Our biggest dilemma on a Sunday night now is shall we watch Countryfile on BBC or Hugh’s Hungry Boys (Tim, Tom and Trevor!) on Channel 4. Both are on at 7pm! Tough life huh?
Well, with our Wii fully connected, not for Wii Fit but for iPlayer so we can watch Countryfile on the Beeb in the comfort of our sofa later in the week rather than sitting in an office chair in front of the computer to watch 4oD. So enough rantings about our ‘luxury’ lifestyle (ho ho) lets talk about 3 chaps travelling around the West Country in an old milk float.
The Three Hungry Boys is now on its second episode and the boys entered the great County, home of the saffron bun last night. The idea behind the show is these 3 biology graduates are trying to get from Hugh’s River Cottage in Dorset to Land End without spending any money. Of course they have to find food, or work for their grub as well as doing some work to charge Daisy’s battery, Daisy is their trusted milk float.
Just before entering Cornwall,Tim made a call to a chap called Simon at Tamar Grow Local in Harrowbarrow (cool name hey?) who have a co-operative society called Harrowbarrow and Metherell Agricultural society or HaMAS which it is sometimes referred as, I’d strongly recommend the longer version on this occasion. The Co-op’s was formed in 2009 and is based upon the community supported agriculture model they grow vegetables as a community in a sustainable way. With six acres which is cultivated by farmer James Tanock who does a lot of the hard work making the ground ready for the planting of the crops. To find out more about Harrowbarrow’s enterprise and to contact them please click here.
Veg is just a small part of the Harrowbarrow project, they also have an orchard, nearby allotments, an orchard and even their own pig society where 12 households are rearing 12 Oxford Sandy and Black pigs for the production of meat.
Next stop is the only solar-powered launderette in the UK, based in Wadebridge. The Wadebride Launderette (aptly named) welcomed the boys to do some work, Semi-naked launderette busking with a bit of mopping to be precise in payment for their clothes being washed. To find out more about Wadebridge’s solar-powered launderette and about how Wadebridge has become the first solar-powered town click here. Who’d have thought it?
Next stop, Port Quin where the boys borrowed some kayaks and went fishing with handlines and spear guns with limited luck. Next morning Tom the hunter went diving with his spear gun to bag a Wrasse and some tiddly pollock but enough for a bit of lunch. Tom and Trev rustled up some lunch in payment for the kayaks in the form of some fish fingers, they them made some sushi from the Wrasse for their guests. The fish fingers were wrapped up in some baps that the boy had bin dived from the village of Port Isaac the night before (bin diving is the act of foraging for out of date food still fit for human consumption and is generally food thrown out by hotel, shops and supermarkets).
Check out Port Quin and St Endellion here. St Endellion is where David Cameron and his family have spent many a Cornish holiday and in fact gave baby Florence, who was born in Cornwall whilst they were on holiday, the middle name of Endellion.
Now back to Hugh’s hungry boys, next stop is Watergate Bay on the north coast and a haven for surfers. With the boys now a little stinky from their fishing and bin diving escapades they are in need of a shower. With no cash on them they have to find their next job in exchange for some hot water. Hugh arranged for them to meet a young lady called Amy, who works at one of the hotels. Amy got the boys to collect the all the compostable food waste from the local hotel which they then burn in a bio digester to make energy for the surrounding hotels. With two tonnes of food waste thrown out per week by the local hotels and restaurants there is plenty to feed the bio digester! A pretty filthy job but it did reward the boys with a hot shower powered by the bio-digester.
They finished off their day with a pint, burger and chips in The Beach Hut overlooking Watergate Bay so we shouldn’t feel too sorry for them! Watergate bay is a hub of activity and well worth a visit, full of gorgeous restaurants including Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen where we have eaten a few times now. Amazing!
Keep an eye out for more Cornwall on the Telly moments…
My Saffron Bun 