Vanishing Species

I started filming local crafts and traditions to capture them before they disappeared completely.

I hardly expected the losses to take effect quite so soon, before I had finished the film in fact.

On Saturday evening I dined with the eel-catcher who appears in the film.   During the course of the evening  the conversation inevitably turned to eels.  It seems that eel numbers have declined so much over recent years that they are in danger of becoming extinct.  I guess the majority of anglers will welcome this news.

Eels found in the East Anglian rivers (Anguilla anguilla) breed out in the Sargasso Sea, in an area between Bermuda and Puerto Rico.  The tiny eels are carried by the Gulf Stream until they reach the coasts of  Europe as two or three year old elvers.   They will spend the next twelve years living and growing in our rivers until they are mature enough to return to the Sargasso sea to breed.

The mature silver eels move down river on their way to the distant spawning grounds in late summer and autumn, mainly at night.

 Anguilla Anguilla

Two factors have conspired to threaten the species.  The first is a virus that effects the swim bladder of the eels.  The second is the export of the small elvers which are considered a delicacy and command a high price.   Both these factors result in fewer eels reaching maturity to return to the Sargasso to breed.  It is quite probable that children three generations on will never see a live eel and it is a racing certainty they will never see a live eel catcher.

During the early part of the nineteenth century there was an abundance of eels in the East Anglian waterways.  Some eel catchers made a living by trapping this remarkable fish while the marshman was probably satisfied with taking an eel or two for his family needs with an eel pick.

The Eel pick was a long handled tool with springy tines.   This method was used in shallow inland waters and salt water estuaries.  The eel catcher would look for bubbles from the eel’s fore and aft blow holes.  He would then strike with the pick, if done correctly the tool would be removed with an eel trapped between the tines.   Herons use their bills in the same way.

 Eel Pick

At the end of the nineteenth century catches were recorded by the stone.  In 1914 one eel catcher landed 129 stone of eels in a season.  

The biggest eel ever caught was in 1738 – it weighed sixty two pounds and measured twenty six inches around its girth.   

Ely in Cambridgeshire was once known as the Isle of Eels before steam power was used to drain the surrounding fens.  Such was the value of eels in the 11th century, that they were accepted as payment for taxes to the crown.

One hundred years ago many eel catchers lived aboard small boats out on the broads and estuaries; they used nets and traps to catch saleable volumes of eel.

Eel traps or hives, were made from willow with a conical funnel at the base and  a bung at the neck.  The funnel allowed the eel to squeeze into the trap but once inside it could not get out.  

Willow Eel Hive

The same principal is applied to fyke nets.   

The fyke net is a long net supported by metal hoops with three funnels or purses at the end, a long runner guides the eels into the purse and traps them in the same way as the old willow traps. 

My Eel-catcher friend assured me that eel numbers have declined by some eighty five per cent in the last few years - no species can survive those kind of losses.  Catches of eels are down year on year to a point when it is no longer viable to catch them for profit.

Long gone are the days when boxes of eels covered in wet sacks would be sent by rail to London to provide the capital with their diet of  "jellied eels"   Unless some form of conservation is rapidly deployed we will lose these remarkable creatures.  


Sadly it seems my trips out with the eel catcher on those long summer evenings are already a thing of the past.

Black Shuck - The Hound From Hell.

"Black Shuck" -  "The Hound From Hell" is a well known East Anglian legend - a large black dog with eyes that burn like red fireballs.  He roams the coastline and the marshes right across Norfolk and Suffolk.   Anyone who looks into those flaming red eyes will be dead within twelve months, according to the legend.  

 In September 2011 we loaded the cameras and headed for Suffolk to follow in "Shuck's" paw prints.  

"Shuck's" first recorded appearance was in Bungay, Suffolk, on August 4th 1577.  During a violent thunder storm a large black dog ran into St Mary's church and attacked and killed two of the congregation.  A third man survived, it was said his wounds resembled scorched leather rather than wounds consistent with an animal attack.
It was also claimed that the dog's claws left scorch marks on the church doors of the North porch.   Unfortunately any evidence to support this was lost when the church was badly damaged by fire in 1688. 

A few miles away in Blythburgh a similar attack took place during a violent thunder storm.  Again it was reported that a large black dog ran into the church and attacked members of the congregation, a man and a boy were killed.  During the attack the steeple was struck by lightening and part of the masonry crashed through the roof of the nave.  Once again Shuck's claws left scorch marks on the church doors, these marks are still clearly visible. 

Earlier the same day a local man was chased by a large black dog,  this fellow was able to reach the safety of the parish church before the dog could attack him.  Again scorches and scratch marks were left on the doors of the church.  

