Planting & harvesting at the Allotment
In Manchester. |
The one thing here
at Fountain Hill which Is so simple really and having give up on let's say
"normal society life" me and the boys have really started to enjoy
meal times on a whole new level, almost like a new experience. Sounds odd
doesn't it?, well to me it does. How can meal times be a new experience? You
cook, you eat you've had your meal. Let me explain.
We started our
permanent journey after giving up everything and living from our rucksacks with
a trip up to Manchester "Fire Station Square Pottery" our Aunty &
Uncles (Ang & Ian) place. There home Is a pottery, yeah it's very cool, not
as cool as them though. One of them, you'd have to meet them. So it came round
to meal time, I sat round the table drinking coffee, the boys helped Ang
collect some of the food to be enjoyed from the allotment and then prepared and cooked
the meal and set the table, Ian came back and fourth from the pottery helping
and joining In with the conversations then the meal was ready. All of us sat
together and enjoyed a lovely meal, chatted about the food, chatted about new
adventures, new experiences and even delve into the past a little. There was no
rush, it was a happy table. It felt strange to me there was no rushing from
work to get boys from school "society's prison of control for
children" to get home to have time to prepare tea and cook it before it was time to prepare
for the next day.
"We have also met the amazingly
good looking giant Oliver Mackay he is a God among men". Sorry guys It's me again
Gav, Olly part of Fountain Hill community and Magical Youth crew rudely came
into my room disturbed me gave me my post and took over the blog and had his
say on himself as per usual. He has his youth so we have a continuous banter,
he assumes he is taller, more good looking, better with the ladies and
stronger. Yeah he is taller I'll give him that. Anyway enough about Olly. He's
a great a lad, Coban and Jacy my son's think he's so much cooler than Dad.
Where the f@&k was I?
Local Fish Market In Dieppe France |
Meal Times here at our Tent Home In France |
So we found ourselves back In the
beautiful place of North France, Normandy camping on a camp on a nature
reserve. Stunning place. I continued our beautiful meal times by heading down
to the local markets picking up local food such as fish and veg and preparing
the meal and cooking it with my boys. Hey I still had back up when I couldn't
be bothered, lads I'm not in the mood today there's backup super noodles In the
bag. Super noodles are ace. After some two and a half months In France we were
due to travel back to Fountain Hill but this time we were staying for three
months plus. We have no time scale which is another thing we are getting used
to.
Now we find ourselves back at the magic.
Jumped straight In where we left off from our previous time at Fountain Hill.
Harvesting Day at Fountain Hill Polytunnel |
Meal times here are awesome. I've seen a
little bit of tension at meal times but when your cooking for fifteen, eighteen
and twenty some people at a time that's allowed with children running through
Is It ready yet, I'm starving I'm going to die. It's great to watch and be part
of. Food is collected from the poly
tunnel and gardens and brought to the kitchen, recipes are looked over or
sometimes it's off the top of our heads, a count of people Is done and wrote on
In chalk on the chalk wall near the cooker so we know who's here. It's a
vegetarian kitchen here and the smells and flavours are insane. So it's normally
about six o'clock In the evening, a shout out from the kitchen Is made
"foods done" and from person to person it gets round to everyone and
within minutes we are helping ourselves to the food and taking a seat and this
where meal time becomes like no other, feels kind of special to be part of,
feels like as a child myself where was this time In my life, I don't remember
times like this unless it was a Christmas meal or a meal out to some so called
nice restaurant which was always really uncomfortable. Even at a young age I
could remember the tension, like no one got on really or couldn't accept
certain people. Would always hope my aunty was coming down to throw a bit of
madness In and talk about something positive, constructive and interesting to
me which seemed to be normal from this random get together.
So this what meal times means to me and
the boys here, people from all walks of life, at any age can all sit together
and enjoy good food. We can praise the food, guess the ingredients, hey we can
even say we think it needs a little more of this and that or as simple as I
don't like it, it all makes great conversation round the table. We make plans,
people offer advice. We agree and disagree. Jokes are made and there is a
abundance of laughter from all most of the time, it feels special, like you
belong to part of this magic community, something me and the boys have not
experienced and I think we will take this away with us where ever we end up In
our journey through life. I always say it's the simple things and who new a
meal could have so much effect on us. But it's not just a meal here and again I
can only describe it as The Magic of Fountain Hill.
Jacy Helping out around the Gardens Food Preparation |
Poly Tunnel Is full of Life |
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