Shelled out

Some years ago a visitor to the house, peering up at a high shelf, asked me (I thought) is that a Llanelli cockle plate? In fact what he said was cockerel plate, this colourful rooster being a traditional motif of the South Wales pottery that turned out domestic ceramic ware from 1839 to 1922.

The town of Llanelli is not far from the village of Penclawdd which has been a centre of cockle gathering since Roman times. The cockles are grubbed up from the sand and mud of the Burry estuary at low tide; licences to do so are held by a few families whose occupation it has been for generations back. In the past it was the women who toiled in all weathers, far out from the shore, scraping and riddling and loading the shellfish into panniers strapped on to the backs of donkeys. The baskets of cockles would be carried by the women for sale in the markets of Swansea and other local towns. Many supported their families single handled through this hard labour, when their menfolk were killed or injured at sea or in the coal mines. There's an account of these cockle-pickers here and photos here and here.

Nowadays the cockles are still gathered by hand but transported on tractors to processing factories that clean, cook and pack them in jars and tins, as well as selling them fresh or shelled in vinegar. Swansea market is still the main point of sale but I bought these in our local farmers' market, at £2.50 a net. Son Huw used them, with bacon, shallots and vermouth, to make a delicious pasta dish.

By the way, you can see Huw's next culinary project here and he's also backblipping his Croatian holiday following the unintentional immersion of his smartphone - some great shots, don't miss them!