Nothing.......then.......bang!

I was only thinking yesterday how quiet things have been here at the moment. I thought there really is not anything interesting to write about. I have been really busy with work and personal life but on the "farm" it seems to have grinded to a halt.

Until today.

Let me start from the top.

I had to go to the abattoir again today as this is part of getting my full license to slaughter. I went in with my shiny new white overalls, wellies and a brand new knife the abattoir owner bought for me. I did 22 sheep today and it went well. I improved my technique a lot of found a certain way of holding the head which allowed for a smoother cut. I also saw a lot more of the background stuff today in terms of how then bring the animals in and I also kept a close eye on the people stunning the animals - they were really very good; never rough with the animals at all.

The most interesting aspect of today's visit though was a chat I had with the vet there. He is Spanish - nice guy. He came out with some awful stuff about what he and friends had seen in "halal" slaughterhouses in Birmingham. "Covered in shit" he said - well he actually said "covered in sheet". He said he was so disgusted by it and questioned how that could really be halal. And all this coming from a non-Muslim. He was like "isnt halal also about being healthy and wholesome? The how can they be halal if the carcasses are covered in sheet?" He also made a very good point about carcasses in that Muslims take away the carcass for butchering pretty much as soon as it is done. His point was that it isn't healthy and that the meat needs time to relax, cool down and this improves the texture, flavour and health of the meat. I agree with him - I have tasted meat hung for a while and meat instantly cooked and the latter tastes nowhere as good.

Anyway, so that was my morning at the abattoir. There I am tootling along the country roads back home in a very good mood. I get to the front door and see feathers everywhere. "What the....??? Those look like chicken feathers." My heart sank, and when I say sank it saaaaaank. So I followed the trail and then found a pool of blood with loads of feathers everywhere on our back terrace area. Then out of the corner of my eye I see what I thought was one of my dead chickens. I go over to see what has happened and the poor thing was alive! It was ripped to shreds but still alive. I had to run in quickly, grab the knife I was using in the morning and slit its throat there and then. By this time I my head was all over the place. "What about the others?"

I legged it up the garden quicky scanned my laying hens and all seemed well then saw the pen my growers were in. The fence had been ripped, feathers were everywhere and all I could see was dead chickens on the floor. All of them were still alive bar one so I had to leg it back, get the knife and kill them all. It was such a horrible horrible feeling. I don't mind killing them but it was just seeing them lying there injured and in pain. I was really upset. I then realised that there were 3 missing and found them cowering in their coop - on closer inspection they had some injuries and did not look right. I had to kill of them but they were in a good enough state to eat so I plucked and gutted the lot. We just had one for dinner now and although it tasted good the whole meal was tinged with sadness. Tomorrow I have to bury or burn the rest somehow but God knows how I am going to fit that into my day - maybe douse them with petrol?

So that was my day! Hopefully not be repeated. I appreciate the arguments that the fox or badger that did this has to eat too and was only being natural. I have no problems with that if they eat them - but they tortured the poor buggers; just ripped lumps out of them and then left them to die. I would have had no quarms at all with taking a shotgun to whatever did that to them.

It was such a shame. I had those chickens from a day old and they were part of my daily routine and thoughts. When I left the field tonight I just looked across to an empty pen, full of feathers and their feeder swinging in the wind. May they rest in peace. On to the next lot though......such is life in the country.

License to Kill

Yesterday I spent the morning working in an abattoir. Why I hear you ask? Well, I wanted to become a licensed slaughter man. Why I hear you ask? Bascially with the license I can go to any abattoir in the UK and perform halal slaughter. This means if I ever have quite a few lambs I want to do for friends and family I can simply run them down there, slaughter them myself and then pick up the carcass for my friend to butcher for me. This way I know all my lambs have been dealt with properly and that they are 100% halal.

It was on the whole a really interesting experience. I have seen a couple of abattoirs before and they can be horrific. But the place I went to (a small family run place) is really well planned and organised which means I am always going to take my animals there. After going through all the scientific ins and outs of how to kill an animal I then donned my white overalls, white boots, hair net and safety helmet and marched off through the bloody floors into the main hall. There was a team of men, some skinning the animals, some gutting and others processing. I think because it was small scale it didn't look too bad but I can imagine what larger outfits must be like. Another good thing about it being small was the men took their time with the animals. There was no crazy rush to get through their target of animals which inevitably means corner cutting.

