Showing posts with label Cornish pasty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cornish pasty. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Rare Aquatic Cornish Pasty Victorian Museum Specimen Find



Tiny part of Boffins Bunker 'Cabinet of Curiosities ' Collection
Rare Aquatic Cornish Pasty Victorian Species Specimen
found in Scandinavian Museum Cabinet

Dear Boffins laboratory journal reader

Living in social & geographical isolation as the Boffin does (like you had not noticed) it was my various medication, meanderings, collections & tinkering's which drew me to the steampunk aesthetic.  Boffins own 'Cabinet of Curiosities' being various & peculiar, the steampunk objects & gadgets just nestle right in there alongside occult & natural history specimens.

The Boffin recently read on Brass Goggles forum that Steampunk is not just about Victorian-esque cloths!? 

For me it has never been about the cloths.  Heresy for some SP's, well yes, Boffin concurs there is something both airy & convenient about wearing nothing but an open back surgical frock gown, prosthetic assisted & converted elbow length rubber acid proof gauntlets, surgical face mask & multiple magnified optical lens apparatus in the laboratory (Health & Safety would approve). 

However this is apparently not a good look or socially acceptable day wear to answer the front door for receiving eBay parcels from the man of the postal service.  It's the bending to put the parcel down exposing lower nether region buttock cleavage due to wearing nothing but the open back surgical gown that clinched it, or should that be clenched it. Who knew?

The point being Steampunk is for some adherents to the genre/aesthetic other than cloths.  For the Boffin it revolves around my ever growing 'Cabinet of Curiosities'.

Which is why I was delighted to learn that an exceedingly rare example of the believed to have been lost 'Aquatic Cornish Pasty'  Pasty aquaticus had been located in a Scandinavian Museum Cabinet.


 Genuine specimen Finnish Museum Natural History;
 said by Prof. BB may be of the extremely rare 'Aquatic Cornish Pasty'

A little research quickly established no records whatsoever of a Victorian captive breeding programme of these strange & rather bizarre frilly tentacle creatures. Despite now being rumoured to have been used by the Bodmin Moor fishing fleet to herd towards nets,  the equally rare Cornish double winged flying pilchard as used to be caught off the East coast of Cornwall.

Now the geographically inclined will say 'Hang on , there is no East coast of Cornwall, that's called Devon' .  Exactly!  That is what makes these 'Aquatic Cornish Pasty' beasties so damn rare!

Both of the exceptional Cornish species said to be rarer than even a live specimen of the Scottish Haggis. 

Boffins Bunker has secured initial research funding from the Brass Ministry of Pointless Experimental Exercises, a micro small steampunk budgetary section of the Treasury Dept.  If the Boffin can procure a tissue sample from the Scandinavian museum pickled wet specimen, then Cornish Pasty, Jellyfish & Sculpey *TM cross breeding programme can be eventually begun in the Bunker early last year.

Boffins Bunker experiments cannot be any weirder than fish genetic DNA being used in tomatoes?

Boffin will let you know how we get on in time. (In time for what I'm not sure)

NB: NOT FOR THE SENSITIVE or WEAK OF STOMACH: 
For many more examples of 'Cabinet of Curiosities' Wet Specimens both real & faux visit Boffins Bunker research page on Pinterst  'Get Wet & Pickled' 






Saturday, 27 April 2013

Proper Cornish Trevithick Steampunk Pasty from Cornwall

Proper Cornish Trevithick Steampunk Pasty from Cornwall

Dear Boffins Laboratory journal reader

Today is Richard 'Trevithick Day' in Camborne, Cornwall.  Mr Trevithick being one of the founding fathers of steam & his 'Puffing Devil' (Don't believe, then click the link?) therefore the Boffin thought he'd tinker up something proper Cornish steampunk in the laboratory.

It is said that the Cornish once had such a reputation for putting anything in their pasties that the Devil refused to cross the Tamar from Devon least he end up in a pasty. 

Now given the propensity of steampunkers to add gears, watch parts, sprockets, rivets & pistons  to anything that they can lay their hands on...it seemed only right and proper to 'steampunk a pasty'.

The Cornish are right proud of their pasties, just look at the stink kicked up when that up-country gentleman (I use the word very loosely) tried slapping a VAT tax on pasty's.


Because the Cornish once had a reputation of putting anything in a pasty,
 the Devil refused to cross the Tamar from Devon least he end up in one! 

What is more the Cornish pasty is a protected species, seriously!  It has PGI protected status from the Brussels European Commission, just like Champagne does from the Champagne region of France.  If a pasty is made anywhere else but in Cornwall (UK) it cannot by European law be called a Cornish pasty.

...and if you really want to upset a Cornish person...put carrots in your pasty.  They will not be impressed. 

Don't even start on whether it should be crimped to one side or down the middle, that's how civil wars are caused.  Then there is the whole short crust verses flaky pastry debate, that can keep Cornish bal maids jawing for hours as to one or the tuther.

Even the spelling of it; 'pasty' or 'pastie' can cause a long discussion.

Steampunkers will add gears, clock parts, rivet it & put a piston in
 anything if its in their reach & they can get their hands on it!

It is said in Cornwall that the pasty was invented for the Cornish tin miners croust (see Cornish dialect words), the end left over bit of the pasty which was held in the miners hands was then left as a token offering for the 'knockers'.

More recent research in 2006 has thrown up a little dilemma from Devon in 1510, but we won't talk about that....tis blasphemy in Cornwall!

Now I have to go as there appears to be a flame torch bearing lynch mob making its way up from the village towards the Boffins Bunker laboratory.  They will be here 'dreckly' & after what happened to Victor Frankenstein & his experimental laboratory I'd better go batten down the blast doors.

kind regards

Boffins Bunker

NB:- Judging from this video of the 'Puffing Devil', the day went well.