tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1907751229087934762024-03-19T03:41:30.206+00:00Kentshire LifeBexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-4301771113515497742012-07-07T10:19:00.001+01:002012-07-07T10:19:15.315+01:00I hope you like jammin' tooJune has brought us a mammoth crop of 8kg of strawberries and the freezer is now overflowing so I used 2kg to make some jam and boy is it tasty...<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPg1sYOKo_E2C6jcmDAAxX-K5iZfKjLb66f9M744nVe1UYEqZplKjE_Lm11utD9M7R8q4MbH8TLtEMqNi6DvaNZl_vm4l3ZMyDb3M0k0WqXVgoCFRDwsTnSM1eEoFa0Wfp6KTbzudxfIL/s640/blogger-image-532501100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPg1sYOKo_E2C6jcmDAAxX-K5iZfKjLb66f9M744nVe1UYEqZplKjE_Lm11utD9M7R8q4MbH8TLtEMqNi6DvaNZl_vm4l3ZMyDb3M0k0WqXVgoCFRDwsTnSM1eEoFa0Wfp6KTbzudxfIL/s640/blogger-image-532501100.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxYITSebg5lb8ojir46rbwcC59KbhrRGPNBNKgcUIRXvLgkAs5swzd5K6-NMrjKm3ZicW4k2vbw0k70VAcy6qe_Y_cZ3SXxeW53RNBLIxDp_moD08G8OnYZRjX152radWfIuNWWih2qtF/s640/blogger-image--162213774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxYITSebg5lb8ojir46rbwcC59KbhrRGPNBNKgcUIRXvLgkAs5swzd5K6-NMrjKm3ZicW4k2vbw0k70VAcy6qe_Y_cZ3SXxeW53RNBLIxDp_moD08G8OnYZRjX152radWfIuNWWih2qtF/s640/blogger-image--162213774.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieFZbnWhof5w2Y0iX7LfBhP8gjtf5gBmFX16ZjOk2aGsw8DVkQWULD4KYsEE05DM8BzfNEu9zicY4pzc3UldLOrF_j6c7A28nVyXuf5jl6wcXfQxqzE9O3Eh3TB-7m12zv6d94QoKT66w/s640/blogger-image--1987918244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieFZbnWhof5w2Y0iX7LfBhP8gjtf5gBmFX16ZjOk2aGsw8DVkQWULD4KYsEE05DM8BzfNEu9zicY4pzc3UldLOrF_j6c7A28nVyXuf5jl6wcXfQxqzE9O3Eh3TB-7m12zv6d94QoKT66w/s640/blogger-image--1987918244.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYOhEUBQJjMtHP_FG66DX7eu3AhIt0FqZCru46aCQW-hLCTOKjNE2q8BhK1_8Llwv8q3NDmBEeCS0tggDuwKOjexFRxu-GRhaPxzVVz6ckikzvs3HxcT5wyc_8x0GXZ0rt9qaEF9zkln4/s640/blogger-image--286186124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYOhEUBQJjMtHP_FG66DX7eu3AhIt0FqZCru46aCQW-hLCTOKjNE2q8BhK1_8Llwv8q3NDmBEeCS0tggDuwKOjexFRxu-GRhaPxzVVz6ckikzvs3HxcT5wyc_8x0GXZ0rt9qaEF9zkln4/s640/blogger-image--286186124.jpg" /></a></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-24549724847476879092012-07-01T00:08:00.001+01:002012-07-01T00:08:37.114+01:00June produce updateIt has been a terrible spring/early summer for all veg growers - drought, then floods, slugs and strong winds, all conspiring against us! But things are coming along.<br />
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The photos below show the toms just after they went into the greenhouse, our first red tomato, a Hungarian Hot Wax chilli and some of the strawbs we have harvested (3kg to date!)<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rfoPvbpxXBDL62zMOhINyixh4K-Kv2jxsnjL1ndfz1lk9CDt5MjVd5iGT_qL7jTO1xAyialwUzaXGv-yN7J8d2QxQ6MA0I-RwNlvcrsHM48YonI1vqxIsGNiv90Y5cwS7i8BzCM9hzRV/s640/blogger-image--302669640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rfoPvbpxXBDL62zMOhINyixh4K-Kv2jxsnjL1ndfz1lk9CDt5MjVd5iGT_qL7jTO1xAyialwUzaXGv-yN7J8d2QxQ6MA0I-RwNlvcrsHM48YonI1vqxIsGNiv90Y5cwS7i8BzCM9hzRV/s640/blogger-image--302669640.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpQHGFDbLsQcKSc-SYOKjDClW4xFJBIlim6de3Bb4WUdy2zri_C3BKpDT_-An-cW15q9ra_UoKm5DlwuHAX63FOdI6wetqZCz7YzsqedGU_epVBxUkrmBmOfGP26Oa0yug8uhRevCu2wZ/s640/blogger-image--1051663815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpQHGFDbLsQcKSc-SYOKjDClW4xFJBIlim6de3Bb4WUdy2zri_C3BKpDT_-An-cW15q9ra_UoKm5DlwuHAX63FOdI6wetqZCz7YzsqedGU_epVBxUkrmBmOfGP26Oa0yug8uhRevCu2wZ/s640/blogger-image--1051663815.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgousEYOOHaNXJqInjBENszfDuYGi3APad1ht6OauYEo31sUku8KY-_asBhLCORez8FT0HffU4x_of1GKEqRzkUFbKVtgPl1HiDPVh-hm0PFGsW6sNg-hZtYxqT4fZiixTbLEa7Sg7nsYNz/s640/blogger-image-31560125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgousEYOOHaNXJqInjBENszfDuYGi3APad1ht6OauYEo31sUku8KY-_asBhLCORez8FT0HffU4x_of1GKEqRzkUFbKVtgPl1HiDPVh-hm0PFGsW6sNg-hZtYxqT4fZiixTbLEa7Sg7nsYNz/s640/blogger-image-31560125.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVzLt1pIuwnLbNk6u01IsIAY0BSSysB0d8vRRSIkHIOsZryEBCHXgYOX_Sk7EJTspey7xoTC02EMLbQEA4e05TGIry6GCD4nATPeJb7XWxeWC4ZvE0wBQbLAiqAfu4KSmUfTmTQJ_yXOh/s640/blogger-image-128192644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVzLt1pIuwnLbNk6u01IsIAY0BSSysB0d8vRRSIkHIOsZryEBCHXgYOX_Sk7EJTspey7xoTC02EMLbQEA4e05TGIry6GCD4nATPeJb7XWxeWC4ZvE0wBQbLAiqAfu4KSmUfTmTQJ_yXOh/s640/blogger-image-128192644.jpg" /></a></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-61494962320678766282012-06-30T23:58:00.001+01:002012-06-30T23:58:29.219+01:00One man in his shedAs well as a greenhouse, Operation Aubergine involved the dismantling and rebuilding of a lovely little shed. It has a window with a twee net curtain. Matt is delighted with it as you'll see...<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEO20S_dZMMRaHXgpEsIjaVUoWkHWkHKHoGJH8RUgn3heVcv_9XbEvi2ymGN2jsIDSFbrtB0tyIAoQHAiZf5YIhExdoAffH7O9apqjnI8Hq_IZoKljWICbpVcxYYX4jrowGgk5z2tOiZ8k/s640/blogger-image--264060075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEO20S_dZMMRaHXgpEsIjaVUoWkHWkHKHoGJH8RUgn3heVcv_9XbEvi2ymGN2jsIDSFbrtB0tyIAoQHAiZf5YIhExdoAffH7O9apqjnI8Hq_IZoKljWICbpVcxYYX4jrowGgk5z2tOiZ8k/s640/blogger-image--264060075.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYw5EUl0K4oBvLM7FAC1HPJLqApHdG5dsHOdrcNYyIQumyevwazlxh96wyqPLslLJhrG7mDzVdL3FmMSYQawEyl83knxXuJrS4J-hdvqoZ_1ufPXED3Bqds6wFd4dImaWG7MPECmYqadT/s640/blogger-image--1813872661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYw5EUl0K4oBvLM7FAC1HPJLqApHdG5dsHOdrcNYyIQumyevwazlxh96wyqPLslLJhrG7mDzVdL3FmMSYQawEyl83knxXuJrS4J-hdvqoZ_1ufPXED3Bqds6wFd4dImaWG7MPECmYqadT/s640/blogger-image--1813872661.jpg" /></a></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-73712352696301432302012-06-30T23:39:00.001+01:002012-06-30T23:46:11.214+01:00The arrival of The GreenhouseI have finally downloaded the blogger app which, I hope, means more regular posts! (I haven't worked out how to put photos in the correct place yet so please excuse them all dumped at the bottom!)<br />
