Happy Christmas - Chris Jenkin, film maker from Newlyn

Happy Christmas demonstrates an intensely personal exploration of familial relationships and our subliminal connection with landscape, through an expressionistic portrayal of time.

Taking place over Christmas Eve, this subtly compelling drama follows various members of a disparate family as they come together for an overdue festive reunion.

Happy Christmas is set in West Cornwall around the small coastal market town of Penzance, featuring the stunning wintry backdrop of Mount's Bay, an enduring landscape of misty marram grass covered dunes stretching into the ocean and the evocative Mousehole Harbour Lights the locations are integral to the portrayal of each character's emotional journey.

For sale 6'6" A1 vented v doors, good condition

Andy Giles

For sale 6'6" A1 vented v doors, good condition. Offers!

Fish provenance poll - results so far

The question was:

Is where the fish you buy comes from a significant influencing factor?

After a couple of days and 34 people kindly entering into the spirit of the first Through the Gaps straw poll the result would appear to be a resounding success. Take heart ye bass boys, the tuna boys annd the boys aboard the Ajax, people out there really are keen to know where their fish has come from.

Fishy Friday's fishy fought for the day

The Fisherman

 

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

"You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman, "you should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"

"Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!"

"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions. "You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said.

"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!"

Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

European Artisanal Fishermen's Congress - 2012 - a declaration.

 

Just published on the back of the small-scale fishers conference in Brussels. It would be helpful and worthwhile knowing what groups and organisations are behind this?

 

Marai Damanaki had this to say:

 

Commissioner Maria Damanaki has met today with representatives of artisanal fishermen. The meeting followed the adoption of a common European Artisanal Fishermen’s Declaration last Sunday at the European Artisanal Fishermen Congress. The Declaration asks EU decision-makers to restore the health of our seas in Europe and the rest of the world, to bring the number of fishing vessels in line with available fish stocks, to end harmful subsidies and to grant the right to fish to those who fish sustainably.

Commissioner Damanaki welcomed the main points of the Declaration and emphasized the special socio-economic role artisanal fishermen play in the EU. She encouraged representatives of artisanal fishermen to have their voices heard in the decision-making process, in particular during the ongoing negotiations on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.



Blown in

Not the best looking weather chart for the boats working in the Western Approaches.

Top notch hake filled the western end of the market this morning, with the result of four days of graft for the boys aboard the Ajax who have had to endure some pretty the terrible weather which would have made just staying on their feet hard work...

they even landed a few boxes of scad...

the voracious fish that is the hake...

the cuttles are all over the ground at the moment for the beamers...

a group of keen culinary customers from Rick Stein's Seafood School get the benefit of Lionel's in-depth knowledge of the local fish being landed to the market, seeing here a big tub gurnard...

buying and selling power...

some of these marvellous monk tails may well be on the menu for the seafood school later...

not the best of mornings.

Does where your fish come from matter?