Ghyll:Ponce Gardening

dibs --Nikos of Ant 15:03, 6 Sep 2005 (EDT)

Introduction

Ponce (pronounced poansee) Gardening is a rather obtuse hobby as it is neither a true form of gardening nor does it revolve around the nonexistent "ponce." Rather, Ponce Gardening is an activity of gathering thingies from the sea.

The term "ponce" is a degenerative of the additive Poen and Sea. Where is the Poen Sea, you ask? in the same spot as the Dagger Seas. You see, the Poen is another name of the Dagger, one used almost exclusively by the peoples of Trighonomehntri (more on this below).

Though Ponce Gardening is most commonly known among Ghylites as a study of Speedish Chefery, this "knowledge" is one found mainly amongst the Ghylites of the larger towns and cities (which we all know hold but a fraction of the population of Ghyll and are quite the minority of settlements), the folk of the numerous townships, hamlets, villages, and weinerschnitzles either have never heard of Ponce Gardening or think of it as something of which dirt farmers partake (or the rich & famous). It is the people of Iganefta and Iganefta-on-the-Sea who have the most knowledge and practice of it, indeed, in these two urbanesque areas the fame of the Iganefta Speedish Institute is most highly regarded. And common knowledge to all is that the arte of Speedish Chefery is conveyed through years of rigorous study and practice involving such things as Archaic Languages, Half-Remembered Tables, Oft-Forgotten Measures and, of course, Ponce Gardening.

History

Oh Poen Mar, mi Poen Sea, --vhere nicht your lone tee --dist Stiffle bee great --but th' wavens be mightee --th' wallens vere great --but th' wavens be angree

--local song about a tidal wave off the Poen Sea, circa -250 EC

Though the ancient history of the Daggers is frought with battle, commerce and surfing, its recent history is much less exciting and is reckoned to have begun between -450 EC and -275 EC depending on which historian you ask. But all agree that in the decades which saw the main-land entwined in the huffing and puffing which led to the Conflict That Is Not Happening, life along the coasts experienced a much different and much-liked sigh of relief.

To know the history of Ponce Gardening one must know the history of the hamlets No, Gno, and Kno. Though the settling of these tiny habitations is unknown, their placement is known (though not much cared about by most folks but for the residents themselves). These three villages lie some thirteen leles north of Shepenor (following the coastline) and sit midway along the tooth that bites into the Tertius and Segundus. Far from the northern side, the hamlets huddle on the southern edge of the tooth and dig deep into the watery silt of the Tertius.

Today

Ponce Gardening is all about gathering, gathering thingies, gathering thingies that come from out of the sea. Ponce Gardening is all about numbers, collections, additions, multiplications, subtractions and divisions, it is all about the rithmatic.

Great art is a balance of the aesthetic, the practical and the mind of the observer. Great food is much the same. Speedish Chefs seek to achieve the perfect confluence of the moment, the mind and the palate. Of course this often means that the Speedish Chef must be ready to strike at the precise moment to achieve the perfect dining experience.

"Light, refined, learned and noble, harmonious and orderly, clear and logical, Speedish cooking is, in some strange manner, intimately linked to the genius of our greatest men." --Windsor Creame

"The cook who can deploy food successfully will be found to possess the delicacy of perception, the accuracy of judgment, and the dexterity of hand which go to the formation of a great artist." --Tim Timperton