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A couple of months back we spent a weekend enacting Operation Aubergine. This was the code name for our mission to dismantle, transport, and rebuild a large glass greenhouse which we won on eBay for the bargain price of £100!<br />
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Here it is, in it's original home in North Kent...<br />
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We collected it in this van...<br />
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It took five hours to dismantle and get into the van. Next day, we had to out it back up! We put it in a sturdy base of sunken sleepers (oh my god are they heavy!)<br />
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All in all a knackering weekend but well worth it...<br />
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<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMOc4l-oBjOv25g1XPgoHXf_gYKDhKxy6csNcMWURcBx-MKibEoyu4m7XtgL-cRJqL7Sxc0eYoodp3WjGp7JjL6d-W9-NAMWsPwcNnAsdEW1mmjh9jNK38uxte7L2NCOSGzL_VQfPjw3z/s640/blogger-image-1117727077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfMOc4l-oBjOv25g1XPgoHXf_gYKDhKxy6csNcMWURcBx-MKibEoyu4m7XtgL-cRJqL7Sxc0eYoodp3WjGp7JjL6d-W9-NAMWsPwcNnAsdEW1mmjh9jNK38uxte7L2NCOSGzL_VQfPjw3z/s640/blogger-image-1117727077.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpL2jiQgx3JGCZ6Bv3x1u1z7pCIflTwm3pSjMHpEuwC8d7I2mXOYQ-tXtIW679TR8TPDmkeeDGqB0be4Enur2QEE994oGlA-Bm3afngZyNIv_IyJ11a4_5OuIgJZlzz41K2jmUV9bmOpr/s640/blogger-image--1991392668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpL2jiQgx3JGCZ6Bv3x1u1z7pCIflTwm3pSjMHpEuwC8d7I2mXOYQ-tXtIW679TR8TPDmkeeDGqB0be4Enur2QEE994oGlA-Bm3afngZyNIv_IyJ11a4_5OuIgJZlzz41K2jmUV9bmOpr/s640/blogger-image--1991392668.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61CoIOSMHfOE5ilOy3C5LL7K_CCw6mD2dnCN68ZOIORk8meQYy3AoRhfAukFx8dc2lm232eOE715knvoWnfwwlPigHsINVJtOoZmQwwFWidPougDUEPnq_EcCYeQiXIi6y9-LZmUyXaKc/s640/blogger-image--1000224954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61CoIOSMHfOE5ilOy3C5LL7K_CCw6mD2dnCN68ZOIORk8meQYy3AoRhfAukFx8dc2lm232eOE715knvoWnfwwlPigHsINVJtOoZmQwwFWidPougDUEPnq_EcCYeQiXIi6y9-LZmUyXaKc/s640/blogger-image--1000224954.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVP-4nia8ss50fT6yq4NLJ8hGEeIF0UutclvpFo374n_fCk_SMYNrXZC99WfnAMzjFrXoVlKqbFA6_rMwRz_G5HjNbuTkg6bqtOhU2y8DzXedN_EtF_t-uIDsFG0bSxCyuB3L09N5UTYR/s640/blogger-image-1782531912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCVP-4nia8ss50fT6yq4NLJ8hGEeIF0UutclvpFo374n_fCk_SMYNrXZC99WfnAMzjFrXoVlKqbFA6_rMwRz_G5HjNbuTkg6bqtOhU2y8DzXedN_EtF_t-uIDsFG0bSxCyuB3L09N5UTYR/s640/blogger-image-1782531912.jpg" /></a></div>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-15211285950953174602012-04-19T22:05:00.012+01:002012-04-19T22:44:39.919+01:00Say Cheese!There is nothing quite like a big pile of cheese to celebrate your birthday so this year I thought I would go one better and got Matt a cheese course!<br /><br />This weekend just gone we headed to the Yarner Trust (http://www.yarnertrust.org/), near Bideford in North Devon. Located in the little village of Welcome, just 1 1/2 miles from the coast, this organisation is dedicated to providing training for people who are interested in becoming self-sufficient. <br /><br />They are based in a beautiful 14th century farm. We stayed the night and had a lovely little room with wobbly walls and original floor boards. It was very difficult to drag ourselves back to boring old London!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKDgIy_H1Jrr672aYrCrYjMVChgLE8axH_vflreqMzYeZPt_cJHhsyxQ4tiLM57l9rqJmLPzFzUcgOLTPYzftjxAxzEtxUiIU9_uhmHz-o8QLbOM9NLCcBHY9WTVkdxsEWlJS5Hxe92A3/s1600/Bex+iPhone+pics+428.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKDgIy_H1Jrr672aYrCrYjMVChgLE8axH_vflreqMzYeZPt_cJHhsyxQ4tiLM57l9rqJmLPzFzUcgOLTPYzftjxAxzEtxUiIU9_uhmHz-o8QLbOM9NLCcBHY9WTVkdxsEWlJS5Hxe92A3/s400/Bex+iPhone+pics+428.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733225058403264642" /></a><br /><br />The cheese making course was run by the incredibly knowledgeable Vera Tooke. Over the course of the day (from 8 until 3) we firstly made soft cheese flavoured with herbs and garlic (a bit like Boursin). This is it hanging and then the finished product...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml2tAYNh-A1GyJzA85niFjsvYsT_gSsymieaRE0JilEmd2MSsHEMoGDLVz5w5Eq2t29lQsHGl5Rl9iM9xaIqwzaNn67Mye8VmySTE-ppDDEg5RIkmxR0uHJmI3dHKeX-7Svg2XTF00_P0/s1600/Picture+034.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgml2tAYNh-A1GyJzA85niFjsvYsT_gSsymieaRE0JilEmd2MSsHEMoGDLVz5w5Eq2t29lQsHGl5Rl9iM9xaIqwzaNn67Mye8VmySTE-ppDDEg5RIkmxR0uHJmI3dHKeX-7Svg2XTF00_P0/s400/Picture+034.