Yes, this website, Pannage, is about Angus Willson –
it’s an archive of my work in geographical education and, more recently, an account of some personal passions and interests.
Pannage – rhymes with manage
…refers to the commoners’ right to graze their pigs in the New Forest. It takes place for sixty days each autumn when acorns have fallen. It serves a double-purpose as ponies and cattle can be poisoned by eating too many acorns. In response to a glut of acorns in 2010, over 500 pigs were released in the New Forest. (ref The Guardian)
References
Wikipedia on Pannage
New Forest National Park
Why pannage?
I mean it as a reference to the natural ‘fruits of the forest’. It’s part of the seasonal pattern. I use it to signify the liberty, within agreed constraints, to seek out knowledge and understanding. We should care for learning just as we should care for our environment and our communities.
Life is complex. Pigs are much mis-understood and I choose not to eat them. The New Forest is not new, and there is much more to it than forest – it’s one of my favourite places.
And, in French, pannage means troubleshooting.
Contact details >
Here is a marvellous ten-minute Jack Hargreave YouTube video-clip about pigs at pannage in The New Forest:
Short item, great photo, from The Guardian, 27 September 2013, ‘Plantwatch: Rich pickings for foragers’
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/27/plantwatch-beech-mast-nuts-berries-foraging-pannage