Those were the days.

Life around the canals and catching and cooking eels.

By Les Pugh

Introduction

Les Pugh writes about his memories of the StroudwaterCanal more than 70 years ago, including how to catch and cook an eel.

Restoration of the Stroudwater Canal.

I am so pleased that the Stroudwater Canal restoration is now an established fact although sadly, at nearly 86 years of age(2001), I shall not be around to witness that auspicious occasion.

It is the best news heard in the Stroud Valleys for many years and will bring back prosperity, not only to Stroud itself, but also to all the delightful villages through which it passes.

My early days.

I have been connected with it and have enjoyed every aspect of it since I was born in the cottages adjacent to the weir at Whitminster on August 8, 1915. In 1919 my parents moved to Rose Cottage, Westend, Eastinglon and then to No. 2 Council Houses, Chipman's Platt, Eastington. This was next to what was then the Workhouse, now William Morris House and a few hundred yards from the canal.

Changes made for the M5.

Sadly one of the most beautiful areas of the canal from around Westfield Bridge has been filled in to accommodate the M5 motorway. Since it was excavated in the 1790s it has been known by generations of Eastington villagers as the 'cut'. It was one of the most popular recreation spots for all age groups at a time when organised games were very few.

Swimming and fishing for eels in the 'cut'.

We swam in the cut from the middle of June to the end of September, skated on it when it was frozen over to a depth of 5" to 6" for generally about three to four weeks in the very severe winters of the late 1920s and early 1930s.

In addition to this we fished in it during the season, set night lines baited with "gudgeon" to catch eels and took moorhen eggs to eat.They were small but delicious fried in the fat left by home-cured bacon. The night lines were set on the bank opposite the towpath and a long way from the bridges.

If an eel had been caught the line would be tight. This would be noticed by the dozens of men who cycled along the towpath very early in the morning to work at Cadbury's Frampton factory or canal employees based at Saul Junction. They would jump off their bikes, cut the night line and put the eel in their dinner bags.Two or three large eels would make a meal for a family of four.

Preparation of eels for cooking.

The preparation of the eels for cooking was standard practice for everyone living near or passing by the canal.

The eel would have swallowed the gudgeon head first and the fish hook, which, together with the line, had been threaded through its body with the hook barb outside the side of the gudgeon's mouth would first be cut from the eels stomach together with its entrails using a very sharp knife.

A carving fork would then be stuck through the eels head and into a wooden chopping block.

Every family had a chopping block outside their back door. It was a section of tree trunk (usually elm or beech) about 12" to 15" in diameter and about 18" tall. It was used to provide a platform on which to chop kindling wood, its secondary use was to hold eels.

Skinning an eel.

With the eel firmly impaled, again using a sharp knife, the skin behind the eel's head would be cut through. Two dinner forks would be inserted into the skin on each side of the head and a sharp simultaneous pull on both forks would remove the skin from head to tail. The skin would be cut up and given to the cat and the eels placed in a bowl of very salty water to be left to soak from 12 to 24 hours. They were then boiled until tender in salted water and made a cheap meal for the very poor families existing, not living, near the canal at that time.

Moorhen nests.

Reverting to the moorhens eggs, the moorhens nests were very plentiful on the bank opposite the towpath and, during the nesting season, we would visit the nests daily. We observed when the birds had commenced to lay and never took more than two eggs from each nest thus ensuring that continuity of breeding would be preserved.

Saving memories for the future.

It is certain that future generations of children will not be able to enjoy many of the activities I have mentioned when the canal is fully restored. However, I hope that the present generation will appreciate what a valuable recreational asset the canal was in those dim and distant years.

In this first nostalgic article on the joys of living near to what will be a wonderful amenity I have concentrated on the recreational aspect.

Later in a future article I will enjoy recording many happy memories of its then all important industrial and commercial aspect.

Re-printed with my permission

Les Pugh

First published in Stroud News and Journal on 30 August 2001