Blast Freezer

Now here's an amazing picture of frozen fish - blast frozen by harsh winds which hit the tiny island of Lovund in central Norway so fast that they trapped a huge shoal of herring which was swimming close to the surface of the sea.

All of which reminded me of this post from the blog site archive which I have now updated with the famous folk song 'Shoals of Herring' by Ewan McColl.  

Shoals of Herring (17 October 2011)

A Dutch woman, Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, who died recently at the age of 115 and put her good health and longevity down to a daily portion of herring.

Which reminded me of the old Ewan MacColl song - Shoals of Herring - and the thought that Hendrikje may well have consumed that amount during her long and happy life.

Hendrikje was a great fan of Ajax Football Club, a non smoker and advised people to limit their alcohol intake to a small advocat with cream - on Sundays and holidays.

At the age of 82 this remarkable woman decided to donate her body to medical science, but the scientists had to wait another 33 years to carry out their tests.

One of which showed that Hendrikje did not suffer from Alzheimer's Disease or any other form of dementia which some had thought inevitable at such an advanced age.

Apparently Hendrikje was as sharp as a tack until the age of 100.

So scientists are excited at the prospect of using Hendrikje's genes to help them understand the biology of ageing better - and how to combat its worst effects.

But for the moment you'll all just have to make do with ratcheting up your daily herring intake.

And livening up your life with the occasional Advocat - on high days and holidays.