Although phantom Black Dogs have been reported since Roman times the events in Suffolk in 1577 gave a perceived credibility to "Black Shuck's" existence.   The "Hound from Hell" tag originated from the belief that Shuck was actually the devil who appeared in the form  of a black dog.  If the story had ended there the legend might have been relegated to the status of an "Old Wives Tale" but over the last four centuries there have been many sightings of the black dog.  From Suffolk to North Norfolk people have claimed to have seen the dog with flaming red eyes.

In 1890, on Yarmouth beach, a young lad was preparing to swim in the sea when a large black dog approached him.   The boy entered the water and began to swim - the dog followed.  For some time the two of them swam together much to the amusement of the teenager.  The young lad was enjoying the swim with his new friend but as he was beginning to tire he decided to to turn back to the beach.  The black dog snarled and barred the way, several bites to the boys feet and back forced him further out to sea.   He was practically exhausted when a fishing boat spotted them.  Assuming the boy and his dog were in trouble the fisherman rowed over to assist them.   They hauled the semi conscious youth into the fishing smack and were horrified to see deep wounds in his back, shoulder and feet.  As they made for the shore they watched the black dog swim out to sea until it was out of sight.

A stormy night in North Norfolk in 1980 a holiday maker stopped to buy a pint of milk at a village store.   He left his young son in the car while he nipped into the shop.  A few minutes later he emerged with the milk just in time to see a large black dog disappear into a copse on the opposite side of the road.
Inside the car the child sat frozen with fear - he told his father the dog had glowing red eyes and had tried to get into the car.  The following day the father found large muddy paw prints on the bonnet and the back window of the car. 

Between West Runton and Overstrand there have been so many sightings over the years the area is called Shuck's Lane.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who was convalescing in Cromer would often dine at Cromer Hall with the lord of the manor.  He heard many stories about the black dog from Baskerville the lord's coachman.   Soon after his stay in Norfolk Sir Arthur wrote "Hound of the Baskervilles",  without doubt Shuck was the inspiration. 

I am ecstatically happy to report that we saw no trace of the "Hound From Hell"  so we have had to recruit a large black dog to appear in the film on "Shuck's" behalf.   To say Shuck does not exist would be the logical reaction for most people.   But next time you find yourself walking along a lonely Norfolk lane in the fading light, you might have to ask yourself, is it the North wind howling or could it be............


Authors Footnote 8th February 2012.
Sightings of a black Puma or Panther loose on the outskirts of Norwich yesterday.   This is the latest in a series of sightings of what is definitely a large black animal roaming the Norfolk countryside.
These sightings have been reported regularly over the years but so far no evidence has ever been found.  One would expect to find evidence of kills or paw prints if there was a big cat on the loose but so far nothing.     What if.............?

Reed Cutting On The Waveney.

Monday 14th February 2011.

A brisk Easterly wind sweeps across the Waveney marshes. The same Easterly that not so long ago powered merchant ships, ground  corn and drained  pastures.  Today the same Easterly with no real work to do mischievously scurries through the reed beds.  The reeds turn away and bend  their heads to mark its passing as it hurries down stream whipping the water into sunlit liquid crystal.

There is an excessively low tide this morning, the reed cutter's boat lies almost six feet below the landing stage.  I am not a natural sailor or as nimble as I used to be.  I peer over the edge of the timbers and lower the camera and equipment into the hands of the men already in the boat.  Then trusting in God and providence I make my leap of  faith into the dinghy  - a few minutes later we are rowing toward the reed beds on the far side of the Waveney.   

A small number of  people still harvest reed, but to make it viable  and compete with imports from Eastern  Europe, the reed is cut mostly by machine.

Today I am filming one of the last marshmen to harvest reed by hand in the traditional way.  I feel compelled to record the process before it disappears forever - as it surely will. 

The marsh is waterlogged, every footstep fills with water as I follow the reed cutter and his son across the reed bed.  The wind coming off the sea is cold and biting,  there is no welcome on the banks of the Waveney this morning.

Historically Reed-cutting provided an income in winter when no other work was available.  Farm labourers, marshmen and fishermen would seek employment on the reed beds.  The season was short but intensive, beginning around December after the first frost of winter and ending in March when the new reed colts appeared.  In shallow, slow moving rivers men would stand up to their thighs in the freezing cold water cutting reed at the water's edge.  Or they would scythe their way across the ronds in majestic sweeping actions, the spiteful Easterly wind a constant companion.  Reed would be bundled into shooks and loaded onto reed lighters then taken downstream to staithes, from there Wherries would carry them away.   As I film the process it seems very little has changed.

One hundred and fifty years ago reed cutters would have been a common sight on the river banks except there were few people to see them, apart from maybe an eel catcher or a passing wherry.   Leisure craft were the preserve of the wealthy and only took to the water in summer long after the reed harvest was over.