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733225824141542322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYB3RCQ_-VPLJxLrsH9A4B7MrBZ1J6X0MYbNayzA_l9jWQFnnuNoCnXdBhRfsWy3tiJBvvDI0r5GSeFiGz6tQquEYTi8dNJ2kh-9ubxgd4R00syaKB6Pk4IJsIeBGxH-_om63PMA4z-koj/s1600/Picture+056.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYB3RCQ_-VPLJxLrsH9A4B7MrBZ1J6X0MYbNayzA_l9jWQFnnuNoCnXdBhRfsWy3tiJBvvDI0r5GSeFiGz6tQquEYTi8dNJ2kh-9ubxgd4R00syaKB6Pk4IJsIeBGxH-_om63PMA4z-koj/s400/Picture+056.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733225825811444402" /></a><br /><br />Second was the mozarella - a remarkably easy cheese to make - you just add the starter and rennet and then leave for 2 hours before pulling out lumps of curds, adding some bioling water, then stretching into mozarella balls<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizN3rQl24p_lr0KKiUNS2RGXHfYJxV2QfU_WcPtIdI3EZs45YKt3Yq_P0pHR13HJZQAbuiV22DRj60WkLG_imO-6r6HFGSEA9Jmxi9QSfVhBRJCRB5d9mZ5KDutVWRv-M0ml4Z7S4ecuQD/s1600/Picture+045.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizN3rQl24p_lr0KKiUNS2RGXHfYJxV2QfU_WcPtIdI3EZs45YKt3Yq_P0pHR13HJZQAbuiV22DRj60WkLG_imO-6r6HFGSEA9Jmxi9QSfVhBRJCRB5d9mZ5KDutVWRv-M0ml4Z7S4ecuQD/s400/Picture+045.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733226632689912674" /></a><br /><br />Finally, we made a Gouda like cheese. The Gouda has to sit for a month before it is ready so we currently have it in a cupboard - we turn it every day for the first week then once a week from then on. It's already looking lovely and yellowy on the outside so we'll report back once it's ripe.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohGRoWT3O61toVYCFKekIZuUk4XTejmSDv1-hom1JvKDio7tWVeD3x4f_CtgLsY2Wq6tBao-IcdfbZ4YwTb1-4qvCHuIWkP4e7rzRcq6V1l50FkYzWJqcE0P_tSM_4qrJe1iWiTAhTM8G/s1600/Picture+055.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohGRoWT3O61toVYCFKekIZuUk4XTejmSDv1-hom1JvKDio7tWVeD3x4f_CtgLsY2Wq6tBao-IcdfbZ4YwTb1-4qvCHuIWkP4e7rzRcq6V1l50FkYzWJqcE0P_tSM_4qrJe1iWiTAhTM8G/s400/Picture+055.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733227291380269234" /></a><br /><br />Not only did we make cheese but we had a thoroughly lovely very short break away. On the way down we visited <a href="http://www.clovelly.co.uk/">Clovelly</a>, which I haven't been too since I was little, and it was just as lovely as I remember. You have to pay to enter the village because it's so popular in the summer and it consists of one, very long, very steep street down to the sea. They still have donkeys to carry goods up and down. In fact, here's a donkey we picked up on the way (his name's Dominic)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqCIey8t_TR2ObsmBGTM9yUqr_NBClmvuOyrI-8z3SZcryaIlNRT8PhuAnVd_9CKwTkiVtppvSV9MgoljEWSHDAeqRLjeOunjy_wvFNCvA0O-loORvd08Upj7kco7lx-_7MPBsS3hMyV0/s1600/Picture+016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGqCIey8t_TR2ObsmBGTM9yUqr_NBClmvuOyrI-8z3SZcryaIlNRT8PhuAnVd_9CKwTkiVtppvSV9MgoljEWSHDAeqRLjeOunjy_wvFNCvA0O-loORvd08Upj7kco7lx-_7MPBsS3hMyV0/s400/Picture+016.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733227534586690722" /></a><br /><br />In Welcombe itself we had a good explore - we walked the vert steep road to the coast, which is protected by the National Trust and has a gorgeous little river ending in a waterfall at the sea. Opposite the river was a very beautiful house at which I said, "you know, I swear that's Kirsty Alssop's house" and do you know what? <br /><a href="http://www.bidefordpeople.co.uk/news/Fancy-Break-TV-Presenter-Kirstie-s-Homemade-Home/story-7021844-detail/story.html">It is!</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvIrSOXgQftueZIroeMUQocCc4NlSVQs4JikhtdUur3ugZVIRTF1ItkxDPGn6K_aiyfN6IpCY5fa6fUJ8sKfK7-UfH6Q1_NixGTxNougRMQmnBZ7UHA8nVaXtJraS31RU6vL7NGlgMRe6/s1600/Picture+017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvIrSOXgQftueZIroeMUQocCc4NlSVQs4JikhtdUur3ugZVIRTF1ItkxDPGn6K_aiyfN6IpCY5fa6fUJ8sKfK7-UfH6Q1_NixGTxNougRMQmnBZ7UHA8nVaXtJraS31RU6vL7NGlgMRe6/s400/Picture+017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733228933366870802" /></a><br /><br />Our final event was a visit to the local pub - and what a local pub it was! <a href="http://www.theoldsmithyinn.co.uk/">The Old Smithy</a> is a lovely thatched building from the outside and inside wouldn't look out of place as a quirky London pub. Needless to say we fully sampled the local cider (well, it was half the price of London!) and were treated to an impromptu performance by a Quartet of chapscalled The Show Ponies playing varous instruments and singing what can only be described as twenties ragtime meets cabaret - brilliant!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVys5eMx5zbSXedv0UQIrR-AaOpaB7UOXSEt98arAsDS2KXhCMe-GSv2ySn5nmf0adigh7akVOFoVBDDpRVb74olIKdLTtdnzavjzdV0s7Hwqs8ITpl5CewUEbxXxX_yh58fm_aDrChEyu/s1600/Bex+iPhone+pics+429.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVys5eMx5zbSXedv0UQIrR-AaOpaB7UOXSEt98arAsDS2KXhCMe-GSv2ySn5nmf0adigh7akVOFoVBDDpRVb74olIKdLTtdnzavjzdV0s7Hwqs8ITpl5CewUEbxXxX_yh58fm_aDrChEyu/s400/Bex+iPhone+pics+429.