Williamson's Weekly notes - Dec 16 2009

Years ago a tabloid took Rab Butler, the Tory Chancellor, to task over a remark he made during a financial depression. "We must tighten our belts" said the normally kindly MP. "We must learn to do without our evenings with over-ripe pheasant and port wine and knuckle down to life."

"Oh yes" taunted the tabloid. "Ho ho ho. How many of our readers have evenings with over-ripe pheasant and port wine? We will find out what a typical working class family think of the Tory-toff idea of a good time out."

And so they did. A char-lady and an EastEnd taxi driver together with their families were invited by the paper to dine at a top London restaurant on a really sniffy old pheasant and all the trimmings - game chips. These were thought by Victorian chefs to be the only logical addition to such a sublime aroma as given off by a long dead bird, the taste of which could 'lift the palate to the pinnacle of paradise only briefly if ever enjoyed by the sophisticate'.

Game chips in no way competed, being bland but filling, a sort of balance that even the humble sprout might challenge for the discerning gourmet.

"Wouldn't feed that to the dog" said the cabby, while Mrs Mop was more polite in her dismay at the strange food the upper classes were said to enjoy. How I agree. Much mischief is done to food in the name of fashion. But at last TV has mastered the game. They know that a pheasant can be skinned and eaten that night.

It does not need to be stewed all day either. A young bird, like a grouse, might only need 20 minutes in the oven. But as with meat out of the microwave, it needs time to stand, say another 20 minutes in the case of pheasant. What a delicious meal it then can make, and helps the rural economy too perhaps more than does the broiler hen.

The bird in my photograph stands on my bird table which is normally covered with great tits, hedge sparrows, nuthatches, robins, chaffinches, etc, etc. He knows he is quite safe from me but if he goes walk-about - well his life then hangs in the balance.