It is interesting to me that we haven't yet reached a notion of terroir for salt as we have for wines, but as surely as the environment affects the grapes, the environment affects the salts. I love the idea of salt getting into the memory.
This is true! I suppose there are certain salts which are more famous than others. Here, everyone talks of Guerande and their fleur de sel, but there are other sources too. I'd love to one day see someone do a chemical analysis of each of these places (including Orkney!) and see the different minerals within. Maybe someone has!
I grew up by the coast in the north-east of England -- Redcar , which was originally called Saltscar. I never saw salt as crystals on the beaches but the taste of it was always in the air -- though in the 70s heavilly polluted from the 80 square miles of chemical factories plus steel works and more across the Tees. Tasting salt on the air always tastes of home.
I really think the salt gets into the memory when we are young and lucky enough to live by the coast. And I now have a memory-scent of the steel works scent from Scunthorpe, where I was born, and my Dad worked as a teacher, before we moved north to Orkney--that smell doesn't leave, either!
Have you been back at all recently? I haven't been back to the Scunthorpe area for years but, the last time I did, I was delighted to see much of the bare industrial areas had been returned to nature (quite well, too). There were even housing estates and homes on some of the land, which would worry me a bit, if I was living there, however!
It's funny. When I read this, I thought of that time we found the dead sheep at the back of the cave beneath the Brough of Deerness - it must have fallen down that crack in the rock and died there, many years ago. Just a pile of bones with a skull on top, when we found it. Then, I read your microfiction piece - it started with sheep and ended with death. Curious and Curiouser!
Ha! That must have been the subconsciousness at work! I will return to that story at some point in this series, however! Have you sent Auri into a cave yet and, if not, why not?!
We haven’t been exploring any caves yet - maybe we should all do that in July! I have a suspicion Auri and Ailsa will be fearless - though I genuinely have concerns for the world thinking about when Ailsa and Elfi get together to wreak havoc in years to come…
Yes. The world should tremble in fear... Ailsa just doesn't recognise every danger at the moment, I'm sure she will with time, but she's just so very keen to experiment with throwing herself around all over the place... Caves sounds a plan, also: DOLPHINS!
We absolutely must see the dolphins! That evening last summer when Auri and Euan went to see them (I was at home with Elfi - strange to think how young she was then compared to now, it seems a lifetime ago) will be one of those lasting magical memories. I wish I’d been there with everyone, but it was amazing seeing the photographs and, most of all, hearing Auri tell me about it all afterwards.
Isn't it weird, how quickly time passes and how fast the wee'uns grow? Sometimes, I think how we've lived in this house for just two years, been married for just two years, yet that is also the vast majority of Ailsa's life too, and she seems a constant, a fixture.
Dolphins is a big yes, then! It will be great to form new dolphin memories with you all. I love that Auri has that memory.
This is wonderful - as is Gruissan! For what it's worth, I think that the connection to the elements of the world around us, to our food, through land and locality is as important a way of expressing our place in the natural world as something more overtly militant.
I agree completely, that connection to land and food is crucial to our existence as a species. Too many people are too far removed from this now and I cannot help but wonder what that is doing to our mental health across the world. Wars and violence and us versus them are perhaps easier for many to substitute, rather than actually addressing the imbalance with nature which is perhaps behind the vast majority of our woes. I fear this might only get worse, before it gets better, but I do have (active) hope.
Thanks again (and we're actually heading for a few days in Gruissan this very evening, can't wait to smell the sea air once more).
And on a more general point, I do generally agree, though I also think that more and more people are increasingly aware of our distance from the world that we are a part of, and which nourishes us. There might not be enough change, quick enough, but it is happening, and I suppose that is all we can hold onto rather than the violent divisions which seem to be multiplying - and which are not without their links to everything that is now separating us from the land that gives us life...
I also wonder how much of the divisions are a product of constant media attrition. Since I've stopped following the news I've noticed a marked increase in my own mental state. I do also find myself seeking out others and ideas which are more positive, rather than the negative I was previously fed, which does make a big difference too.