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733229287268456642" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-11015918940640632452012-03-14T17:41:00.004+00:002012-03-14T17:56:27.633+00:00Mak'n Bac'nSomething we've wanted to do in a while, is try our hand at home curing. We finally got our acts together in January and bought us some pork from <a href="http://www.tablehurstandplawhatch.co.uk/Tablehurst.html">Tablehurst</a>, the wonderful bidynamic farm in the Ashdown Forest that we go to occasionally. <br /><br />I followed a recipe from one of our home craft type books - I don't have the weights but I mixed curing salt, sea salt, raw brown sugar, juniper berries, peppercorns and some herbs (thyme and rosemary) together and made sure I got it all over the belly (the pig's, not mine!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewLT5VX6nyIiObDUHWJpiZUpkUsAgyNobKqkPz6IH8UDZiU3d8b7miwx4i_YsifLx-pgw1rX7RQG7vv__fInkVYs0t8M-sGddyqX800ffshjHNFGazyZ8uxnZ9vzs0Bk7cS4-k_TfflKm/s1600/Bacon1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjewLT5VX6nyIiObDUHWJpiZUpkUsAgyNobKqkPz6IH8UDZiU3d8b7miwx4i_YsifLx-pgw1rX7RQG7vv__fInkVYs0t8M-sGddyqX800ffshjHNFGazyZ8uxnZ9vzs0Bk7cS4-k_TfflKm/s400/Bacon1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719811364804028690" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga09g8cn5wA-fvKv8jW9uNfEVQDA0tO5OUz74DungHoMV6ViZXYa1VgXL6ljjvdEhNQCOiDRk_ScgI6RKhpgmaPrGvxqKxsQ98NCF0qGRKmtW5Qa1j1kVnZzwOb-dn5PQ38Fa58JAf3ou/s1600/Bacon2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga09g8cn5wA-fvKv8jW9uNfEVQDA0tO5OUz74DungHoMV6ViZXYa1VgXL6ljjvdEhNQCOiDRk_ScgI6RKhpgmaPrGvxqKxsQ98NCF0qGRKmtW5Qa1j1kVnZzwOb-dn5PQ38Fa58JAf3ou/s400/Bacon2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719811368281651522" /></a><br /><br />We then left it for 2 weeks, covered in muslin in the fridge (although a cold larder will do) and occasionally drained the liquid. After 2 weeks I tried a bit - it was very salty - so I soaked it in cold water over night. The finished product was deeeeeelicious!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5BGgGIw0aZW4S-KBOv26orf6UDlQCF4iYTX7fGa6YD4G2fDiF4MggwSwFK-XALTl3KxgeX_L97A1sa71EMQPqP1uTmiAvaBqpQ6JNXg9tcBDd3ElXwphJhkPTRR1yTIesvENBJ26RCxl/s1600/Bacon3.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5BGgGIw0aZW4S-KBOv26orf6UDlQCF4iYTX7fGa6YD4G2fDiF4MggwSwFK-XALTl3KxgeX_L97A1sa71EMQPqP1uTmiAvaBqpQ6JNXg9tcBDd3ElXwphJhkPTRR1yTIesvENBJ26RCxl/s400/Bacon3.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719811375724058930" /></a><br /><br />After about a week it started to smell a little so we used it up quite quickly. I'm not sure whether I should have put more cure on it or whether that's how quickly it goes if you don't hang it in the salt for longer. I have read, in Home Farmer magazine, that you should entirely cover it in the cure (lots and lots of cure) so I'll try that next time but a reat first attempt!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-26474818794071202052012-03-14T17:28:00.005+00:002012-03-14T17:38:21.681+00:00Produce 2011As I didn't do any updates last year, you will have no idea how well our allotment has been getting on so this is a gallery-style update on things what we grew last year...<br /><br />A basket of produce (this must have been autumn time)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OylzDaKpmlWkokWpiR-oEhEDzWm86vaYWaolWeCs-_vmxeDrX1YmjvUwGO5baIqrsPixCdttSpD6A0Nlfd9g9iLRn47Q8nLWgpwFw6y_tWG7utRKbxO65c6dLw2ugpiT7Yu8XyvoXLCp/s1600/Harvest+2011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OylzDaKpmlWkokWpiR-oEhEDzWm86vaYWaolWeCs-_vmxeDrX1YmjvUwGO5baIqrsPixCdttSpD6A0Nlfd9g9iLRn47Q8nLWgpwFw6y_tWG7utRKbxO65c6dLw2ugpiT7Yu8XyvoXLCp/s400/Harvest+2011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719806937954652098" /></a><br /><br />My beautiful "Twilight" chillis (one of three varieties I grew - I have so many!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdES3G9tWuYnAGFoqTBrMY5NyXAGYAMQfMCO_PTapwoaynvdy02kuB4RREI-GnpF8iV_dh2k0bzBS_djIqXNBToPLwRRpa2vT-lVpkcWvCYaNvTKRsrHcvAERCt20NR7GoudUkDrQe7-78/s1600/chillis.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdES3G9tWuYnAGFoqTBrMY5NyXAGYAMQfMCO_PTapwoaynvdy02kuB4RREI-GnpF8iV_dh2k0bzBS_djIqXNBToPLwRRpa2vT-lVpkcWvCYaNvTKRsrHcvAERCt20NR7GoudUkDrQe7-78/s400/chillis.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719806940416640050" /></a><br /><br />Some strawbs in the fruit cage from early in the year<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJut0ArxWirB8eygSlfryDYHaXHn0KqqLPHU441Jo9g4fEO9cDq5QNf62uvMhPgqUPWPbS0dCoFN-z1rZcxW_JeZdQKOI1IBGIGoVNgXLYuRzinR_J8iO_skItUGo9WyxOYAY4u8ZFNVs/s1600/Strawbs.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFJut0ArxWirB8eygSlfryDYHaXHn0KqqLPHU441Jo9g4fEO9cDq5QNf62uvMhPgqUPWPbS0dCoFN-z1rZcxW_JeZdQKOI1IBGIGoVNgXLYuRzinR_J8iO_skItUGo9WyxOYAY4u8ZFNVs/s400/Strawbs.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719806423289757378" /></a><br /><br />The onions, ready to come up<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK9WP7F1W_u7vvPqe3Gc0VTIj_EJjn1OJzF_okCmI51MB3iTyhddzxIaMvxVy93EBPkwkBftrUWobqUIagJP5Jy_uLrUB_kw9JsXtMkECZy2zMF7-a-GNJTyITdy3p81LnNE65gNTI3SJ/s1600/Onions.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidK9WP7F1W_u7vvPqe3Gc0VTIj_EJjn1OJzF_okCmI51MB3iTyhddzxIaMvxVy93EBPkwkBftrUWobqUIagJP5Jy_uLrUB_kw9JsXtMkECZy2zMF7-a-GNJTyITdy3p81LnNE65gNTI3SJ/s400/Onions.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719807528371198498" /></a><br /><br />A GIANT carrot (after never having had much luck before, we outdid ourselves this year!)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi503kZ4DIu_DqCru6-T7y7RIyuqZvxY_qFT14vC336dV0leZ_jmkgYsfG5VN7MqMNVKDAcuu_8oRp5r8RMOoBxlM5RQspDLsV4XyEq1lgwHMsNWhp0viabtH6pHBKJ6tJ2H-eEiQWh-ETa/s1600/Big+carrot.