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four
Medium
20 min
By Andrew Pern
Published 2010
GUILLEMOT AND RAZOR-BILL EGGS WERE MAINLY COLLECTED ALONG THE NORTH SEA COAST: MY UNCLE COLIN’S FARM. ‘WIDDYFIELDS’, PERCHED ON THE EDGE OF THE CUFFS AT HAWSKER, JUST SOUTH OF WHITBY, WAS A PERFECT LOCATION FOR THEM. IN THE OLD DAYS, A ‘PICKER’ WOULD BE DANGLED SPIDERMAN-STYLE OVER THE CLIFF, WITH THREE OR FOUR MEN HOLDING ONTO THE END OF THE ROPE, LIKE ONE HALF OF A TUG-O-WAR TEAM. THE PICKER’S ONLY PROTECTION FROM PECKING BEAKS AND LOOSE ROCKS WOULD BE A BOWLER HAT FILLED WITH NEWSPAPER A