Posie's Blog. Tales of island life on a hebridean hill farm

Posie's Blog. Tales of island life on a hebridean hill farm

Sunday 5 August 2007

Farming Feasts




The happy farmer had promised a BBQ lunch for our friends before they headed off on the ferry in the late afternoon. Not one to be beaten by the continuous rain that greeted us this morning, I met the happy farmer perched on an upturned bucket, in his shed, busy barbecuing sausages and other delights, as he chatted away to holiday people, handing out the odd sausage here and there as the food gradually cooked. It was really quite a sight, in among all of the farm machinery, animal feed, and his ‘junk’ yard treasures, accumulated over the generations, the charcoal smoke combining with the heavy scent of tractor oil.

Later the kitchen was buzzing, our friends and their children arrived, as the farrier and the happy farmer tucked into mugs of coffee, a pan filled with clams, which had been handed in by a local fisherman, were frying away in garlic and butter on the stove, a pan of warm, newly dug potatoes sat on the table, together with a dish of home grown salad leaves. Burgers and sausages were put into buns for the assembled children. A hearty feast was had by all.

Our friends headed off for the ferry. The happy farmer and the farrier had graduated onto Irish coffees and spent a wet afternoon putting the world to rights. By the time they started on the drams all was well in the world…that is until sometime later we put on the evening news and learnt of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in England….

Until next time…..

12 comments:

patsy said...

I have funny memories too of a friend having to barbecue inside his greenhouse on a pouring wet day...I think he was well and truly kippered when he got out!
But doesn't the dreadful end to the day make us realise that we must take our good times when we can. Long may you be safe and sound in your island paradise..
XX

laurie said...

you are making me hungry.

just for fun, go here for a picture of my husband, getting ready to barbecue last winter when it was six degrees below zero.

Norma Murray said...

That's just the sort of BBQ that I enjoy. I can smell it from here, and those new potatoes...Oooh!

Westerwitch/Headmistress said...

We used to have a huge Tipi and we would have BBQs in there - but we did come out kippered - butno -one minded.

Pouring with rain here too - so you are not alone. We had a cooked breakfast - but all done inside.

bodran... said...

Can i come next time xx

Anonymous said...

I love the smell of bbq and Amy is desperate for me to cook on one. I really must before summer's over!

Your happy farmer sounds much like mine. Although mine is somewhat grumpy and overworked at present with harvest.

Crystal xx

Pondside said...

I had to laugh at the image of your Happy Farmer sitting on an upturned bucket barbecuing and handing out sausages - just the kind of thing that The Great Dane would do - and has done something quite similar on every one of our camping holidays. The kids used to groan "Oh Daaaaad" but now they love to 'remember when Dad met that old man/woman etc etc on holiday?"
Your dinner sounded delicious and I had to be careful not to drool all over the laptop, or I'd short things out!

Faith said...

It sounds great - really fun! I love that sort of thing. And Irish Coffee, mmmm!

Suffolkmum said...

I'm with Faith - love Irish coffee, love the sound of the barbecue.

@themill said...

Hopefully they have contained the F&M. I really can't bear the thought of it all starting again. Lovely, evocative blogs, as always.

@themill said...

BTW why don't you put a link to your holiday cottages?

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

great to catch up on your blogs. We have done the wet barbie thing too, often turned out better than the dry days! your blogs always make me feel that you have the balance right in your lives, always a tricky one.