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi503kZ4DIu_DqCru6-T7y7RIyuqZvxY_qFT14vC336dV0leZ_jmkgYsfG5VN7MqMNVKDAcuu_8oRp5r8RMOoBxlM5RQspDLsV4XyEq1lgwHMsNWhp0viabtH6pHBKJ6tJ2H-eEiQWh-ETa/s400/Big+carrot.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719808122082598610" /></a><br /><br />A GIANT mooli! Slightly enexpected and we only managed to use some of them sadly...there's not that much you can do with a mooli it turns out!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-eJDuOIJT2JKuM-ha2NJ0UvxUw9pHZDCgB9WhB7j6ffKcEO5jUwcAAleA_nR1hoq1Px__t8NHsjtDNIR54EW6KT-nnxSUQ3958AeVC1jRVsBHVerroFotNKMxRx-1Z6GlMPsys9HXnKs/s1600/Big+mooli.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-eJDuOIJT2JKuM-ha2NJ0UvxUw9pHZDCgB9WhB7j6ffKcEO5jUwcAAleA_nR1hoq1Px__t8NHsjtDNIR54EW6KT-nnxSUQ3958AeVC1jRVsBHVerroFotNKMxRx-1Z6GlMPsys9HXnKs/s400/Big+mooli.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719808127645402834" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-67239812435109632972012-03-14T17:11:00.005+00:002012-03-14T17:39:54.223+00:00Update on chickensOur first 5 hens (Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch followed by Blue and Bell) were all ex-battery hens. There really is nothing like seeing the battered, naked chickens going from their first day (being scared of air, sun, rain, flies...) to becoming confident (some might say a little too confident!) proper chickens. BUT, they are hard work - I always say that they're like foster children. They'd had a tough start in life and you can tell. We lost our last ex-batt (Rom - who behaved more like a cockrel!) late last year and not long before that decided that we would get some *normal* chickens for a while...enter Water and Cress (following the theme of being named after heritage railways). <br /><br />Here's Cress, she's the boss, and a big chicken:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIOshy_qQmmtAM6nxnuJLBz17m0kDw9PlV72EX0-ioj4NTliicrqogL6e0UfMX6mnVHXXTPiHRPymD4nrpnbxAc3Omn88VhQr0Q78C_ErAt97HDVXFnjDEBYyJULj-ORZuxpqFEzDAud9/s1600/Cress.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIOshy_qQmmtAM6nxnuJLBz17m0kDw9PlV72EX0-ioj4NTliicrqogL6e0UfMX6mnVHXXTPiHRPymD4nrpnbxAc3Omn88VhQr0Q78C_ErAt97HDVXFnjDEBYyJULj-ORZuxpqFEzDAud9/s400/Cress.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719804011594619394" /></a><br /><br />This is Water, she's an "Amber", isn't she pretty? She's the under-chicken (and therefore our favourite!). Good ol's Rom-the-bully is in the background (I think Water was pretty glad to see the back of her!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhhiM5odS2KZk3ZpZYGMU73PBvrakHjYZXqNRfTQ8ouiUuY0FMVxNBcPU_rbbWxmqxRVbY2abXZQymRBaiDtMNpmwknrtrMoRPNzz7Ls6GbYSYwrfP_xdJmGHek4oqn7SDBOjvLIbEp9R/s1600/Water.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhhiM5odS2KZk3ZpZYGMU73PBvrakHjYZXqNRfTQ8ouiUuY0FMVxNBcPU_rbbWxmqxRVbY2abXZQymRBaiDtMNpmwknrtrMoRPNzz7Ls6GbYSYwrfP_xdJmGHek4oqn7SDBOjvLIbEp9R/s400/Water.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719805677770233186" /></a><br /><br />They're very well behaved and lay pretty much ever day. I'll post an egg count soon but this gives an indication of how productive they are...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeJ0mHMNrVes140WBG4qO5-849FUM3Y1sQqiLCndu4Tn3RCRlwf5Il5U4FcARL8JuwAV06T02Dn58CwaknVZOpehlqCPY7AutPPshv_x8ovYYEwyzDuLzfeQjmtFFiZGOizxKXPHnAY1t/s1600/Eggs.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeJ0mHMNrVes140WBG4qO5-849FUM3Y1sQqiLCndu4Tn3RCRlwf5Il5U4FcARL8JuwAV06T02Dn58CwaknVZOpehlqCPY7AutPPshv_x8ovYYEwyzDuLzfeQjmtFFiZGOizxKXPHnAY1t/s400/Eggs.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719808840395730386" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-9905041823966668872012-03-14T15:15:00.004+00:002012-03-14T17:55:46.528+00:00Doesn't time fly...It has been a year and a half since I last blogged on here - life, PhD, work, running has all got in the way: <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd2II4nYrX0w8J3eejalJWE7-HHhhSuTyiMlTi1dQu1kO2cBCfEJrx6YWXJrSY987dtdUVi92VUkrBcHMeX8Fu-skyIynlQll68yCgaK3wMbsApnV-4FRJL_uzyHwWuCbNNiUtmRh6ag3/s1600/DSCF7857.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd2II4nYrX0w8J3eejalJWE7-HHhhSuTyiMlTi1dQu1kO2cBCfEJrx6YWXJrSY987dtdUVi92VUkrBcHMeX8Fu-skyIynlQll68yCgaK3wMbsApnV-4FRJL_uzyHwWuCbNNiUtmRh6ag3/s400/DSCF7857.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719772902459873154" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kJmh-USnWO975Rwf0QIj5mwRkupfyQxnlLW-rLUAXoowMICb5-gIB7voDqLXo73dqqbCLiXL6ettU7BsDeuPRQrXg7Zr-2aWg9WaXWHGJZ0Vso7f-WYhJNkWpefvTDLYVPbispBfEoJR/s1600/DSCF7988.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kJmh-USnWO975Rwf0QIj5mwRkupfyQxnlLW-rLUAXoowMICb5-gIB7voDqLXo73dqqbCLiXL6ettU7BsDeuPRQrXg7Zr-2aWg9WaXWHGJZ0Vso7f-WYhJNkWpefvTDLYVPbispBfEoJR/s400/DSCF7988.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719772910240046626" /></a><br />(Matt is the centre of the trio of blue shirts on the right hand side)<br /><br />I'm going to try to start adding photos more often. An allotment update will come once we have some things growing and I will introduce the new chickens to the blog but for now I'll just put some pretty pictures of things that we cooked with our produce in 2011...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKwnotvAz90nJNvKDhF65mbAqaiwAAbY9ro3SRgIJMdgCwBu_QmFnbMJzATXjwvbJ2SOZ_ZR9PySNuq15OSx62KYPYhni9jDXqz2I4kK67BvGE0PasgXEkcjLDBwTS0WVlIE45nrctyOc/s1600/DSCF7898.