The Perils of Preserving

Well! Autumn well and truly upon us, again! I swear it comes around quicker every year. Mixed results from the allotment. The tomatoes were a total wash-out. Not one, single fruit. So much for the bloody polytunnel! I had so many plans for the 20 or so kg I was sure I'd have to play with! Passatta,  ketchup, you name it. Zip, zilch, diddly-bloody-squat is what I actuall got. However the butternut squashes, Cinderella pumpkins and cardoons have faired much better, and I had so many Autumn raspberries that jam, vinegar and vodka have been made.
A sloe-gathering expedition (for gin, of course!) brought to my attention the huge number of rosehips around this year, and I decided to try my hand at rosehip wine. Unmitigated disaster! Those buggers contain so much pectin I ended up with a bucket of half set, slightly alcoholic jelly! I didn't know the pectic enzyme has to go in well before the yeast as alcohol stops it working. I know now! Quick rethink and the remaining hips became rosehip syrup and rosehip vodka.
After an incredibly hot and dry Summer the local apple and quince trees are literally groaning under the weight of fruit. Not having been able to get my mits on any quince for several years, I had the feelers out early this year ( and seriously considered a night time raid on my neighbour's tree!). This may prove to be my undoing! Already had about 5kg from a colleague, and he promises there are more to come, and as I write the hubster is collecting God knows how many from a fellow fireman, who's snowed under with them, one tree (of several) having given around 200kg! So, what to do with them all? Obviously some sort of booze, that goes without saying. Having a bash at quince wine. Will let you know results of that at a later date. Suffice to say I will not be making the same mistake as I did with the rosehips. Grating 20 large, brick-hard quinces concentrates the mind, and "pectic enzyme 24 hours before the yeast" became something of a mantra.
Oh Christ! He's only gone and brought about 15kg of the buggers back! Fortunately I have a few different jelly recipes, and one for a spicy pumpkin and quince chutney that I can't wait to try, but I am going to need about a hundredweight of sugar....and a lot more jars!

Weddings, Windmills and Waves...Holibobs 2015

So, here we are on the last day of what has been a brilliant 2 weeks back in blighty. The seriously beautiful, hilariously down to earth and properly fab wedding of my cousin, the lovely Lindsay, to the marvellous Marcus, from now on to be known as Mr & Mrs Leslie Roy Cropper ( not really, you had to be there). Catching up with branches of the family not seen for too long, watching the next generation growing up way too fast, all looking very dashing in their wedding outfits. All set in a stunning hotel in the Cotswolds. Much beer and wine was imbibed and delicious food eaten, many laughs were had, a few tears were shed. All in all a perfect do.
  Barely time to change out of the posh clobber, then off down to the south coast, to the lovely little village of Selsey where in just 8 days we had fish & chips on the same evening the body of some poor soul washed up on the beach just a short walk away from where we were staying.
A trip to Chichester, where we discovered the girls & C don't like that lovely, musty smell of ramshackle antique shops ( which makes me go all tingly with the hope of finding something special), but love seeing centuries old graffiti inside the cathedral. That such houses of God would be much more cheerful & less forbidding if still painted in the glorious colours they once had. And that yours truly is none too shabby behind the wheel of a left hand drive car on windy, bendy British lanes ;-)
  Thursday took us to Pagham , and a display by the RNLI & Coastguards, along with a beach barbeque. No sooner had the display finished, than the sirens sounded, the horns blared and a dozen brave men, still in wellies and waterproofs were jumping into their cars, or back onto the inshore RIB and dashing off to rescue a silly sod who hadn't checked the tide times before attempting to walk along the shore from Selsey to Bognor!
Speaking of Bognor Regis, Friday was a beautiful day, so we decided to go and have a look. Can't honestly say I was overwhelmed. In fact I can fully understand George V's "Oh bugger Bognor!" comment. We were much more impressed by the amazing rump steak we picked up at Compton's Farm Shop, just a mile or so outside of Selsey. If you're down there have a look. You can't really miss it. There is only one main road into/out of Selsey!
Some really glorious weather at the weekend meant time on the beach, where J spent hours in the water and C ended up the colour of a boiled lobster. Unfortunately it also meant seagull shit on the curtain billowing from the open window :-/ A rainy last day in Selsey meant we didn't see St. Wilfred's chapel at its best, but it didn't stop me going foraging for samphire at a secret location, generously shared with me by the lifeboat man on duty when we nipped back to the station to deposit all our small change. It was quite a bit, and after quarter of an hour watching pennies and 5ps whirling around the vortex and into the donation box I felt seasick!
A day or two with dad to round things off. Bingo, ice cream, boats, and a frankly alarming weather forecast for tomorrow's trip home. Dear weather, please behave until we have all arrived home safely. Us in Germany and dad back from a long round trip taking us to the airport. It's been a great holiday. A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make it so. You know who you are xxxxx