Page 17 - Frittenden Parish Mag - June - 2021

Kent in the Kitchen Student View

A taste of As a cash strapped Exeter University student, I My experience
needed to make money over Easter to afford the new
Brewdog pub that had opened in town. A friend
Asparagus of mine told me about the census work and we working on
both signed up to the job. After countless hours of
verifying documentation, I was accepted onto the
role. My position was called a census mobile officer the census
Rebecca Brown talks to and I started online training on 23rd March and
Frogs Hole Farm had my first shift on the 29th. My role was to be the William Booth-Clibborn
polite reminder to get people to fill in their census.
The impolite reminders have started making the
Kent has long been known as the rounds now so watch out! Phil Betts’ excellent article on March 1st shows the
Garden of England and in a world that I had a 37 hour week and wanted to open up the rest of interesting uses of the data that previous censuses
is increasingly dominated by global the week for revising for exams. I would work 11 hours have collected. The information is used to inform
government policy and spending, so they may know
enterprises, it’s worth enjoying the good a day on foot and outdoors for the whole time. Rain the composition of the country. Scotland delayed their
or shine I was outside knocking on doors. I had to use
things that we produce here in our own swing. In ideal conditions, young shoots the loo in McDonalds as there was no time to walk census until next year as they did not want Covid and
‘back yard’. So to get us off to a glorious can grow up to 10cm a day - so fast it must home. They provided a work phone that had a list of lockdowns to influence their data.
start, let’s celebrate asparagus! almost be possible to watch them emerge all the addresses I had to visit that day. I would record I was very lucky in that most people I visited were very
from the soil. Picking stops in late June to if I spoke to anybody at the property and provide them
Asparagus has been grown and sold at allow the plants to rebuild their strength for with provisions if they had difficulties filling it in. This apologetic and friendly. Often people had not filled
in the census because they could not fill it in. Many
Frogs Hole Farm on the southern edge of the following year. included large font forms, a phone number where a people had severe learning disabilities or were elderly. I
the parish for over forty years, a tradition phone operator can talk them through the form, and did have one near miss on my first shift. I came up to a
continued by Lois McIntosh since she took Mature asparagus plants reach up to 150cm exemption if they were not capable of filling it in at all. secluded house, there was a fogged window beside the
over in 2016. Although some of the crop high, and are covered with delicate ferny door so I could see who was inside. A man inside was
used to be sold to restaurants in London, foliage, beloved of flower arrangers. A on the phone and came up to the door. He saw me but
did not open up. A neighbour then called to me saying
such is the demand that nowadays sales relation of that other delicacy, samphire, ‘Get back he pulled a 12” carving knife on me earlier.”
take place entirely at the farm-gate and there are several cultivars: Frogs Hole I got back as fast as I could. I had missed the
word that ‘Frogs Hole is open now’ gets specialises in mid-sized green stems - neighbours when I came to the house, they were
around the locality very quickly indeed. known as ‘sprue’ - but some varieties already calling the police. It turns out the man was
produce purple stalks and it is possible meant to be going to prison that evening, the jury had
Asparagus is an ancient food; many classical to blanch the new stems to produce found their verdict that morning. I decided to take the
writers, including Cato and Pliny, discussed a white asparagus. afternoon off after that.
its cultivation and use. It was widely grown My supervisor was a very caring woman and ex-Flybe
in England by the sixteenth century, and Lois believes that green asparagus offers employee. She had worked for 15 years at the company
Thomas Hill in his Gardener’s Labyrinth the best flavour and recommends either before they went bust in March this year. My other
(1577) recommends ‘sperage’ [asparagus] slicing it raw into a lightly cooked omelette colleagues were either retirees or other students
looking to make some cash. Occasionally we would
for a host of ailments including kidney or steaming it and serving with a balsamic buddy up for visiting houses that we knew were
stones, toothache and bee stings! glaze and shavings of parmesan or another dodgy. One lady loved to show photos of her cats
well-flavoured hard cheese. It also makes and tell stories of jellied pigs trotters that she ate as
Traditionally the cropping season runs from a great soup, but with such a distinctive a child in Romania.
St George’s Day (23rd April) to Midsummer and special flavour, the simplest treatment
(21st June) although this year’s cold, dry seems best: serving it with melted butter It was an interesting experience that kept me busy over
Easter. When the next census inevitably rolls around, I
spring has delayed the crop by several or a drizzle of olive oil might be just be the would highly recommend working on it. The hours are
weeks - but happily the season is now in full very best thing. flexible, and the pay is great for a student.

16 Frittenden Parish Magazine June 2021 Frittenden Parish Magazine June 2021 17