I was taken to the area where the lambs come in and watched a pro at work. He was so quick it was unbelievable - I'll spare you the blood and gore. It was good though to see people taking their time and making sure the animals were bled immediately. Then it was my turn! I have slaughtered lambs before but this was a bit wierd as they were coming in upside down plus I was being watched by a vet and a senior slaughterman which was really daunting. Anyway, I got through about 10 or 12 lambs and it was intense!! It wasn't hard work it was just really difficult to make sure I was focused before cutting each one and making sure I made the correct intention and prayers. I managed to; but it convinced me that people working in large halal abattoirs must completely forget and on top of that not really mean it when they do rendering the meat not really halal. As I have said before, I believe, when taking an animals life you need to be fully in a state of consciousness and awareness about what you are doing. This not only makes the action pure but the meat pure and within it there are countless spiritual lessons to be learned.

So, now I am a licensed slaughter man - on the down side I still need to go to the abattoir once every 2 weeks to show the vet I am still capable.

The Food Bin(s)

One of the joys of having chickens is that we no longer feel guilty when not finishing our dinners or throwing away that bit of pasta left in the saucepan (I was always brought up on that "there are children starving in Africa" thing). Now the chickens eat everything! We have a nice little routine now of having a bowl next to the sink and whenever there is the slightest bit of food we chuck it in there and I usually take it up to them after work. It's a funny site to see them all bouncing over to me in expectancy - "What's he got today? Pasta, noodles or if we are lucky cheese." They love cheese for some reason.

It's funny how these things become part of your life. The chickens are like having kids (although much better behaved). First things when I wake up its "gotta let the chickens out" and at night I have to tuck them away from the foxes and badgers. Even when we want to go away for the weekend we need to make sure a neighbour is going to be around to feed them. You can't but help form some sort of emotional attachment to them; although I still have no qualms about killing and eating them. I have already ordered another 12 chicks for my next cycle of chicken meat. This lot in the pic should see us through until Xmas (we only eat meat once or twice a fortnight) and then we'll have to wait for the next batch to get plump. Once I have all the fencing sorted out I am also going to try some different breeds and maybe some ducks too.

Our field is finally being fenced off - so I should have our very own little flock of sheep in 2 or 3 weeks. I think I am going to go for a Dorset Down breed - they are the lazy sheep that don't really do much except walk around. I may chuck in a couple of goats too later on down the line as I am keen to have some goat meat through the year too. So fingers crossed by next March I should be delivering my first ever lambs!

Anyway must dash - I am off to buy an air rifle today as I want to start adding rabbit to the dinner menu and our field is hopping with them!

Lessons from Nature

One of the things we are always encouraged to do by our teacher is to draw wisdom from nature, meaning seeing nature as a reflection of the human experience. The world acts a huge book that if read with the correct insight and aligned to proper understanding leads to a greater appreciation of the author. Since moving to the country this way of thinking has become heightened in me, not because I am any great spiritual genuis (far from it!) but because you come across natural phenomenon a lot more. In the city there is only so much you can learn from concrete (although in fairness there is a lot there too).

Anyway, yesterday I was cleaning out the greenhouse and pruning my wilting tomato plants when I came across this. The instant I saw it I drew a comparison to the continual debate in the media and Muslims themselves about how Islam can integrare with British society.

For those who can't see the picture is of a tomato that has grown into and around a piece of wire.

To me the following jumped out at me - it is natural for things when facing restriction to mould themselves, change, accomodate and adapt to their surroundings and situation. This wire did not stop the tomato growing, all it did was change the way it normally goes about things.

Muslims in the UK should be the same. There is no need to be rigid, inflexible and fight against the situation we find ourselves in. As it is natural for the tomato, so it is natural for the Muslim to adapt to local conditions. This is the way of the forefathers such as those who left Yemen to places like Malaysia and Indonesia. They did not spread Islam to the hearts of those people by jumping ashore and shouting and screaming with banners and demanding sharia law! We need to remember that Islam, a religion in tune with nature, is not fixed but fluid, not firm but flexible, not fierce but forgiving. I am not saying we should ever compromise our religion in matters that are obligatory but merely stating that is it the natural state to work around things - in that there is great wisdom and benefits.

Or, I could have just been going a bit doolally due to fasting and working yesterday and this is all a load of nonsense.