Yes, I agree. I find myself torn between the feeling that it is important to stay informed (with a healthy dose of critical distance about media sources, and what we are and are not being told, how), and a need for some respite from it all...
I was the same, I tried to limit my intake and carefully source it, but then decided to test out simply stepping away for a month, then reassess. That was 14 months ago, now! I also find I still know roughly what is going on in the world, without all those details, often painful details, we are otherwise subjected to. I'd heartily recommend giving a no-news diet a trial run!
I suppose I sometimes wonder whether it isn't some kind of human responsibility to be aware of all those painful details, but then, if I/we can't change them, does it do any good? I will consider giving it a go!
My two youngest did their MAs up there about 8 years ago so I went back then (Cottia had her final arts show in what was once the hospital where I was born) ::) But the palce was desolate. There had been a lot of clearing but the land was devastated and littered with scrap metal and bits of pipe -- very much a wasteland. Not sure it has changed since.
I hope it changes at some point. Even as a child, I'd know just how bad things were in England when we'd head there to visit relatives--the lack of nature and monoculture fields, the litter, pollution and general worn and sorry state of it was always a shock.
The site of the hospital where I was born is now a housing estate, hundreds of cookie-cutter small buildings, back to back, with tiny parcels of gardens and little open green space.
Pretty sure I will never live in England again, unless it is to return to university one day in the future but, even then, it would be for a very limited period of time.
My long exploration and further teaching of charcuterie or “salaisons” is based on the preservative properties of natural salt. A favorite roadtrip is to the pork rich Basque Countries and the saltworks at Salies-de-Bearns where the Jambon de Bayonne consortium runs a Musée de Sel—a must see for historic, geological, and gustatory reasons. I loved this latest post and look forward to the next series.
When we moved to Portugal, just before Covid arrived, we passed Salies-de-Bearns on our way in the camping car, but never visited. It's certainly on my to-visit list. I did visit the salt museum in Gruissan, which I found really interesting, but it is only really a single room at the back of the shop (which, in itself, is exciting too!).
One thing we keep looking for is olive salt. We stayed with a friend who had some and it was fantastic, but haven't been able to find any since. We have asked at a couple of market stalls selling salts, and they said it is really not easy to make, or worth making, as the olives often go rancid. But I know it exists somewhere! I think France does salt very well, much better than the UK. I do love my Portuguese piri-piri salt too.
Thank you so much for commenting, knowing you read this and enjoyed it makes me happy.
I will look forward to your next series greatly Alex, caves and tunnels are not my forte due being claustrophobic but despite this infuriating affliction, I have always been intrigued by them, even to the extent of trembling violently and venturing in… we have a tunnel leading from one of ‘les caves’ under our home, it is blocked a few feet in sadly and has no history that I can find… I haven’t stopped trying though!
I actually thought of you when I made this choice, as I know you said you'd prefer some of the other options! It was a difficult choice to make, but I think the underworld is sufficiently different from coastlines or doors, in a way springs, wells, rivers, marshes etcetera might not be. They'll have their moment, though, I'm in this for the longhaul!
I am now also intrigued by your secret tunnel! I was born in Lincolnshire and lived there until moving to Orkney, and we were surrounded by ruined priories, abbeys, Templar buildings and sites, and others, each with a legend of its own secret tunnel. I wonder what yours is?! How exciting!
And to overcome a phobia to that extent only demonstrates your strength of willpower, which is really impressive!
I still look forward to your choice of the underworld Alex, perhaps your essays will give me the courage to head further into our own tunnel (once it’s unblocked of course!) I hope so - I hate missing out!
I think I'd certainly be in there, digging away...! A good mystery is a powerful thing for some of us. What I find even more mysterious is how it isn't the same for everyone, how there are those who don't feel that pull to know what lies beyond that door, or over that hill, or down that tunnel. Weird!