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKwnotvAz90nJNvKDhF65mbAqaiwAAbY9ro3SRgIJMdgCwBu_QmFnbMJzATXjwvbJ2SOZ_ZR9PySNuq15OSx62KYPYhni9jDXqz2I4kK67BvGE0PasgXEkcjLDBwTS0WVlIE45nrctyOc/s400/DSCF7898.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719772479482149106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOG0kFkEkKyjzhxw_IZK3mOzk-G6M1LgZhHlGwYCDrNK2tr9ByjuhMaVzRxtbjbkG59NyF4yWAOoFpb9OaiWE6eLc0IJs7N8eThZVVJhNxPnBzhIfPHjIe_v-pRkJ1Vyzel0EDiWOXEXBS/s1600/DSCF7892.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOG0kFkEkKyjzhxw_IZK3mOzk-G6M1LgZhHlGwYCDrNK2tr9ByjuhMaVzRxtbjbkG59NyF4yWAOoFpb9OaiWE6eLc0IJs7N8eThZVVJhNxPnBzhIfPHjIe_v-pRkJ1Vyzel0EDiWOXEXBS/s400/DSCF7892.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719772469589709362" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiws6vVqdr2EUJFIfmi83euhDCVEk_Zz2ZZh-1mxmB9nS-W5QWtkaLWauq8dwrmJXbnlqoNSDxfxzVJMQvfD5-a4qW8Z_EcZf3gtHF4vust2OajTnon5QYyeXIq97oetEIyyNIp-4yo2sqW/s1600/DSCF7837.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiws6vVqdr2EUJFIfmi83euhDCVEk_Zz2ZZh-1mxmB9nS-W5QWtkaLWauq8dwrmJXbnlqoNSDxfxzVJMQvfD5-a4qW8Z_EcZf3gtHF4vust2OajTnon5QYyeXIq97oetEIyyNIp-4yo2sqW/s400/DSCF7837.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719772461597088562" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYW1Du_P6amlzXT_7qo-1rIgJ-vxeAGe7pXpOWCJdQvvhtc0zNzu2i3PJ8mIpueFFj6vKRE6eJVNPVLvHXLk2ibjyjE9NZ1_pnYkK1yzT39poqb10B43XL1ffLdGu5tKWDaxNmrSK6xKF/s1600/DSCF7990.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYW1Du_P6amlzXT_7qo-1rIgJ-vxeAGe7pXpOWCJdQvvhtc0zNzu2i3PJ8mIpueFFj6vKRE6eJVNPVLvHXLk2ibjyjE9NZ1_pnYkK1yzT39poqb10B43XL1ffLdGu5tKWDaxNmrSK6xKF/s400/DSCF7990.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719772486329824418" /></a><br /><br />A creative (and pretty!) way of using courgettes<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzofpcJ1vomoky_15iMc_0dZX41NkEWHfwmx56Wbqp9q5TXYgl2Ch-MDZ8dmhw-0QZPH-nnQqW3xCeOKne8P24jxpkckmsvXRNx5-JtLo0xxdSqP3V3mZZKiBaEI5IUJxS5j8MDahCgi0b/s1600/pizza.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzofpcJ1vomoky_15iMc_0dZX41NkEWHfwmx56Wbqp9q5TXYgl2Ch-MDZ8dmhw-0QZPH-nnQqW3xCeOKne8P24jxpkckmsvXRNx5-JtLo0xxdSqP3V3mZZKiBaEI5IUJxS5j8MDahCgi0b/s400/pizza.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719812389982337426" /></a><br /><br />Matt's wonderful bread<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3gw8kDMjQC6tDqH5OoEj2g038EDPrCGsmoNxOtlExe9Alg9yW6x6xoLns82Ozf408HQnOJeNwpAxevH-0N3qdDcDyloxrKNs_coenPe_KrS-H-aKoPH29S6V2_vNDfFtE8ksysAAhZLT/s1600/bread.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3gw8kDMjQC6tDqH5OoEj2g038EDPrCGsmoNxOtlExe9Alg9yW6x6xoLns82Ozf408HQnOJeNwpAxevH-0N3qdDcDyloxrKNs_coenPe_KrS-H-aKoPH29S6V2_vNDfFtE8ksysAAhZLT/s400/bread.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719812393423319874" /></a><br /><br />"Healthy" Eton Mess (yoghurt, not cream) with our own raspberries and homemade meringues<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8GqEy5bJsQHkcraDteVA1mrBq9QoILmsKW4hSjRSiaqgb0mNY1hNX0geoIdoBF1aEnpRniy6Bq45KXCGlBJ3Lcn7sVIAvZ5Nv0brx1JwmjQhAcNcU58jUy66vaMmmb4koqhqff_YwO0a/s1600/eton+mess.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8GqEy5bJsQHkcraDteVA1mrBq9QoILmsKW4hSjRSiaqgb0mNY1hNX0geoIdoBF1aEnpRniy6Bq45KXCGlBJ3Lcn7sVIAvZ5Nv0brx1JwmjQhAcNcU58jUy66vaMmmb4koqhqff_YwO0a/s400/eton+mess.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719812937113275266" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-45744640606245300182010-09-15T20:51:00.009+01:002010-09-15T21:30:03.969+01:00Bringing in the harvest down at Jimmy'sJimmy Doherty is an absolute hero of mine. We went to Jimmy's Farm a few years back when Matt had bought me a tour of the farm and lunch with Jimmy himself and he is such an inspirational chap. So, imagine our delight when we discovered that he was hosting a food and music festival. <br /><br />In case you don't know who Jimmy is, this is he (holding his month old baby in a carrier...aaaah):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFnK1FV5TdNhfciFV5D7BCQYIwqayetPxCg4Jix1Xg7I2WTamUilAnJh_9ZdtxGY1R6fOJd_C_DKeMMjrD0EEAoC-fehdLuwZk604F8PFnQPBGqGn1WeHZmLnhS2WluQ26iq_JO_edL9N/s1600/DSCF7404.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFnK1FV5TdNhfciFV5D7BCQYIwqayetPxCg4Jix1Xg7I2WTamUilAnJh_9ZdtxGY1R6fOJd_C_DKeMMjrD0EEAoC-fehdLuwZk604F8PFnQPBGqGn1WeHZmLnhS2WluQ26iq_JO_edL9N/s400/DSCF7404.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517231704621420322" /></a><br /><br />We booked tickets months and months ago before we knew the line up so I was soooo excited to discover that my favourite band (The Futureheads) were playing. The music was brilliant, of course, and the atmosphere fantastic:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajoN4JamBcC2ij5rPQ6Adr-gRtVUtMb7Zxo1VeRojH_YeEXwkWXs74n07qCJiE0R90fjjiawL8hyphenhyphenfxkG97rPwI4XZnLrgVafQL17HeaABRASp6FXHy7q3VZEVjZRKqdbkhOG0UscjlhSl/s1600/DSCF7374.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjajoN4JamBcC2ij5rPQ6Adr-gRtVUtMb7Zxo1VeRojH_YeEXwkWXs74n07qCJiE0R90fjjiawL8hyphenhyphenfxkG97rPwI4XZnLrgVafQL17HeaABRASp6FXHy7q3VZEVjZRKqdbkhOG0UscjlhSl/s400/DSCF7374.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517233505840457074" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnrtbkv30Pfx1KCoThwW2EHvVFqpGBlgc5Owlqx4bjO7Z_-Khyphenhyphentk8AdGSjYkT5pTLAy2zP8SAKr9xsanCTU4RdoXcHkCK9Ua7xmUTnyy0UXFcAyr0QEwxI-OJqAPGUFjQZrs6m6bRWNBJ/s1600/DSCF7396.