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I saw one of these at an antiques centre the other day. It's a lark spit for roasting larks.
Oh dear, do I have to call it a cheep snack?
As for Hyacinthe, he had gone off in pursuit of a flight of
larks, with his hands crammed full of pebbles. Whenever one of the birds,
distressed by the wind, stopped still a couple of seconds in, mid-air with
quivering wings, he felled it to the ground with the skill of a savage. Three
fell, and he thrust them bleeding into his pocket.
Émile Zola - La Terre (1887)
Émile Zola - La Terre (1887)
5 comments:
Flight of larks: I believe it's called an exaltation.
Remember the Vogons' smashing beautifully bejewelled crabs with their hammers? Douglas Adams was so good at skewering the crass and insensitive.
I thought you meant the vegan delicacy. Large numbers of larks are painlessly captured with gossamer nets and, after calming, are gently encouraged to expectorate into tiny cups. The cost reflects the labour involved, of course, but I believe it makes an excellent drink which goes very well with tofu and lentil bake.
When around Stratford upon Avon long ago we wondered if the larks we heard were descended from those that Shakespeare might have heard. Vaughan Williams was not so far away in one direction and in another the real life location of Lark Rise. I could not imagine eating them, some of the ancients regarded them as voices of the gods.
Tasty maybe, but I reckon the net energy gain was negative.
Sackers - I think Tim Yeo may be a Vogon. Testing him with beautifully bejewelled crabs could be tricky though.
Sam - an old lark farmer told me that the best way to encourage spitting is to show them football matches on TV. They soon begin to stand around, wings on hips and spitting like crazy.
Demetrius - I can just about imagine eating them, but preparing and cooking them is another matter.
Roger - yes, even as a protein source it seems like hard work for little return.
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