Love2Walk sloe?
Sloes, originally uploaded by simonwheatley.
With the Bridgend Love2Walk Festival and the Wales Alternative Food Festival both kicking off this week, we thought we’d do something in the lead up to combine the two themes.
The Sloe Walk on Thursday evening was led by Robert Jones, that’s the ecologist and not the former Wales and British Lion Scrum Half I add! Rob is the countryside Officer in Bridgend County Borough Council and his knowledge on plants and anything related to ecology is pretty impressive to say the least, he’s also a rare breed being an Ecologist with a sense of humour (though his jokes are sometimes not as memorable as his expertise). We were in for a good night though (hopefully with some gin!) and we weren’t disappointed. Well, I was disappointed at the lack of gin at the end of the walk, but not with the lack of sloes.
I hadn’t really walked around Bedford Park near Bridgend before, I had visited the Ironworks but not actually ventured further afield around the circular walk. It takes in part of the former Dyffryn-Llynfi railway line that must have served the docks in Porthcawl and Cardiff with coal from the Valleys. What a beautiful walk it presents us with today. There is one stretch in particular where the trees lining the route form a perfect archway in a straight line for about half a mile. Worth going to just to see that.
Anyway, Rob was a gem. He pointed out loads of edible plants and poisonous ones too that we should avoid obviously. Some were even too similar to call, so you have to be cautious and know what you’re doing, or take Rob with you! But Rob made it all very entertaining by bolting on the odd story or historical anecdote at nearly every stop that made this walk one of the most enjoyable I’ve been on for a while.
So, about the sloes. Yes, there were sloes in abundance but were they right for picking? A great debate ensued but even a bigger one surrounding the best recipe for sloe gin. I was amongst some experts that’s for sure but as for myself, I’m quite good at drinking the stuff and that’s about it.
Some recipies for Sloe Gin and other wild foods can be found at the following links:
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/ancient/wild-food-guide.php http://www.sloe.biz/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/sloegin_7722
Please remember there are old wild flood pickers and bold wild food pickers but no old and bold wild food pickers. If you have any doubts whatsoever about your identification of a wild plant or mushroom, don’t eat it!
Marmite Artist to be Toast of Feastival!
Feastival gets a whole new flavour this year after securing the talents of ‘Marmite on toast’ artist Nathan Wyburn for this year’s event.
Nathan, who shot to fame this year as a finalist on TV’s Britain’s Got Talent, is the latest great attraction confirmed for this year’s Wales Alternative Food Festival being held in Bridgend on 30September and 1 October.
Feastival, the Wales Alternative Food Festival organised by Bridgend County Borough Council, was held for the first time last year and was an outstanding success attracting more than 35,000 people to the town.
And Nathan is hoping to wow this year’s visitors in the same way as he wowed TV audiences with his Marmite portrait of Michael McIntyre.
Nathan has mainly painted portraits of the rich and famous ranging from Amy Winehouse to the Queen, but now wants to find a new face to become the toast of Wales!
He’s offering the Welsh public the chance to have their own face painted using this unusual technique.
Nathan said: “I’m appearing at Feastival, the Wales Alternative Food Festival in Bridgend later this month and as it’s a bit different as far as food festivals are concerned, I wanted to do something different myself. We’re not looking for the most beautiful face as such, it just has to be interesting I suppose and a bit of a challenge for me. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Councillor David Sage, Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, added: “The Wales Alternative Food Festival is developing a reputation in Wales for being quirky, and its only in its second year and has already been a huge success.
“When we first saw Nathan on Britain’s Got Talent, we immediately got in touch with him as he was perfect for our event.
“We needed an act to top last year’s unique food art project that created a Giant cauliflower sheep and in Nathan, he certainly fits the bill, we’re delighted that he’s coming to Feastival.”
Alongside Nathan, the event this year will feature several unusual food related attractions such as the Egg Drop Championship, a ‘Leek Lobbing’ competition, Little Italy, Chefs on Stilts and all the other trimmings that you expect at a food festival.
- Anyone can enter the competition by submitting their portrait photograph to the Feastival Facebook page before 25 September. Full details of the event and the Facebook page can be accessed via www.walesalternativefoodfestival.com