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnrtbkv30Pfx1KCoThwW2EHvVFqpGBlgc5Owlqx4bjO7Z_-Khyphenhyphentk8AdGSjYkT5pTLAy2zP8SAKr9xsanCTU4RdoXcHkCK9Ua7xmUTnyy0UXFcAyr0QEwxI-OJqAPGUFjQZrs6m6bRWNBJ/s400/DSCF7396.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517233515745061938" /></a><br /><br />The food was also brilliant. On the first night I had dinner from Wahaca, the Mexican "street food" restaurant set up by Tomasina Myers who won masterchef a few years back. I've been to the restaurant in London a few times and it never disapoints - it's just my kind of food! On Sunday we had some Greek-style salad from the "farmers market" area, and a pasty from Jimmy's shop. Being such a small festival it was a great place to just see people. We watched The Hairy Bikers do a cooking demo and they were jolly funny and just as entertaining as on TV:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXENxSlZOEna5agrOP9I-BkRzmwT4Qy3unA7ErmAi456Jr4Snsg2TkY7VD5CVjizthsalGjHhX8k9k9MdzKxqFuExQR1rVhMTze_ghWs21x9P1WEN-DzxvQNfgsViWED6z-3jcPSydBiv/s1600/DSCF7335.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXENxSlZOEna5agrOP9I-BkRzmwT4Qy3unA7ErmAi456Jr4Snsg2TkY7VD5CVjizthsalGjHhX8k9k9MdzKxqFuExQR1rVhMTze_ghWs21x9P1WEN-DzxvQNfgsViWED6z-3jcPSydBiv/s400/DSCF7335.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517234368683689746" /></a><br />(a speeding biker)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkY5ogQyCO83IWUh9EhSC5FrB_iLJws-dumen-Q6ioXFvXxB-5-1vrpJHfFq7VOytvHXhIj4fQXuD6-kZAV76c_O8WtDelZnG871ZUele2vhrorfttPFBpo5g59YliEuZqagkc8mPpl4cV/s1600/DSCF7348.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkY5ogQyCO83IWUh9EhSC5FrB_iLJws-dumen-Q6ioXFvXxB-5-1vrpJHfFq7VOytvHXhIj4fQXuD6-kZAV76c_O8WtDelZnG871ZUele2vhrorfttPFBpo5g59YliEuZqagkc8mPpl4cV/s400/DSCF7348.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517234375454209346" /></a><br />(bikers in action)<br /><br />Last, and by no means least, my gardening guru, Alys Fowler was there! Matt said I was all red every time I saw her and I saw her lots - she clearly wanted to be my friend because she queued next to me for breakfast and sat behind us at Wahaca:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJemh4Nia3PdOJ_89NXodDJSWfZOGt6eJr2bRsC6ysy1GLoEt0U4PQqqKxa1n-0IHJve87X3rkEeDn4yoowZgfSFvB2EPyXXii4elvtfYczATeMlwdqZg4tvJOUl_CP9ETuwV4Hgd2SfA/s1600/DSCF7342.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJemh4Nia3PdOJ_89NXodDJSWfZOGt6eJr2bRsC6ysy1GLoEt0U4PQqqKxa1n-0IHJve87X3rkEeDn4yoowZgfSFvB2EPyXXii4elvtfYczATeMlwdqZg4tvJOUl_CP9ETuwV4Hgd2SfA/s400/DSCF7342.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517235703277257922" /></a><br /><br />She talked about wild food and some unusual ideas for preserving and pickling, which was fascinating, and we even won a prize from her of some walnuts that she had collected on her drive down from Birmingham. Brilliant!<br /><br />I was a bit of a loser and asked for her autograph (I never do that, but I just couldn't not!) and talked to her about flea beetles, a very important subject I'm sure you'll agree.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtCBKnthBeTy0G4rsWwboNpMBDHqz2ZjtqCetA3_41qTHevMBpObQ1rzoT6NSTqthici9P3u53R9QlF0Tguo4h3FIt0PG-KvMCRcPkYp4zWdZSjjVYeh_YgMmHBqUsXn1OT6y0xg-ISWS/s1600/DSCF7357.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbtCBKnthBeTy0G4rsWwboNpMBDHqz2ZjtqCetA3_41qTHevMBpObQ1rzoT6NSTqthici9P3u53R9QlF0Tguo4h3FIt0PG-KvMCRcPkYp4zWdZSjjVYeh_YgMmHBqUsXn1OT6y0xg-ISWS/s400/DSCF7357.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517235714872851122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5ecD_SIAC-nmMyyn2av8W4qC1R0LmY0K034DBefJdQ2TYMbTTBFOaXST8jP-8MnY-wduYEJj2-1rvR_AxtKbQqmabc4sc8Jy9qh1CRoxgdJLhl7t-8GZRDKyeCLvRmDvdUg2V2MCR4lj/s1600/DSCF7352.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA5ecD_SIAC-nmMyyn2av8W4qC1R0LmY0K034DBefJdQ2TYMbTTBFOaXST8jP-8MnY-wduYEJj2-1rvR_AxtKbQqmabc4sc8Jy9qh1CRoxgdJLhl7t-8GZRDKyeCLvRmDvdUg2V2MCR4lj/s400/DSCF7352.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517235708877517714" /></a><br /><br />Finally, a visit to Jimmy's Farm wouldn't be complete without a mention of the pigs. We had a lovely talk from a pig expert about the different breeds and they all came out to show themselves off:<br /><br />Gloucester Old Spot<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajqcJNMfDuyTtJDRpDMxMCPk6zObeIRfD9Tmwh4P8u173J47TFGRq7Y9_LSXvqhwSulej0m2yZTjo4vaJCe-99Ns4KwAzyuy9ADDpHx_1ihR62FTRYW0qci5OKutgA9BGukhwpERFujVz/s1600/DSCF7331.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajqcJNMfDuyTtJDRpDMxMCPk6zObeIRfD9Tmwh4P8u173J47TFGRq7Y9_LSXvqhwSulej0m2yZTjo4vaJCe-99Ns4KwAzyuy9ADDpHx_1ihR62FTRYW0qci5OKutgA9BGukhwpERFujVz/s400/DSCF7331.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517237641894025266" /></a><br />Large Black<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHHuoSRh-qn8aIBru4YZIVoQJKCUIAyrcLSXo-oQuI0aS6_Na2UYqjHQgdwMMByncDZOi0-JxxVB08K2kNKC__aBwRokwBfb_iDTFLjTgoO-pzbNOqlhLehqF4YmIL9yJmSIGc9W46u3K/s1600/DSCF7330.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHHuoSRh-qn8aIBru4YZIVoQJKCUIAyrcLSXo-oQuI0aS6_Na2UYqjHQgdwMMByncDZOi0-JxxVB08K2kNKC__aBwRokwBfb_iDTFLjTgoO-pzbNOqlhLehqF4YmIL9yJmSIGc9W46u3K/s400/DSCF7330.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517237634751748594" /></a><br />Tamworth<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsahegBmn2KN_5b2B4kumR_UowPKS5Ws6C0rIb3YTO9Fdt78ktijQ5WJsE7Bm6KyYYf4FoUqExpGnjQscOGKubxpupH2Lwoyw9wngRzyEnhtpmuFu1T1fOFZXTQ6aQHQ2_yfoy0WhI1HQu/s1600/DSCF7327.