Isn't it strange how we identify so strongly with the elements of the places where we grew up? For me, it isn't sea or salt. It's hills and rocks and forests and rivers. I'm not happy if I'm not surrounded by them. Especially forests, though the days of large old forests are gone.
Yes! I think I would struggle to live in Orkney for any extended period now, however, as I've come to deeply appreciate and love the forests myself. That said, you are spot on with this, Aurélie, my wife, grew up surrounded by mountains and, as such, doesn't miss wide open skies and isn't too keen on strong, constant winds!
Really enjoyed this piece. And thanks for linking to the preliminary Substack Nature directory. I am not sure how likely we are to ever end up with a "Nature" category here -- who knows? -- but in the meantime, we are cooking up something that will be a bit more user-friendly than just an alphabetical list with over 160 publications. I never dreamed there were so many of us here, that the list would grow so large! It definitely needs a more interactive home, so that's in the works.
Many thanks! I think there are probably even more than 160 publications! Many writers don't really use Notes, after all (yet!), so they are probably entirely unaware there is a lack of a 'nature' category. A more interactive home sounds wonderful, thank you. (I'm still hopeful the whole category/tag/search function of Substack will develop, but I suspect it will take a bit more time yet.) Thanks again!
That’s a good point regarding writers that don’t use Notes. There is also a substantial subset that does not respond to being tagged in others’ newsletters, as I’ve discovered, although part of that is because Substack’s notifications about “pingbacks” are really spotty. Most others who don’t use the platform much except to post newsletters will probably trickle in as others link them. We are well over 170 just since I left this comment, and I think it will grow slowly to 200 or more over the next several months. :)
I still have to send on a few others, myself! Must get that scheduled.
You are right, about the notifications being spotty, it is similar with features such as replying to emails, often I have found these disappear (whether I've sent them, or received them), which is a bit frustrating. I try to be patient though, as all these wrinkles in the platform get ironed out over time.
It is interesting to me that we haven't yet reached a notion of terroir for salt as we have for wines, but as surely as the environment affects the grapes, the environment affects the salts. I love the idea of salt getting into the memory.
This is true! I suppose there are certain salts which are more famous than others. Here, everyone talks of Guerande and their fleur de sel, but there are other sources too. I'd love to one day see someone do a chemical analysis of each of these places (including Orkney!) and see the different minerals within. Maybe someone has!
I grew up by the coast in the north-east of England -- Redcar , which was originally called Saltscar. I never saw salt as crystals on the beaches but the taste of it was always in the air -- though in the 70s heavilly polluted from the 80 square miles of chemical factories plus steel works and more across the Tees. Tasting salt on the air always tastes of home.
I really think the salt gets into the memory when we are young and lucky enough to live by the coast. And I now have a memory-scent of the steel works scent from Scunthorpe, where I was born, and my Dad worked as a teacher, before we moved north to Orkney--that smell doesn't leave, either!
Absolutely. 80 sqaure miles smelt of sulphur and grime! Definitely unforgetable.
Have you been back at all recently? I haven't been back to the Scunthorpe area for years but, the last time I did, I was delighted to see much of the bare industrial areas had been returned to nature (quite well, too). There were even housing estates and homes on some of the land, which would worry me a bit, if I was living there, however!
It's funny. When I read this, I thought of that time we found the dead sheep at the back of the cave beneath the Brough of Deerness - it must have fallen down that crack in the rock and died there, many years ago. Just a pile of bones with a skull on top, when we found it. Then, I read your microfiction piece - it started with sheep and ended with death. Curious and Curiouser!
Ha! That must have been the subconsciousness at work! I will return to that story at some point in this series, however! Have you sent Auri into a cave yet and, if not, why not?!
We haven’t been exploring any caves yet - maybe we should all do that in July! I have a suspicion Auri and Ailsa will be fearless - though I genuinely have concerns for the world thinking about when Ailsa and Elfi get together to wreak havoc in years to come…
Yes. The world should tremble in fear... Ailsa just doesn't recognise every danger at the moment, I'm sure she will with time, but she's just so very keen to experiment with throwing herself around all over the place... Caves sounds a plan, also: DOLPHINS!
