BoxRec

FW article on Michael Gomez talking up the Arthur fight, even though Arthur has done the same and the fight's going to happen, but SN needs to feel it's stringing us along.

Anyway, Gomez, on being poor as a kid and therefore wanting to keep fighting in order to provide for his own family, says,

"I came from a family that was so poor my father once got us a swan, and not a turkey, for our Christmas dinner."

Is this meant to be some sort of joke? I'm not usually that slow on the uptake, but if it's a joke I'm not sure it works very well. I'd guess the joke is his father went 'round to the nearest pond and nicked a swan.

If it's not a joke, surely a swan would be more expensive than a turkey, unless his Dad did nick it, in which case why would you go and nick a swan. What about a couple of ducks, or break into a turkey farm or something?

I know it's not huge news, but I'm just...confused.

http://www.allegedly.tv/drill/News/Ar ... eturn.html

I thought that it was illegal to kill swans - they are owned by the queen or something like that....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/3479837.stm

I would concur. Swans belong to the Queen, so no-one farms them behind fences (unlike Turkeys) thus they are easier to half-inch

Mute Swans are the ones that are Queens birds, they are the resident species in this country, other breeds of swan migrate from the UK and are not 'owned' by the Queen.

was probably nicer than a turkey. whats he complaining about?

Old bones Ian wrote:Mute Swans are the ones that are Queens birds, they are the resident species in this country, other breeds of swan migrate from the UK and are not 'owned' by the Queen.

Still, no one farms them

I once went 'Swan Rustling' as a youth. Good money in it but our capture tools were somewhat basic.

As with birds in the UK, the other breeds of swan are protected by law.
Even if you find one thats been killed by flying into something, you have to inform the authorities. They may well inspect the dead bird , or take it away (bird flu).
Its illegal to try and sell the dead bird, but you can eat it.

Every year Swans are killed for eating at the Henley Regatta. This is sanctioned by the Queen. I remember a man telling me he saw a swan caught up in a wire fence when he was a teenager. This was during the war and meat of course was rationed. He killed the swan and after dark he and his grandfather went down to the brook with a sack. He said it was very similar to goose but stronger tasting. Dawlish in Devon is famous for its black swans. I seem to remember Winston Churchill had something to do with importing them. When I was young I was floating a crust for carp and instead caught a duck.

"When I was young I was floating a crust for carp and instead caught a duck."
Best sentence ever written on a boxing forum. In the world. Ever.

Goods , done that a couple of times, they make a struggle and a lot of noise.

I can understand poor Michael's plight. My father was so poor that we once had to make do with roast peacock for Christmas dinner. He couldn't even afford a bottle of port, so we kids had to drink Remy Matrin VSOP after our dinner.

It was hell, especially as there was a shortage of Lambert and Butlers in the Wallsend Ghetto branch of Presto at the time, so we had to put up with some horrible, inch thick, brown Cuban things with the VSOP.

Laws are quite rediculous, if you hit and kill a pheasant with your car its illegal to pick it up and take it with you, but someone else can as its then considered roadkill. If a swan comes down in your garden its impossible for the bird to get back up in the air. Rather like aeroplanes they need a runway to take off. A retired police officer told me they once had a call from a man who had a swan on his back yard. They sent the dog handler who used a noose and a blanket. He then released the bird at the nearest park. The RSPCA mobile units usually deal with such cases. Geese can be a bit of a problem. A lot cant fly and tend to wander off away from the water. We have sometimes had the odd one come up from the river which is only minutes away. One caused havock one evening walking in the road. Myself and a woman managed to catch it and we took it back down to the river.

Old bones Ian wrote:As with birds in the UK, the other breeds of swan are protected by law.
Even if you find one thats been killed by flying into something, you have to inform the authorities. They may well inspect the dead bird , or take it away (bird flu).
Its illegal to try and sell the dead bird, but you can eat it.

Not just a pretty face, eh, Ian? A mine of useful information, boxing lover, and avian law.

Scrap wrote:Goods , done that a couple of times, they make a struggle and a lot of noise.

Good sport on light tackle, only joking

Michael Vaughan's always in trouble with the old bill for this, goes fishing outside off when the spinner lays bait on a crusty one....he's often caught out for a duck like that. ECB let him off the hook usually and he never appears in front of the beak. They know it will ruffle to many feathers and in the end we all know, next season's ashes will be his swan song. He'll not fly south for the winter again.

No I dont know either.

TheGoods wrote:"When I was young I was floating a crust for carp and instead caught a duck."
Best sentence ever written on a boxing forum. In the world. Ever.

I just didnt want to duck the issue.

There are certain formal dinners where it is lawful to eat swan (its probably on Google...) by Royal Decree. I had it once at a formal Cambridge dinner. I can't really remember what it tasted like as I was knocking back the vintage vino like it was lager...

its quite like a mix between venison and eagle.

Loynesy wrote:There are certain formal dinners where it is lawful to eat swan (its probably on Google...) by Royal Decree. I had it once at a formal Cambridge dinner. I can't really remember what it tasted like as I was knocking back the vintage vino like it was lager...

I believe they taste a lot like bread and groundbait.

Gomez vs Burns would be a good match up.