Go Pammy...Go Pammy...Go Pammy

Came across this shocking video today. Not sure whether the contents were more shocking or the fact Pammy Anderson was presenting it.

Any way - watch it. If you eat at KFC or any other of those cheap high street chicken shops this is what you eat and what you support. If you watch this then carry on eating at these "establishments" then you really do not care what you put in your body.

Panic! The rise in Organic

I came across this article in Business Week Online - well worth a read and one that brings up a number of interesting issues.

It comes from a US perspective but nevertheless will apply to the UK eventually. Some of the key points it illustrates for me are:

1) The growth in demand for organic food is so high, there is simply not enough US based produce to meet it. As a result companies are having to source things like milk, youghurt, fruit, veg, meat, etc from abroad in countries like Brazil and China. If so, how on earth do we know they are sending us organic produce and on top of that the chances are we will be supporting poor wages, working conditions, etc and that is just the employees. I am pretty certain animal rights is not as high on the agenda as it is in the UK or US.

2) Due to the high demand big business is muscling in to take some of the action. Walmart and Kelloggs have now got on the organic bandwagon. Does this not destroy the whole idea of organic? i.e. cottage industries, small scale, dedicated family run business, ethical people, local produce, etc? The industry is being swallowed up by the multinationals and ripping the essence out of it. In the UK the same happened with Racheal's Diary organic milk. It was bought by Horizon Foods and then sold to Dean Foods a massive US conglomerate! Green & Black the chocolate people sold up to Cadburys.

3) The whole organic craze has led to the establishment of the organic big brother; in the US it is US Agriculture Dept and here the Soil Association. These "watchdogs" have bills and wages to pay. Their role becomes an overseer and one with very narrow guidelines, i.e. to ensure that the feed is organic and no chemicals and the like are used. However do they vouch for animal welfare? Do they vouch for origin of feeds? Do they guarantee that the company they gave their logo too is really sending their own lambs to the abbattoir or are they sneakily passing through cheaper stock?

To me it is a worrying trend. On the one hand yes, it's good more people are going organic but on the other is could be dangerous. I don't want to put money in the pockets of nameless investors. I want my money to go to people. I think it rams home something I am more and more in favour of - going local. This means people buy as much produce as they can from local people - their meat from farmers, their veg from allotments or again farmers, their eggs, cheeses, yoghurts, etc. This was you can actually see who is selling you the stuff, who is growing it. What kind of person are they? How are their animals treated? What fields do they live in, etc? On top of that you are reducing transport costs and doing something for the environment.

Obviously it is more difficult for people in the big cities to do this but it is not impossible. Forming some sort of network of like minded people you can assign people on a weekly basis to travel out and get everyone's goods. You should not really have to travel more than 2 hours to find producers in the UK.

Read the article anyway - it should make those of us who want more than a logo on our food stop and think where this may all be going.....

What's in a Name?

We've been going through some funny emotions this week when thinking about what to call our new baby. If anyone was wondering what tomitv stands for it is "The Only Muslim in the Village". We are very conscious in the current climate that "our sort" are not the flavour of month what with PCs asking not guard the Israeli embassy, Mr Straw removing women's veils and whatever else the gutter press can think up.

Now had this been a couple of years ago I really don't think we would be deliberating so much about a name. We were very conscious with our first that we wanted a name that translated into English/British culture. So Zakariyya became Zak. And now we've run out of other easily translatable names!

It is a real sign of how things have changed or are changing; I may be paranoid but anti-Muslim sentiment does seem to be growing especially in areas where we live where seeing a brown or black face is just as common as seeing a dancing polar bear - well maybe not that uncommon. I think I've seen 10 "Asians" and 2 black people in 5 months.

So we are really grappling with the name this time. Is Ali too foreign? Ismaeel to much a handful? It's a shame we have to be so protective over the name but I suppose it is a sign of the times. My Mum, who isnt even Muslim, lives in fear we are going to call it something like Abdullah - "his life will be hell. He'll be persecuted, never allowed into any countries, beaten, tortured and killed." You think I am joking - she is serious. Yesterday I told my wife that our teacher asked us to call it Osama to test her reaction. She went a bit white.....

So what's in a name? Well in a village like this it could mean the difference between integration and seperation. We are always very careful never to present ourselves, our actions or our beliefs as Islamic - rather we term it as something like "spiritual". People tend to accept that easier and show more interest. If we mentioned Islam, boy I am not sure how people would react although a few people do know and they seem OKish about it.

