Posted by Peter Ceresole on November 05, 2004 at 07:33:54 from 80.177.22.49 user PeterC.
In Reply to: Winkles posted by Ed Kiser on November 04, 2004 at 19:34:52:
No mention is made of the usage of "splatchers" to navigate those "muddy wastes".
The winkles are collected at low tide on sand or mud flats. There are commercial gangs that do this- recently on Morecambe Sands, close to the Lake District, a gang of illegal Chinese immigrants picking cockles were caught by the tide and 19 of them drowned. They didn't have splatchers although that probably wasn't the reason they died- Morecambe Bay is known to be treacherous, but unless you head into known quicksands the going is quite firm.
By the way, when the French refer to winkles they'd call them 'escargots de mer'; when they say just 'escargots' they're usually referring to 'Escargots de Bourgogne' which is the main edible snail, much larger than the winkle and specially raised inland, in caves, not on the beach.