So, what have I been up to?

I have been rattling on about how busy I've been, but not actually mentioned any of what I have been up to! I thought I would write a quick post with some of the bits and bobs I have been doing...

First and foremost, the play unfortunately had to be postponed.  The good news is, we do still plan to put on a play at Christmas - a panto of Robin Hood.  Fairly different from Shakespeare for sure, but I am hoping we'll still manage to have fun - and this time have the momentum to put on a great production.  

At the moment we're doing some fund raising, ready to start rehearsing in late August - meaning I have had to do some home baking and also attend a food hygiene course.  I actually wanted to do this for my own reasons, as it is a useful qualification to have, but I have been informed by the council that if I intend to make cakes 'as many' as three or four times in a year for fetes or fundraisers, I need the certificate, and may also need my kitchen inspected.  Seems a lot of fuss for a few cupcakes, so after this local fete, maybe we need to go back to the drawing board in terms of fundraising!

In May I went on a girly weekend, offshore, for the first time in ages.  My lovely sisters in-law arranged a trip for my sister in law to be, as a sort of secondary hen do. I really welcomed the chance to spend time getting to know these three wonderful women better.  It was also an opportunity to slow down almost to a stop, as we were on Sark, one of the smaller channel islands.  There are no cars allowed on Sark, but at just two square miles in size, it's easy enough to get everywhere on foot. 
 
My sister in law Liggy was our tour guide, as she has actually lived on the island for the tourist season a few years running. She is a font of knowledge, and showed us the quiet paths and beauty spots she fell in love with while she was there.

The pace of life feels very natural and relaxed.  We popped to the local Friday night disco at a pub called The Mermaid, where the DJ, Roger, is in his 80s, and plays everything from the Beatles through to Tiesto, quite a playlist!

It was an interesting walk back to the B&B, as there are no street lights, and at night everyone navigates the roads by moon and starlight; due to the lack of light pollution, the island was the first place in the world to have designated Dark Sky status.  You can see well enough to walk, although avoiding puddles (and horseapples) can be somewhat challenging... It was a fantastic weekend away, and so nice to recharge my batteries a little.  I have so many lovely pics, I will have to try to make time for a whole post about the island later on.

I've also been attempting to get my allotment slightly more under control in the last month or so, and though I haven't done brilliantly at that, I have managed to harvest some crops.  I am a little disappointed in myself that I haven't made time to get it really sorted, as this year has been the first really good spring since I took it on, and we could have had fantastic yields if I had managed my time a bit better (and also not been unwell, which I have less control over).  But as with everything else, it's been a learning curve.  We've had some really good soft fruits, and for the first time this year I have enough blackcurrants to make a whole batch of jam, which I am really pleased about. It also looks like it's going to be another good year for blackberries and crabapples, which is great.

I've been doing some bits round the house, too; we have rearranged some furniture and also put up another shelf in the study.  I also made some cushion covers with a bit of Cath Kidston fabric I got in their sale (and have made about a hundred fantasy projects with in my head) and a random cotton fabric my mum brought over.  I used a mini cushion pad for the small cushions, and pillows for the large ones, as our sofa cushions are quite wide.

The Cath Kidston is a lovely hard wearing linen-cotton mix, which is so tactile - I don't know how you all feel about this, but personally speaking I only like to use fabrics I enjoy touching.  I am not a big fan of some of the man made fibres, no matter what results might be possible.  The fabric remnant I used on the reverse looks to me like an 80s bedsheet - a scarlet with white squares.  It has that lovely washed-in feel.  I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.


Finally, I went to my soon to be sister in law's hen party.  It was fab - I will do a separate post on the amazing 1950s makeover, with links to the ladies who did my hair and makeup, because I loved it so much! The lady who masterminded the whole day asked if I would make some Tiffany cupcakes - I think they turned out pretty well! I also made some Tiffany blue lemon cheesecakes, though they didn't look as neat as I wanted, partly due to the warm weather, and partly because I couldn't work out a way to get the bows on (I thought icing would be too sweet).

I will have to leave the rest of my news for another evening as this post is already getting very long, but I hope you have all had a fun couple of months and I look forward to reading all your blogs

H
xxx

Losing the plot - to the weeds

Alpine strawberries!

I come from a long line of keen gardeners - despite which my knowledge is still about as scant as my time. My great grandparents on my dad's side were market gardeners and my grandparents on both sides were keen amateur gardeners - my grandad even managed to grow strawberries reliably in the far highlands of Scotland.   

Mostly homegrown veg for tea

My mum and dad have had their allotment, conveniently located behind their house, since I was about ten, but the truth is, in my teenage years, I didn't pay enough attention to the wealth of information they were sharing with me.  I didn't want to go out to the garden and weed, and I didn't know how lucky I was to be able to eat strawberries fresh from the vine on a summer day, or taste loganberry jam, or pick sharp, ripe apples from the tree.  

When I got my own place, I started to miss the space to grow things fresh.  When we moved to Bridgend, I got myself on the waiting list at the local allotments, and popped down on a weekly basis to nag them - as advised by the committee.  The land of the allotments were a gift to the people Brynna from a local estate called Ewenny way back in the middle of the nineteenth century.  By the way, if you have an interest in the Bridgend area and its history, I thoroughly recommend you check out the wonderful Hello Historia blog. 

Scrummy pumpkins - great for garlic mash

The soil at the allotments has been enriched and improved by generations of wonderful gardeners - I even inherited some lovely alpine strawberries that were hiding in the grass.  People from the local area are still enjoying all that the allotments have to offer for everything from growing veg to keeping geese and pigeons.  Despite my lack of knowledge, the soil is so fantastic that almost everything I have planted down there has grown.  Last year, although I only used about a third of the space, we got a useful amount of fruit and veg, and as my fruit bushes mature I really hope I will be able to make at least one batch of jam just from my own yield with no top up this year.

Sadly, I have found it almost impossible over the last few months to get down to my plot at all.  The light in the evenings has been very limited, as I am sure you know, weather has been awful, and due to the level of rainfall, even when it has been a sunny day I have hardly dared touch anything for fear of ruining the soil. 

Helping hands are so welcome!

I had some help from a friend back at the end of December, who very kindly spent a whole day helping me to eliminate some of the more dangerous triffids. We cleared a whole bed to plant some onions, and cleared in and around the blueberry bed.  

Since then I have been down to top up the blueberry bed with some nice acid mulch in the form of the pine needles from our Christmas tree and some used hen bedding.  But the plot was overgrown when I got it, and my battle against the weeds is a slow, ongoing battle, which often feels like a full on retreat...

Some of last year's yummy crops

Sunday was the first day I have managed to get down to the allotment to do any actual weeding and planting since the New Year.  I was inspired by the lovely Carrie at Grow Our Own to go and get stuck in at last.  What a lovely feeling to be there in the early spring sunshine, with my hands in the soil, planting food that I hope we will enjoy in months to come.  

Redcurrant cordial

At this time of year - the lean months - I try to focus on the delicious fruit and veg that we can look forward to. I am already excited to see how big my blackcurrant will grow this year - I really think it was worth removing all the baby berries two years ago to help it to thrive.  It is looking really healthy, and I am hoping for a small but decent crop this year.  Mum and dad had a glut of redcurrants last year, and I tried my hand at making cordial for the first time - I made redcurrant and summer fruits. I would simply love to make more flavours this year, as my hubby drinks squash like there's no tomorrow.


Dreaming of strawberries and fresh rocket,

H
xxx