Yes, this is a REAL rant...

[Karen_D]

I do Viking Age re-enactment and "Is it real?" is something you hear a lot in the encampment.

It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the kids who came out with it but often you can tell exactly where they get it from.

Ask the parents if they thought Vikings had chicken nuggets... It's bad enough "normal" people not knowing where their food comes from, but folk who are into history like that - can't understand this kind of attitude... Or do they just do it because they like the dressing up?

It's not the other re-enactors (who are very, erm, unfussy about food) [1] but members of the public who visit. It isn't just the inner-city dwellers, either, some of the nicely-spoken "educated" types are often clueless about food.

I grew up in the inner city but my mom would buy undressed chickens from the butchers, because they were cheaper, and do the cleaning herself. You also used to be able to go to Asian shops where they had live chickens out the back and only killed one when they had a customer for it so you knew it was fresh. We would also visit my great aunt and uncle who lived in a tiny workers cottage and they kept rabbits for meat.

My mom wouldn't buy processed foods because they were too expensive and often shopped at the markets in Birmingham (which are still good, by the way) for fish and rabbit. A hot pot of pig's trotters was a regular meal for us as was brawn (pigs head turned into pressed meat).

A lot of folk are simply brainwashed by habit, advertising and supermarkets to accept junk as "nice convenience food" and reject anything that brings them into contact with reality.

Wassail

Karen




[1] This weekend's food included black pudding, mutton chops and rabbit stew.

[Wombat]

On another forum I post on, a woman recently had a complete RANT about another mother in her daughter's school who had brought chickens and rabbits to raise at home to KILL AND EAT!!! This woman (the ranter) was scandalized, said it had upset all the children at school, and she was going to complain to the local council about it. She was completely appalled that people would raise their own small livestock to eat - what sort of example of that was that to their children! *weak laughter*

Fortunately there were enough people on this forum who grow their own food, whether vegetable or animal, and were able to calm her down a bit, although I think she is still puzzled over the entire enterprise.

I would think a public flogging would suffice...

Complain to the local council, INDEED!

Nev

[cat]

when they were little my 3 always asked "what was this when it was alive?"

Luca (7) brought home plants they'd grown at school from beans and lentils they'd taken in. They also went to a farm, milked a cow and made ricotta from the milk they got, washed a pig, and made bread.
They had a trip to a fish farm too. It makes me want to go back to school

[the.fee.fairy]

Nope, its not real, we force this fake food down ourselves, throw it up later and eat some nice processed stuff from the supermarket - where its clean and 'fresh' and obviously good to eat or the supermarket wouldn't sell it...

People can be so ignorant. I almost feel sorry for them!

As an aside: how did you get into reenactment? I'd like to do it but i have no idea how to find a local group.

[Karen_D]

As an aside: how did you get into reenactment? I'd like to do it but i have no idea how to find a local group.

You ask a re-enactor and you're on the slippery slope...


Is there any particular period you want to do? There are groups running from the Stone Age to 1960s (East German Border Guards, I kid you not!).

Do you want to do combat, living history or both?

Some groups are very strict about authenticity and others rather more relaxed. Some do public shows and others only private events. Some specialise in one particular period and others can cover a thousand years.

If you let me know what you want to do, via pm, I'll try to point you at the right sort of maniacs.

Wassail

Karen

[ina]

to 1960s (East German Border Guards, I kid you not!).

Only the British could do something like that - we had enough of it live!

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the actors themselves are not the ones making a fuss about the food. As to the general public - I've long lost hope...

[Stonehead]

As an aside: how did you get into reenactment? I'd like to do it but i have no idea how to find a local group.

Further to Karen-D's reply, you should also check ads and websites for historic places, theme parks, council-run history/archaeology centres and the like. They're often looking for volunteer guides and re-enactors (and in a few cases you may even get a little cash). The advantage of these is that your costume and equipment is usually supplied - making for a cheaper start.

Combat re-enactment, especially High Medieval, can get very expensive very fast, while living history - especially low-tech peasant life - is a somewhat easier and more affordable way to start. And even if you fancy trying combat re-enactment, being a camp follower is good way in.

And then there are the LARP people - live action role playing. Fancy being a dwarf for a couple of days and belt orcs with latex axes? Or an Imperial Trooper hunting down the Jedi? All sorts of genres are covered but I'm afraid to say that I've tagged along with LARPers twice - and been banished as it just leaves me in fits of laughter. Each to his own.

[The Chili Monster]

The.Fee.Fairy wrote:

As an aside: how did you get into reenactment? I'd like to do it but i have no idea how to find a local group.

Try here.

[Thurston Garden]

Before I gave up my job, I struggled with one of the receptionists who had a severe go at me for keeping pigs for food. At the conclusion of a tirade from her, she said "anyway, I have to go now, I need to go to T***o for my shopping".

On a different scale, friends of the family have 4 wee girls. Mum makes, every mealtime, 5 different meals because the girls won't eat the same as their parents nor each other. One girls' staple diet is plain boiled pasta with grated cheese on th top. One will only eat processed white bread (shitey white as we call it) because brown bread is 'dirty'. Sausage rolls are usually a winner, as are the usual meat(???) shapes from the freezer.

Often when at get togethers, one parent will be heard saying to them, 'now you don't like that....' what chance do they have? We had one to stay recently, "Would you like some (whatever it was)?" "NOOO, don't like it" "When did you try some?" "Never had it"

Hats off to all 4 though at Christmas dinner - they could not get enough of our pork despite having watched the pigs from day one! So there might be hope yet.....