If I was Sikh or Hindu or Bahai I doubt we would be going through this. On one hand its a shame that people can't be themselves but on the other I suppose its our own weakness - we should be proud of our religion (which we are) and just get on with it. However we are stuck in the middle in many ways. We both have English, non-Muslim parents to consider plus the community we live in. I think, and I hope we are right, that by trying our best to straddle the divide we can forge some sort of middle path that people from both sides can sympathise with.

So.....we are still left with a nameless baby. Maybe "Gareth" (please pronounce with Welsh accent).

RAIN:

It's been pouring with rain here for the last week or so. It continues to beggar belief why we let all this rain water run into gutters and then into the sewer system? If there is one thing this government should do to revolutionise how we approach the miracle of water it should be to have every house standing and every house built in the future to use rain water. What for? Toilets, gardens, washing cars, etc, etc. Wasting like we do is a crime. This is my next project after the sheep - to start collecting all our rain water and to use it rather than waste it.

A New Life....

Have been a bit quiet on the old blogging front. And this is the reason why. He arrived at 3 am on Tuesday night. Mum went into labour at about 8 pm so it was a relatively quick process this time around.

Sticking to our "natural as possible" ethics Mum went without pain relief for most of it. Last time we had a baby our teacher told us to concentrate on breathing through the pain - it worked and it worked again this time. Even the midwives said "we don't see people doing this anymore", meaning most Mums are drugged up and feel hardly any pain. Which to me is not what labour is about. I can sympathise that some people really may need pain relief but I think the pain is part of some deeper spiritual reasoning. This is a woman's jihad - just as a man may have to go and fight or struggle in other ways in order to be spiritually cleansed, women get a very similar reward through labour. My wife can testify that through the pain you slip into an almost trance like state, and if your intention is correct backed up with a connection to the Divine it can be a deep deep experience. And at the end of it what do you get?? Allah says in the Quran, "Inna ma'al usri yoosra" - after pain comes ease. In labour not only does ease come but the greatest of gifts, a new life. MashaAllah.....

Anyway she didn't manage the whole thing. Right at the end when it gets very intense she starting asking for gas and air. There I was going "come on, you're doing great, let your dhikr be your gas and air," to be shoved out of the way to take a huge gulp of the stuff!! At least i kept her quiet for all of 1 minute....

So our family has increased by one. It's so nice that these two boys will get to grow up in such a nice environment.

Pretty much everything has come to an end outside now. Just waiting to get the field fenced off to get my first flock of sheep. Also I've noticed loads more pheasants on the roads which means hunting season soon!! More plucking and gutting to look forward to.

R.I.P

The day finally came. After 14 weeks under my care, of my waking up at dawn to feed him, giving him water and making sure he was safe from foxes, as well as tucking him in dusk, cleaning out his poultry house and the odd bit of banter here and there about the hens, his number was up.

It wasn't a difficult choice. I decided who the fatest looking roosters were, caught them both, felt their weight and the heaviest was whipped off for a quick cut of the neck behind the shed.

The other one, although escaping death on this occassion, can not escape though and his time will be up next week!

I must admit I did feel a bit guilty when I removed him from their pen. But after a couple of steps I remembered the taste of chicken (we haven't eaten any for 5 months!) and that soon vanished. I had my local mate, Mr Know It All, hold him down while the deed was done.

For those of you that don't know, the term "like a headless chicken" is there for a reason. Once they are dead their bodies go into this mad fit and start jumping and flapping everywhere. It must be some sort of delayed reaction or something? Anyway it was over in seconds.


The next step was to tie it upside down and start plucking. It was a lot easier than I thought; literally grab the feathers and rip. A few minutes later and some discussion over Van Persie's wonder goal at the weekend it was well and truly plucked. All that remained was these little long white hairs everywhere which are singed off. And that, was pretty much it.

The only thing left to do was the insides and get it dressed for the oven. I didn't actually do the gutting bit, left that to my mate. But next time I am going to learn so I can do it myself from now on. So, in the space of 20 mins it was all done and dusted.


That night we had some guests over and I cooked a Sunday roast. Only once the meal was served that I realised everything on their except the potatoes were from my garden! The chicken, carrots, beans and sweetcorn all organic and grown by own hands! A real sense of achievement.

Anyway chicken number one - R.I.P - you tasted great and done us proud.