Simons Monthly Blog

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals, companies and organisations that I have worked with, for without their help, support and co-operation this site wouldn’t be where it currently is.

June couldn’t have started any different. Making boxes at home, cuffing rabbits and even went lamping at midnight but after a dreadfully wet weekend at Cornbury park in Oxfordshire, my next show at Houghton was cancelled so I had a extra weekend at home of which was filled as quickly with my good self digging through concrete hard soil to fit some drop boxes and make a film about how they work. The Yorkshire Agricultural education day was hard work; one class even thought my pheasant decoy was a pigeon. I continued to fit more drop boxes and experimented with a new method of long netting. A few more conversations and meetings were held for my ongoing TV project. The Welsh game fair was fantastic, met up with big John Huberry and his boys, including my old mukka, Chipper. Had a few slurps with these lads and again, put the world to rights.

The Lincolnshire show is always an enjoyable couple of days and this proved again the weather was the hottest of the year so far. The remaining few days of the moth were spent making some boxes for the CLA, writing articles for the Shooting Times and even more drop boxes and rabbit fence repairs.

Shooting rabbits with the 17 hmr is getting harder as the crops and foliage grow. I travelled up to Scotland for the B.A.S.C Scottish fair at Cardross. To break the journey up i stayed at Robert Griffins of Paddlesdown fame and ordered a new rifle for harvest. Went to look at a new local farm where the rabbits were over running the place and even eating the pea crops. May is an extremely busy month with the Hadleigh show and then straight onto the Essex young farmer’s country show where I had a few beers with Chef Mark Gilchrist from Game for Everything and together we put the world to rights in the bar. The trusty Subaru had a hissy fit and is in the garage so after scrounging a 4wd for the weekend I was in Essex I had to go out and buy another pajero. In-between these show I continued to harass the rabbits with my rifles and now the crop damage is starting to show, just surprising how a few rabbits can cause a lot of damage in little area. At the end of the month I attended the Yorkshire Game Fair on the B.A.S.C stand. Met up with old friends, Ben potter the falconer, Sir Johnny Scott, Charles Jardine and many more, had a ball. The end of the month saw the local agricultural show, the Suffolk Show where I had to cook some bunny burgers for a radio Suffolk interview live on the radio, two days of running about bit picked up a few new jobs to fill the odd day’s gap in the winter. Off to the annual trek to Tabley in Cheshire.

To continue with my educational activities I attended and demonstrated at the Norfolk Spring fling. This is a education day for the youngsters of the areas surrounding Norwich to educate them on the ins and outs of the countryside. For the first time I demonstrated at the B.A.S.C gamekeepers fair at Catton Park. Absolutely fantastic time and again, many books were sold alongside my dvds and boxes. Once I had finished their, it was to the local big one, the East Anglian Game Fair held at the Norfolk showground. We had an area called the Dog and Ferret with most of the rabbiting fraternity wanting to know what’s what and to catch up on what’s happening in the rabbiting world. This proved extremely popular, especially Marie’s cooking demonstrations and they weren’t many bunny burgers left once the local rabbiters and the public got heir mitts on them. Another education day, this time at the Suffolk showground and a talk at the Norfolk fly fishers club in Norwich of which was thoroughly enjoyable.

March 2009

The ferreting continued but albeit a bit more selective in when and where. With the cold weather halting the breeding of rabbits we decide to go ferreting on a local keepered shoot where the rabbits were doing an absurd amount of damage. Likely to say after a few diplomatic words with the keeper (it only took him a day to notice where we were?) we decided to leave the area until after harvest. I went down to the West Country game fair in Shepton Mallet. It always has a great atmosphere and i received some good feedback about my new book. The new Deben night sight is absolutely lethal and combined with the ferreting and lamping with Maud and Millie; the local rabbits are taking a complete battering. Radio Suffolk contacted me and I was invited down to Lesley Dolphins programme on radio Suffolk for a interview and to thank the hobs, including Tyson for their hard work, I had the lot castrated. Selena Masson wrote a very nice piece in the Shooting Times about the day we took her ferreting in Suffolk.

February 2009

The coldest day in January was eclipsed by horrendous weather; only fools went out, yep, that’s me but only to get a few pictures. Serious ferreting was halted for a few days as the snow and ice made things a little hard to get to the spots. Maud’s leg has healed nicely and preparation for a special days ferreting for the Shooting Times news and web editor, Selena Masson at a location in north Suffolk was finalised. We had a fantastic day and I am sure you will read all about it in the forthcoming issues. With the help of Steve and Marie Taylor, another series of films were made and edited. Two montages of still pictures and five short films showing everything required to learn how to skin, gut and cook a first class rabbit pie. The end of the shooting season has arrived and the regular shoots were ferreted but the return of young and expectant rabbits meant that ferreting will be hard, and around the turn of March I can see the rifle, trap, dog and net being used more than the ferrets. I have been bitterly disappointed with some of the young ferrets I bred last year and kept back but the ferreters who have worked their brothers and sisters have been raving about them. It just goes to show that you can’t always pick the best out of a litter at eight weeks of age.

