The Glorious Twelfth

 

The Glorious Twelfth

                                    Red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)
                                Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Yesterday, was August 12^th, the Glorious Twelfth. It’s the traditional opening of the red grouse and ptarmigan shooting season. Some call it the New Year’s Day of hunting.

 Most game bird seasons open on 1^st September, though woodcock and pheasant start on 1^st October.  If August 12^th falls on a Sunday, the opening is delayed until August 13^th, because game bird shooting on a Sunday is prohibited by English law.

. This year the number of birds ‘bagged’ may be lower than usual because of poor grouse breeding conditions. The season extends to 10^th December, (30^th November in Northern Ireland) though some shoots may be abandoned or finish earlier, perhaps in September, if the weather is unfavourable or numbers of birds are low. In that case, restaurants may charge more for their grouse dishes!

Patrons may enjoy roast grouse with game chips, watercress and bread sauce, or with braised cabbage, celeriac purée and sauce Albert. Sauce Albert is a combination of horseradish, cream, egg yolks and mustard diluted in vinegar.

Otherwise, a chef may serve it with blackberries and a port wine jus. It might also be offered with any combination of haggis, neeps and tatties, elderberries, greengages, sweetcorn, black pudding, cobnuts, pancetta – there is no limit to the creativity of chefs.

All red grouse are wild but their habitat is managed by gamekeepers. Grouse are ground-dwelling, fast-flying birds and a challenge to hunters. They fly low to the ground, can change direction extremely quickly and can reach speeds of 70 miles per hour. As omnivores, they consume a variety of plants and animals, according to the season, including cones, seeds, berries, catkins, insects, small invertebrates, grasses and heather.

Red grouse in flight
 Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Grouse shoots are mainly located on moorlands in Scotland, northern England and Wales. Grouse shooting grew in popularity in the 1850s, when the advent of widespread railway travel made access to the moors very much easier.

My husband’s not a shooting man so the significance of the Glorious Twelfth is lost on him and it is unlikely that we shall be eating grouse in the coming weeks.

At some point, Barry will remember/realise/be reminded that the Glorious Twelfth is also our wedding anniversary. He’s not good on dates! Actually, that’s not true – if it’s an important date in history, he’s very sure of it. (Question: Is our wedding date not one such important date ‘in history’?) Anyway, he will then be extremely remorseful and I will reassure him, as I do every year, that it really doesn’t matter. I do remember, though, that on our 25^th anniversary, you know, the Silver one, we bought a new outboard motor for the tender just before we set off sailing.

 He can just about remember my birthday, though it took a few decades for him to get it right. He knows it’s in April, but the date still eludes him and wanders around between the 13^th and the 19^th.

Bless him! ❤