We absolutely must see the dolphins! That evening last summer when Auri and Euan went to see them (I was at home with Elfi - strange to think how young she was then compared to now, it seems a lifetime ago) will be one of those lasting magical memories. I wish I’d been there with everyone, but it was amazing seeing the photographs and, most of all, hearing Auri tell me about it all afterwards.
Isn't it weird, how quickly time passes and how fast the wee'uns grow? Sometimes, I think how we've lived in this house for just two years, been married for just two years, yet that is also the vast majority of Ailsa's life too, and she seems a constant, a fixture.
Dolphins is a big yes, then! It will be great to form new dolphin memories with you all. I love that Auri has that memory.
This is wonderful - as is Gruissan! For what it's worth, I think that the connection to the elements of the world around us, to our food, through land and locality is as important a way of expressing our place in the natural world as something more overtly militant.
Thank you!
I agree completely, that connection to land and food is crucial to our existence as a species. Too many people are too far removed from this now and I cannot help but wonder what that is doing to our mental health across the world. Wars and violence and us versus them are perhaps easier for many to substitute, rather than actually addressing the imbalance with nature which is perhaps behind the vast majority of our woes. I fear this might only get worse, before it gets better, but I do have (active) hope.
Thanks again (and we're actually heading for a few days in Gruissan this very evening, can't wait to smell the sea air once more).
Enjoy yourselves!
And on a more general point, I do generally agree, though I also think that more and more people are increasingly aware of our distance from the world that we are a part of, and which nourishes us. There might not be enough change, quick enough, but it is happening, and I suppose that is all we can hold onto rather than the violent divisions which seem to be multiplying - and which are not without their links to everything that is now separating us from the land that gives us life...
I also wonder how much of the divisions are a product of constant media attrition. Since I've stopped following the news I've noticed a marked increase in my own mental state. I do also find myself seeking out others and ideas which are more positive, rather than the negative I was previously fed, which does make a big difference too.
Yes, I agree. I find myself torn between the feeling that it is important to stay informed (with a healthy dose of critical distance about media sources, and what we are and are not being told, how), and a need for some respite from it all...
I was the same, I tried to limit my intake and carefully source it, but then decided to test out simply stepping away for a month, then reassess. That was 14 months ago, now! I also find I still know roughly what is going on in the world, without all those details, often painful details, we are otherwise subjected to. I'd heartily recommend giving a no-news diet a trial run!
I suppose I sometimes wonder whether it isn't some kind of human responsibility to be aware of all those painful details, but then, if I/we can't change them, does it do any good? I will consider giving it a go!
Lithium salt literally keeps me sane. There's that.
Certainly a very valid use of salt!
My two youngest did their MAs up there about 8 years ago so I went back then (Cottia had her final arts show in what was once the hospital where I was born) ::) But the palce was desolate. There had been a lot of clearing but the land was devastated and littered with scrap metal and bits of pipe -- very much a wasteland. Not sure it has changed since.
I hope it changes at some point. Even as a child, I'd know just how bad things were in England when we'd head there to visit relatives--the lack of nature and monoculture fields, the litter, pollution and general worn and sorry state of it was always a shock.
The site of the hospital where I was born is now a housing estate, hundreds of cookie-cutter small buildings, back to back, with tiny parcels of gardens and little open green space.
Pretty sure I will never live in England again, unless it is to return to university one day in the future but, even then, it would be for a very limited period of time.
My long exploration and further teaching of charcuterie or “salaisons” is based on the preservative properties of natural salt. A favorite roadtrip is to the pork rich Basque Countries and the saltworks at Salies-de-Bearns where the Jambon de Bayonne consortium runs a Musée de Sel—a must see for historic, geological, and gustatory reasons. I loved this latest post and look forward to the next series.