A new section to the “Rabbit recipes” segment of this site will be 'catch, cook & enjoy', where Simon will be learning about the gastronomic side of rabbiting. Under the guidance of expert guests who excel in the kitchen and camp stove, Simon will be shown how to properly prepare, cook and of course, enjoy the results of one of his days ferreting or nights lamping. As we all know, first you must catch your rabbit and then the after care of the meat starts. From correctly preparing the rabbit in the field for the kitchen, how and why blanching in readiness to cook is essential and of course plenty of recipes and hints and tips.

I am delighted with the quality and quantity of feedback about the rabbit recipe section and the many ideas of how to improve it. I am determined not to finish my days rabbiting once the animals have all been tucked up in bed. In these hard times and emergence of healthier and more cost effective lifestyles I feel that the more we understand about the full spectrum of cooking this superb meat the easier it will become to for people to accept the fundamentals of what we do. We all take a lot for granted in life and cooking is no different. Firstly we don’t all know how to cook, have the resources or time but with a little help, even a fussy eater like me can (hopefully) be taught how to utilise the full potential of rabbit to benefit not only myself but Jules and little Gracie as well. On a sad note, I have to report the passing away of a very close friend, Ole Pajero, sadly the years of abuse has finally caught up with it and after a face lift, nip and tuck and even on occasions some stimulants it finally went to the great scrap yard in the sky (well Suffolk). R.I.P my friend.

January 2009

With the turn of the New Year, the weather was reminiscent of my younger years, very cold and on the odd occasion, plenty of snow. This made digging a nightmare and I experienced one of the coldest days I can remember trying to get some rabbits to bolt in minus 4, howling easterly and little enthusiasm from myself. In the end I sought sanctuary with a warm cappuccino. As a part of the regional newspaper, The East Anglian Daily Times focus on food, I took their reporter Georgina Wright out for a days ferreting and also recorded some footage of the day to be heard in April 2009 on Radio Suffolk. More days out ferreting, the bones and mind are getting weary and with the rabbits now getting a little hormonal and harder to shift I can see the end of serious ferreting being only weeks away. Whilst out ferreting Maud received a bad cut to her front leg which required plenty of stitching, a overnight stay at the vets and a huge bill when she came home.

I filmed the footage with a local cameraman, Jonathon Whitlam, for the Deben series of films explaining all about the Mk3. Unfortunately because Jonathon isn’t a ferreter used to using the set I had to learn how to use an editing suite and edit the films myself, very hard and often soul destroying work but now I know, what’s stopping us making more on other subjects. Christmas came and went and now it is down to the ferreting to work off the surplus puddings. Had some very satisfying days ferreting in Essex and around Suffolk with Steve N, Ivan, Steve T and Romford Dave. For a special piece in Season, a local food magazine, I took Season’s editor Glyn Williams and Liz Coughlan ferreting, the piece can be seen here
 

November 2008

Not really a lot going on apart from ferreting, ferreting and a spot of lamping for good measure. The book had gone down well at the BASC road shows in Chester, Spalding and Newcastle and although pennies are tight the sales are looking good. Preparing to film a series of short instructional “how to” films for youtube and my site. I have been commissioned by Deben Group Industries, the makers of the Electronic Ferret Finder to explain fully how the Mk3 and the new MK3M collar works, filming will start next month. We managed a good day ferreting locally where the farmer had always scoffed at the idea of paying anyone to ferret, he now thinks a little differently but I am sure he will return to type.
 

What a busy month this was. Not only has this updated site gone online (thanks David W for the site and Steve Taylor for the photographs), but I continued to build up to the start of the real ferreting season. I have already had several days out ferreting but the dogs and ferrets, not including myself need to get “match fit”. The young ferrets that I bred this year have been working ok but only time will tell if they are to make the grade or not. The vehicles and equipment have all been chucked into shape in readiness for a busy few months ahead and the jeeps paint job has definitely paid dividends whilst in the fields. My articles with The Shooting Times continued to be well received and I sent a new piece to The Countryman’s Weekly.

The outside 2008 events were completed in the early part of the month, albeit a bit wet and soggy. Belvoir Castle game and country show was cancelled on the Sunday but the Cheshire game and country fair was finished in bright Cheshire sunshine, only a few BASC road shows to go in November. It has been a hard year for many of the show organisers across the UK but I hope that next year will not be as wet. It has been another successful season displaying and demonstrating across the UK and I am currently busy working on improving the show, display and venues for the 2009 season.

Not only have I been trying out the new MK3M collar for the Deben Ferret finder MK3 but of course, my third book, “Ferreting- An Essential Guide”, published by Crowood Press was released with days to go before November. Myself and photographer Steven Taylor went to see falconer Ben Potter for a spot of ferreting and a chance to see his birds fly and then the day after we went ferreting on the moors with Craig McCann, both Snr as well as Jnr. Young Craig is a talented photographer and although he is the grand old age of thirteen, I am sure we will be talking and viewing his work for years to come. The resulting video footage, albeit a shaky first attempt at the other side of the camera can be viewed on YouTube, type in Ferreting on the moors and you will be able to see the finished footage. As I have several projects on the go it was imperative that I got the right pictures and their was no better venue than one part of Craig’s extensive rabbiting ground.

With November looking extremely hectic for rabbiting, road shows, building this site and promoting my book, I am sure that a tale or two will be shared in my next blog.
 

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