Friday, October 26, 2012

Anglophile Friday - Making Your Own Coracle


Picture of a coracle
From R.J. Unstead's 'Looking at History'

I had to phone my daughter last night and ask her if she remembered which book we have that has a picture of a coracle in it. I had already narrowed it down to about five, and she suggested three, so we managed to find the picture I had remembered seeing.

From Wikipedia: 

"Designed for use in the swiftly flowing streams of Wales and parts of the rest of Britain and Ireland, the coracle has been in use for centuries, having been noted by Julius Caesar in his invasion of Britain in the mid first century BC, and used in his campaigns in Spain. Remains interpreted as a possible coracle were found in a Bronze Age grave from near Dalgety Bay, and two others have been described, from Corbridge and from near Ferriby.

According to Ian Harries, coracle fisherman, coracles are so light and portable that they can easily be carried on the fisherman's shoulders when proceeding to and from his work."

So the story behind this post is that I was looking up something on YouTube and came across this video of a man who makes coracles. I thought it was fascinating. Maybe you will too.



I was showing this video clip to my husband. He got a puzzled look on his face and said, 'Hadn't they ever seen a fish??'




Photo from TorontoMuseumProject.ca


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Have a great weekend, everyone!
  
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12 comments:

  1. i have never read the word or seen one of these, it is like a round canoe, really cool. i will show this to bob.

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  2. I'm neither handy nor crafty, but this would be fun to think about nonetheless ... :)

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  3. What a interesting post. I have learned something new today, thank you.

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  4. Wonder if this gentleman has had the foresight to get himself an apprentice. It would be a shame to have that knowledge and skill end with him. Very cool. Have a great weekend with the boys! - Stacey

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  5. Judy, we will have to find a place where we can rent these and try it out, in the year we spend in the UK :) :).

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  6. Fascinating. I also learned something new.

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  7. Very interesting! And a bit of lovely English countryside.

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  8. Okay - very interesting - I had never ever seen or head of one of these. Thanks for sharing y our wealth of information!

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  9. What an interesting story! In Cardigan, a town 30 miles from here, they use regularly coracles for fishing and it's not unusual to see the boatman carrying his craft on his shoulders to the river! Joan

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  10. What an interesting post. I've never heard of a coracle. Very interesting, indeed.
    Happy Pink...

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