The Salami Project: part four. A journey into the heart of the Fens
The temperature in the larder is rising with these warmer days. It is a proper old fashioned cold room but the fridge freezer lives in there and the large motor inadvertently heats the room. Great in mid winter as things don’t freeze but in summer it’s not cool enough for maturing my fast growing family of salami. After the initial excitement of one salami actually tasting good, I have started experimenting in earnest. One of the ways of cutting down our weekly spend was to avoid buying speciality salami. I have yearned for it so...
read moreSpecies tulips
It was at Carol’s house that I first noticed a Species tulip. At midday the small flower had opened like a star. The leaves indicated that it was a tulip but this was a tulip with a difference. At the end of the day when the sun was going down and I was heading for Jalopy, I took a small diversion to look at it again. The petals had closed. I crept away. I like flowers that change during the day. They seem even more alive. That autumn I bought two packs of Species tulips and planted them in two low stone pots. The squirrel was clearly...
read moreOverhauling the soft fruit border
Beside the chicken run is a stretch of border. Roughly twenty five feet long and six feet deep. The newt pond lies on the outer edges of the left hand side and is six feet in diameter. Last week I slipped on the edge and fell in. I damaged my left hand, especially the thumb, and one welly filled with water. As I am strapped for time at the moment, I just emptied the welly and carried on working. Throughout the afternoon and early evening I wondered whether the little red worms that I’ve seen in the pond were sashaying up my left leg. I...
read moreBook review: The Lemon Book by Ray Collins
During my decorating years I have sat enthroned on a broad sweep of WCs in other people’s houses. Some loos are the height of luxury. Others are dank, chilly places, which guarantee the briefest visit. The best ones have thick quilted lavatory paper and a pile of interesting books beside the throne. The Lemon Book: 1 is the sort of mini tome that I would pick up and relish. As it was only published last October, it hasn’t moved from bedside table to throneside in most of the houses that I visit. There is nothing better than...
read moreEscape
I opened the back door as John Coe was about to come through. He was speaking. “I can hear her in the next garden.” I opened the door wide. His face crumpled when he saw that it was me. He stood there wearing my uncle’s old trilby and Danny’s waxed jacket. It had been raining hard when I left for work so I’d kitted him out. As I wasn’t expected back for hours he thought that I was Danny returning from a wild guinea fowl chase. When he saw my expression, he looked a bit panicky. “Who exactly is in the...
read moreTag. Book meme.
I was tagged today by Kay over at Writing Neuroses. Kay is a writer and when I visit her blog I often wish that I had more time to dive in deeper and submerge myself in her site. Kay’s is a different and fascinating world. She is also still waiting for her pay it forward present, which is still at the concept stage. So guilt has led me to answer her tag immediately. Kay gave me a new twist for this tag. She hoped that I would have a cookbook beside me as she wanted this tag to take on a foodie slant. This was a bit of a problem as the...
read moreFlowers from the garden: April 2008
“Please ring me when the apple blossom opens.” Years ago, this was my mother’s plea. She always came to stay at the cottage in the spring to paint the apple blossom. She’s a talented water colour artist. In the autumn Mum cooked vast batches of apple puree and filled the freezer with small boxes, so we could enjoy apples throughout the winter months. It seemed a perfect circle. Things have changed since then. It was a weekend cottage for me and my mum stayed during the working week. A perfect dovetail for peple who need...
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