A break from Terrovision - Ray Mears, Buchcraft.

[jwoody]

"You don't need equipment, you need knowledge to survive in the wild"

Aboriginal Britain BBC2 8pm - 9pm

Ray Mears explores the world of Bushcraft, the art of living outdoors relying on a knowledge of the natural world. Tonight he travels back in time to the Stone Age for a unique view of Aboriginal Britain.

Using only the tools of the time, Ray shows how hunter gatherers survived here. From flint napping to bow making, Stone Age fire lighting to cooking venison, Ray celebrates our lost Bushcraft and encourages us to see our land in a new light.

Let's get one thing straight from the start: Ray Mears doesn't just survive in the wild - he lives in it.

I've been a big fan of Ray since he first appeared on TV with his country trails show a few years ago but last night's program was perhaps the greatest thing ever broadcast on any TV in the history of the world. The show was so unbelievably good that I feel compelled to share my feelings with people who never have and maybe, never will see it for themselves.

The program starts with Ray recreating a bow and arrow based on an 8000 year old one found in an archaeological excavation, using only flint tools, pine sap and muscle tendons from a deer. As usual, he makes it look easy "snap a couple of straight branches, melt a bit of sap on the fire which I lit with horse hoof fungus, and stick your flint in the end. Chew this plant to make glue, stick a feather on the other end and there you have it - a perfect arrow." Fucking amazing. He's not done yet though. Ray goes on to demonstrate how to skin a deer with a piece of flint and cook a perfect venison steak in a stone oven - with a freshly picked seafood starter of winkles and limpet.

He rounds off the show with some cave painting and a little bit of his own personal philosophy and I am is inspired, for a couple of hours at least, to leave my posessions behind and go back to the forest... where we belong.