When we moved to Portugal, just before Covid arrived, we passed Salies-de-Bearns on our way in the camping car, but never visited. It's certainly on my to-visit list. I did visit the salt museum in Gruissan, which I found really interesting, but it is only really a single room at the back of the shop (which, in itself, is exciting too!).
One thing we keep looking for is olive salt. We stayed with a friend who had some and it was fantastic, but haven't been able to find any since. We have asked at a couple of market stalls selling salts, and they said it is really not easy to make, or worth making, as the olives often go rancid. But I know it exists somewhere! I think France does salt very well, much better than the UK. I do love my Portuguese piri-piri salt too.
Thank you so much for commenting, knowing you read this and enjoyed it makes me happy.
I will look forward to your next series greatly Alex, caves and tunnels are not my forte due being claustrophobic but despite this infuriating affliction, I have always been intrigued by them, even to the extent of trembling violently and venturing in… we have a tunnel leading from one of ‘les caves’ under our home, it is blocked a few feet in sadly and has no history that I can find… I haven’t stopped trying though!
I actually thought of you when I made this choice, as I know you said you'd prefer some of the other options! It was a difficult choice to make, but I think the underworld is sufficiently different from coastlines or doors, in a way springs, wells, rivers, marshes etcetera might not be. They'll have their moment, though, I'm in this for the longhaul!
I am now also intrigued by your secret tunnel! I was born in Lincolnshire and lived there until moving to Orkney, and we were surrounded by ruined priories, abbeys, Templar buildings and sites, and others, each with a legend of its own secret tunnel. I wonder what yours is?! How exciting!
And to overcome a phobia to that extent only demonstrates your strength of willpower, which is really impressive!
I still look forward to your choice of the underworld Alex, perhaps your essays will give me the courage to head further into our own tunnel (once it’s unblocked of course!) I hope so - I hate missing out!
I think I'd certainly be in there, digging away...! A good mystery is a powerful thing for some of us. What I find even more mysterious is how it isn't the same for everyone, how there are those who don't feel that pull to know what lies beyond that door, or over that hill, or down that tunnel. Weird!
Isn't it strange how we identify so strongly with the elements of the places where we grew up? For me, it isn't sea or salt. It's hills and rocks and forests and rivers. I'm not happy if I'm not surrounded by them. Especially forests, though the days of large old forests are gone.
Yes! I think I would struggle to live in Orkney for any extended period now, however, as I've come to deeply appreciate and love the forests myself. That said, you are spot on with this, Aurélie, my wife, grew up surrounded by mountains and, as such, doesn't miss wide open skies and isn't too keen on strong, constant winds!
Really enjoyed this piece. And thanks for linking to the preliminary Substack Nature directory. I am not sure how likely we are to ever end up with a "Nature" category here -- who knows? -- but in the meantime, we are cooking up something that will be a bit more user-friendly than just an alphabetical list with over 160 publications. I never dreamed there were so many of us here, that the list would grow so large! It definitely needs a more interactive home, so that's in the works.
Many thanks! I think there are probably even more than 160 publications! Many writers don't really use Notes, after all (yet!), so they are probably entirely unaware there is a lack of a 'nature' category. A more interactive home sounds wonderful, thank you. (I'm still hopeful the whole category/tag/search function of Substack will develop, but I suspect it will take a bit more time yet.) Thanks again!
That’s a good point regarding writers that don’t use Notes. There is also a substantial subset that does not respond to being tagged in others’ newsletters, as I’ve discovered, although part of that is because Substack’s notifications about “pingbacks” are really spotty. Most others who don’t use the platform much except to post newsletters will probably trickle in as others link them. We are well over 170 just since I left this comment, and I think it will grow slowly to 200 or more over the next several months. :)
I still have to send on a few others, myself! Must get that scheduled.
You are right, about the notifications being spotty, it is similar with features such as replying to emails, often I have found these disappear (whether I've sent them, or received them), which is a bit frustrating. I try to be patient though, as all these wrinkles in the platform get ironed out over time.