A roof thatched with Norfolk reed is warm in winter and cool in summer and it can last up to seventy years.   Reed  is graded by annual growth.  Single wale is a single years growth which produces the best quality Reed.    Double wale is growth that has been left for two years.

The reed is cut close to the ground with extremely sharp hooks,  then the cutter gathers enough reed for a bundle, roughly a circumference of  about twenty-four inches.  Equivalent to three hand spans.  The bundle is raked clean and loosely tied with twine.

 

When every bundle is free of debris  it is dropped onto a "knocking" board forcing  the twine to tighten around the reed butts .  What appears to be a simple method is a very skilled process learned over many years.  Unless each bundle is a uniform size and density  the quality of the thatch will suffer.  


By mid afternoon we had finished filming and the dinghy carried me back across the Waveney toward the stacks of reed safely stock-piled on the river wall.  The oars creaked in the rowlocks as the dinghy returned me to the 21st century.

To see the Reed cutters working on the Waveney in April at the end of the harvest go to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBfYX_mxNtc

Plough Monday at Rumburgh Buck.

7PM Monday 10th January 2011.
If it was not the coldest night of the winter then it had to be a pretty close second.   The road sparkled with frost as we left Norwich and made our way to Rumburgh in Suffolk.  We were on our way to film the "Old Glory" Molly Dancers and Musicians who were celebrating Plough Monday at "The Buck". 

To produce a film covering the history of the Norfolk and Suffolk waterways it is necessary to look at a much broader canvas than just the rivers, broads and estuaries.  The waterborne trade relied heavily on an agricultural economy which embraced both arable and livestock farming.  To add some perspective to the film was the reasoning behind our visit to Rumburgh.  Not only did it add perspective it also added a fair helping of drama.

Plough Monday  is the first Monday after twelfth night.  Historically it was a time when gangs of plough boys would blacken their faces and haul a plough round the parish calling out  "A penny for the plough boys".   The men would blacken their faces so they should not be recognised by the landowners and farmers who employed them throughout the year.  Winter was a very harsh time of  year for the labouring classes, at a time when there was little or no work available a few extra coppers would help to put food on the table.

The "Old Glory" Molly Dancers and Musicians have researched and revived traditional dances that were once performed in and around the Eastern Counties, particularly in Suffolk.  The dancers are attired as labouring men right down to their hobnail boots.   There is an air of menace about them just like the plough boys of long ago, the flaming torches that illuminate the proccession, add to this atmosphere.  One hundred years ago any skinflint who did not part with a copper or two,  would awake next morning to be greeted by a single furrow drawn across their lawn .

The Dancers assemble at the church of St Micheal and St Felix where the plough is blessed the day before (Plough Sunday).
The church bells were ringing out as the torch lit procession made its way through the churchyard.  Everyone dressed in black gave a distinct funereal feel to the proceedings.  The dancers are led by the "Broom man" who clears the way for the dancers.  Behind him the Lord of the dance and his Lady (traditionally the lady is always a man), they are followed by the "Box Man" (with the collection box) and the "Whiffler" (the Molly's sergeant at arms).   The column turns into Mill Road and heads toward "The Buck". The plough, hauled by two black faced Molly-men, grinds and rattles over the tarmac.  "Old Glory"  not only create wonderful theatre but it re-creates the past, bringing history to life.  

  Up until the turn of twentieth century the Molly dancers accompanied the plough boys around the parish and performed dances for a small reward.  Whereas the Molly dancers are all men, the musicians are all women, they too have blackened faces and play a variety of instruments.  Their traditional music adds another dimension to the event.

 At the "Buck" a large crowd had gathered, and in spite of the "wind frost" the dancers stripped down to their shirt sleeves and performed their robust routines.   The sound of their hobnail boots crunching on the gravel of the car park in perfect time to the music has echoes of a bygone era.  They have been described as Morris dancers with menace. You can forget jingling bells and white handkerchiefs, these guys look as if they could use a pitchfork and handle draught horses if they were asked.
There is a great deal of history attached to the Molly dancers, dating back long before the reformation.  At that time the church encouraged the farm workers to collect money during this period, some of the money collected would pay for an eternal flame to be left burning in the parish church all year round.  The plough has symbolised man's dependence on the earth since pagan times and this has carried on to the present day.

If you have never seen them check their website and catch one of their performances - it is well worth the effort.  "Old Glory" only give about twelve performances each winter but they have a very large and   enthusiastic following.  "Snape Maltings", "Geldeston Locks" and "Rumburgh Buck" are possibly the most popular venues .

It was too dark to get a shot that would do justice to the the lady musicians at Rumburgh so I have included a shot from Bungay Christmas Fayre where we filmed a month earlier.