Sloe Sloe Quick Quick Sloe

At the rear end of summer I had noted the sloes were plentiful and fat, if not still firm and in their early green stage.  Patience was needed but a hopeful year of picking was anticipated.  Then something went wrong.  Not only did I forget every location where those promising sloes had previously surrounded me, but then subsequent foraging trips to possible locations were quite frankly fruitless.  A lunchtime recce with a colleague created a noticeable frisson of panic that our yearly sloe gin supply line was currently (g)in jeopardy.

Had the current gin fad created a panic pick in the Cornish countryside, had Brexit created a rush to create a hedgerow alcoholic stock pile, or had the weather somehow thwarted blackthorn and picker combined? Whilst the salty rain lashes against our windows and the south westerly gales play with our roof tiles, in the Cornish winter a glass of sloe gin in front of the fire is the Cornish pixie way of seeing you through to Ostara.  So this was serious.

Determined to avert disaster, Phil and I set off on the hunt this past weekend and ironically, not far from home and in a coastal river valley, we hit gold.  At first we weren't sure whether it was a single bush that gave us hope; even picking some haw berries as a back up for an alternative (and new to us) wild gin.  However as we progressed down the valley seawards we found more and more bushes loaded with grape like bunches of big fat sloes and soon gave up on collecting more of the harder to pick haws.  We were relieved; we were still in the sloe gin game, and even managed to pick extra for my previously crestfallen colleague.  With enough sloes bagged, we headed off to go foraging for gin using saved up supermarket points to acquire three bottles (always better when you haven't actually paid for the ingredients!).

The recipes for sloe gin are as many and varied as the Cornish weather on a summer's day.  Last year I went a bit wrong on this front (although the result was still very drinkable - just not the best I'd made).  I had not only busked it and failed to follow any of the plentiful recipes, with the result that I hadn't put in enough sugar, but I had also mixed up some previously frozen sloes with some of my homegrown blackcurrants!  This year I was playing it safe not only with avoiding the freezer for supplies but also by following a recipe my colleague had given me.  By the way, there is a theory that sloes should only be picked after the first frost.  Given that we would wait a fair while in Cornwall for that to happen, previously I had frozen sloes to simulate this.  It turns out that it is a bit of a myth anyway, as well as an opportunity to mix up sloes with blackcurrants!

Here is the recipe I followed this year - 
280g ripe sloes (washed), 140g sugar and about 600ml gin (okay, as there was 700ml in a bottle I did add more than 600ml in!).  Add it all into a jar or bottle and give it a good old shake.  Do this everyday until the sugar is completely dissolved.  After three months you can strain out the sloes and it can be drinkable.  However, you could leave the sloes in longer and you could also leave it longer after bottling too.  The longer the better but that requires perseverance!

As for the haw, well I had picked them so I wasn't going to waste them.  I had a recipe for haw gin from my aforementioned hedgeholic colleague so I thought why not?  I had to busk it a little as I didn't have as many haws as I somehow imagined in my head so in fact the sugar amount I put in mine went a little on the generous side but hey, it is meant to be quite 'sherry' like so I guess mine will be a sweet sherry.  The recipe however was to fill a 500ml jar with haws, add 2 tsp sugar and about 250ml gin.  Shake as per the sloe gin, strain and bottle after 3 months and leave a year or so before drinking (bit more patience required here!).  

The good news is that the daily shaking is adding a complimentary arm muscle toning session, the sloe gin is already turning pink and the haws are draining their red colour as they should.  

Now it is all just a waiting and resistance game!

Animal Rebellion

Everybody has their own way of doing something; their own angle if you like.  That was true over 30 years ago when I first became vegan and a hunt sab.  There were those that just disagreed with hunting, then there was the League Against Cruel Sports who actively campaigned against it, then there were us sabs, out there in the field getting dirty and bloody saving ginger dogs there and then.  All working towards the common cause in their own way.  

Most of the sabs I knew back then were vegans too and for predominantly animal rights reasons (it certainly wasn’t health reasons judging by the booze and smokes consumed by some at the time but then maybe that was a coping mechanism!).  That was their vegan niche.  Sabs, vegans, environmentalists; everybody has their own angle; their own niche and that is definitely true with the whole new generation of climate change identifiers.

I’m still vegan for all the reasons I was back along (not just animal rights) but it seems the environmental reasons can well and truly be brought out and dusted off as one of the more populous ones now and one that, unlike years ago, is actually being listened to more.  Despite this resurgence in interest in veganism as an environmentally positive solution there are still plenty of people unaware of this or unwilling to engage with this fact, including some climate change activists.  It comes back to niches and angles again.  All have their valued views and approaches.  Some are happy with a bit of recycling, some buy electric cars, some march the streets with placards full of engaging facts and quotes; but the lifestyle change to veganism remains the big ‘elephant in the room’ for many.  

Animal Rebellion was born out of the frustration of many activists that more immediate action could be taken by every individual by making the change to a plant based lifestyle.  Despite this frustration however and, much like the League Against Cruel Sports and the Hunt Saboteurs Association, the relationship between Extinction Rebellion and Animal Rebellion is one of solidarity towards the common cause.  Indeed AR credit XR with sparking up the widespread public conversation about the climate crisis through peaceful protest.  Naturally niches formed within XR and spawned AR.

Animal Rebellion aren’t just there to spread the vegan argument to individuals however.  Despite the massive growth in veganism on an individual scale over recent years, it is deemed to still not be responsive enough to the climate crisis.  Animal Rebellion are therefore targeting a more systematic change by putting mass pressure on the government to recognise and act against the current destructive animal based and exploitative food system.  AR is also thinking beyond the environmental factors by highlighting anti-speciesism and exploitation as part of the same broken social and political system.

There have already been a number of smaller events held by Animal Rebellion around the country in recent weeks but this coming week, starting Monday 7th October, sees the biggest and most ambitious to date.  Potentially thousands of rebels are planning to meet and occupy key sites across London.  Meeting at 11am on Monday in Russell Square, Bloomsbury; training, guidance and details will be offered before the rebellion moves in the afternoon to Smithfield Market, London's largest and most historic meat market.  An overnight occupation will follow where the vision of a plant based food system will be shared.  The message will then be taken to Westminster with a further occupation at the Garden City, just across from the Department of Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs.  

The clear and peaceful message from Animal Rebellion will be represented by the masses that attend and, with music, performances, dancing, vegan food and community building activities it looks like being far more than just standing around with placards.  Some rebels will partake in non violent civil disobedience, with some likely arrests.  In anticipation of this there will also be the opportunity to learn new skills to deal with these situations.  Again, this comes down to what your angle is and where your comfort zone sits within the rebellion but the most important thing for the success of the Animal Rebellion is the number of people who attend, in whatever capacity.

To find out more, sign up or prepare for the Animal Rebellion next week, check out Animal Rebellion.  For those who want to get involved but are unable to attend the rebellion in London, there are Animal Rebellion communities all over the country including our very own Cornish community and one just across the border in Devon, amongst others in the south west.