Scrumpy, maybe something like that's what they were selling in Montreal,
Quebec. I arrived on train and one could not go to a pub with a stand-up
with a woman years ago (30 or so) so one had to take one's friend to a
restaurant where, lo and behold, they served dulse as an appetizer on the
table. That is, a sun-dried edible purple seaweed, a one-shot job one summer
of fog in 1967 I had on Grand Manan Island, NB.

Dulse, it's picked at certain lunar tides and spread on nets and rocks, we
at "Indian Beach" on ostrich egg-sized cobbles, turned over and sold at the
local buyer for, then, about $1 (CND) a pound. Now it's sold in shakers and
plastic bags which came out a few years after that and I even saw an
experiment to grow it in North Head there, instead of risking life and limb
scrambling over slippery rocks and hauling burlap bags of wet seaweed by
dory.

I read somewhere one of the oldest maps in Scotland are of dulse picking
territories, sort of like old oyster beds I've seen on maps of Long Island,
New York. On one site in NYC we had someone from Mobil Co. I think that was
in the bag development field looking at some of the problems of bag storage
down in the South Street Seaport.

Do they serve dulse in York? Sure will make you thirsty...

George Myers

----- Original Message -----
From: "Gaye Nayton" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 7 May 2004 Friday 21:34
Subject: Re: Translation dictionary for York


> My mum an Exter girl and she has fond memories (or non memories) of
scrumpy.
> The restriction on selling to women must have come in during the last
twenty
> years.
>
> Gaye
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Brothers" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, 7 May 2004 9:36 PM
> Subject: Re: Translation dictionary for York
>
>
> > As a frequent drinker of hard cider I would say that Lyle is
> > exaggerating a bit. Most hard ciders, even English, are only 5-6%
> > alcohol. While higher than most beers, its not deadly. However in
> > southern England there is a variety called scrumpy that is, at least the
> > ones I've tried, the equivalent of apple whiskey (30-40%?). The last
> > time I drank it, it was not served to women and men were restricted to
> > one glass. But half of an imperial quart is still 10 oz and will render
> > most people a bit woozy. My first trip to Stonehenge, by foot, was after
> > a lunch that included scrumpy. I remember very little of that walk, and
> > the pictures I took at Stonehenge are of questionable quality.
> >
> > jdendy wrote:
> >
> > >Also watch out for "Byrrh" a concoction from Brittany that disguises
> itself
> > >a "cider". That is, of course for those buying something in a bottle.
> > >----- Original Message -----
> > >From: "Lyle E. Browning" <[log in to unmask]>
> > >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 9:03 PM
> > >Subject: Re: Translation dictionary for York
> > >
> > >
> > >And for those of you who will view the British beer with some alarm and
> > >go to the apparently familiar cider, please be reminded that it is very
> > >alcoholic and will knock you completely on your duff. The Brits take
> > >great and quiet delight in not mentioning this to the unsuspecting. But
> > >do give the Brit beer and I don't mean lager, an honest try. It's not
> > >warm, it's in the low 50° range where it would be as a live beer stored
> > >in barrels in basements. No back of the head falling off when
> > >swallowing.
> > >
> > >Lyle Browning=
> > >
> > >
> > >
>