mirabelles, greengages, cherries and wild rocket. Wild rocket pops up everywhere these days, billowing about on top of stone-baked pizzas, pastas and salads in restaurants and selling for a fortune in supermarkets. It’s ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/07/rocket-science/ The competitive nature of the human spirit manifests itself everywhere it can- and foraging is no exception. This weekend, in Mytholmroyd West Yorkshire, the fiercely fought battle of the World Dock Pudding Championships is taking place. I doubt there’ll be many internationals flying in, but it’s a West Yorkshire dish ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/04/forage-for-victory/ Still waiting for the BBC news feature to happen- it's been trundling on for a few weeks now, with me having to cancel one week, them the next. In terms of foraging though, the further we get into spring the better as I'll have lots more camera-worthy stuff to show them.  ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/03/cropping-up/ The blossoms are out at the moment, and Blackheath looks beautiful. Little dabs of white and powder pink are dotted all over the increasingly green landscape.  Spring has definitely sprung. Blossoms are more than visual treats though- they show the forager where his fruit is going to come from later in the ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/03/exciting-times/ I haven’t written anything recently, due in part to the lack of anything current to talk about; it’s high Winter, and there’s not much to forage at all.  Aside from work, tax returns and other mundane stuff, I’ve been twiddling my thumbs in anticipation of the first signs of new ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2009/02/2009-and-all-that/ December evenings are best when spent cracking walnuts and hacking at a wedge of cheese, considering the last twelve months and making non-committal plans for the next.  This inevitably results in list-making, and here is my list of special mentions for 2008. Bear in mind that they may or may ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2008/12/special-mentions/ Sorry for the delay in getting this up.     I went down to Hampshire this week for some fishing. I’ve fished far less this year than last- I’ve just been too busy. I only went once during the brown trout season and I caught nothing, so it was nice to be ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2008/12/tis-the-season-to-be-planning/   The Greenwich Park squirrel community actively approach people in the flower garden.  I imagine they see humans as huge monkey nut dispensers. They are accomplished emotional blackmailers, fixing you with their shiny jet-black eyes and holding their hands up to their chests.   In autumn they run around the ornamental pines and cedars ... http://foodbloggers.co.uk/thelondonforager/2008/11/man-beast-and-tree/