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsahegBmn2KN_5b2B4kumR_UowPKS5Ws6C0rIb3YTO9Fdt78ktijQ5WJsE7Bm6KyYYf4FoUqExpGnjQscOGKubxpupH2Lwoyw9wngRzyEnhtpmuFu1T1fOFZXTQ6aQHQ2_yfoy0WhI1HQu/s400/DSCF7327.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517237630787723794" /></a><br />Wessex/Saddleback<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCLIqRVgeKwI4wRzkvT08JnAQ9LU5YmViwGooToAL93sUOimKkJsFxBYgmQDkHakF327DpYmTpBOKugEDwUsrHOrZjpof_qbTqTltcFVeRyFsfQ_OqyBP-emEsgGeQCgGuBXRCNcNrjSk/s1600/DSCF7322.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCLIqRVgeKwI4wRzkvT08JnAQ9LU5YmViwGooToAL93sUOimKkJsFxBYgmQDkHakF327DpYmTpBOKugEDwUsrHOrZjpof_qbTqTltcFVeRyFsfQ_OqyBP-emEsgGeQCgGuBXRCNcNrjSk/s400/DSCF7322.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517237622102197570" /></a><br />I thought this chap was an Essex but he's clearly not so he's nameless<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLt54i6IEJt5XlYjwfSqOwABzUChw-PBN9YNQsSg6fjbCF5B86084f-7m_R62o6JEsAZQeKgzhZyz9OGNlS31XUiOgpyNqElmT3nmW5Pvgt80Oz8HCrAp7wW7mJXggGGcXUj3z4WG2-Se/s1600/DSCF7319.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLt54i6IEJt5XlYjwfSqOwABzUChw-PBN9YNQsSg6fjbCF5B86084f-7m_R62o6JEsAZQeKgzhZyz9OGNlS31XUiOgpyNqElmT3nmW5Pvgt80Oz8HCrAp7wW7mJXggGGcXUj3z4WG2-Se/s400/DSCF7319.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517238251464974610" /></a><br />Middle White<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I9q40yUCiBbZ-Y8o57IlZbuIpIHXxcBM8QPeaflhfm15C-6MEgPZusj3KiJCBxNif-0bLq_kReONUsI7uaQAAJjSqTLyG9pcNYCcQz2IjYgl5vkzIKJDJOrzl9Ci1eXDqStWFv9jcM6y/s1600/DSCF7325.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I9q40yUCiBbZ-Y8o57IlZbuIpIHXxcBM8QPeaflhfm15C-6MEgPZusj3KiJCBxNif-0bLq_kReONUsI7uaQAAJjSqTLyG9pcNYCcQz2IjYgl5vkzIKJDJOrzl9Ci1eXDqStWFv9jcM6y/s400/DSCF7325.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517238243119252162" /></a><br /><br />It was just running around pigs that kept us amused either, there was plenty of piggy to fill our tummies (Katy, don't scroll down)...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRptR-G9BsRN_cbEONUOqEc4m7odErp39LT6JiSbpP6mG0pgrRHSb2VWA_z18PMWFZBb15z-JdRurAlT0OGcox4bCBgqHZZ0ZBhwhnhhA0cxGQztfzjYTHUAhSFaEpirGTV50rpz0Rmn-/s1600/DSCF7332.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRptR-G9BsRN_cbEONUOqEc4m7odErp39LT6JiSbpP6mG0pgrRHSb2VWA_z18PMWFZBb15z-JdRurAlT0OGcox4bCBgqHZZ0ZBhwhnhhA0cxGQztfzjYTHUAhSFaEpirGTV50rpz0Rmn-/s400/DSCF7332.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517238255564622530" /></a><br /><br />Pass me the apple sauce!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-53839750706185757672010-09-15T20:43:00.004+01:002010-09-15T20:51:39.785+01:00Produce updateI haven't done an update on the food that we're getting from our garden for a while so I thought it was about time...<br /><br />A couple of weeks ago we went down to the allotment, basket in hand, and had a good old harvest. The peas are pretty much spent so we picked the last of those (I think we've had over 4 months of peas, which is great considering I only successionally sowed twice and we had pea moth larvae). Some of the squash had also gone orange and hadn't grown in a few weeks so I decided to pick those. I'm glad I did because we now have a load more femal flowers fruiting, which is very exciting. We obviously had some courgettes (who doesn't?!) and the first of our tomatillos were ready so I picked some of those. I collected a jar of raspberries and I have also presented, harvest festival style, some of our chillis here. We've had over 15 chillis now from our 3 plants (and a good few to ripen yet) and 1 chilli is hot enough for a good kick in 4 portions of chilli!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-md2rNWA-390o3JpJYRUd9_kgX9_ZerMQPjpHJBuq6y8Y_Dale8MsJhFe0T_o5EBNJJdxdJqIk1cGAOl0awzn5v5q9uKB6NHQ5m8sZiLNkRkwlN2mjERo_A0CvU-ECUJ-JgcVtw7uDn9V/s1600/DSCF7305.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-md2rNWA-390o3JpJYRUd9_kgX9_ZerMQPjpHJBuq6y8Y_Dale8MsJhFe0T_o5EBNJJdxdJqIk1cGAOl0awzn5v5q9uKB6NHQ5m8sZiLNkRkwlN2mjERo_A0CvU-ECUJ-JgcVtw7uDn9V/s400/DSCF7305.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517228741691967538" /></a><br /><br />To celebrate our bounty, I roasted a squash, some courgettes, tomatillos and a chilli (which was a bit too hot!) with some of my mum's garlic and some thyme form the garden and we had it for a few meals with couscous. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-3WGa09D7hOsMPWNORqszN0lUow8XniVpWIjA2yqooJ_ihHFIiDgERMoX-HdeAKp_GscnJ_KIONZWjY1hk4QCglCWt6bVcIhRsDc1UlueXZgpJqnuicYgINreQMddKhH_q-CiEMrziM9/s1600/DSCF7308.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU-3WGa09D7hOsMPWNORqszN0lUow8XniVpWIjA2yqooJ_ihHFIiDgERMoX-HdeAKp_GscnJ_KIONZWjY1hk4QCglCWt6bVcIhRsDc1UlueXZgpJqnuicYgINreQMddKhH_q-CiEMrziM9/s400/DSCF7308.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517228733993800338" /></a><br /><br />We are also continuing to get a continuous crop of tomatoes, although no new ones are growing now as you would expect. I picked a small punnet's worth today to add to a paella that I'm cooking for friends on Friday night. Despite it not being a traditional paella ingredient, I am going to see if I can hide some courgette in there!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-90325391500878573362010-09-15T20:24:00.006+01:002010-09-15T20:43:55.055+01:00We all need some...preservationIt's been a while since I've updated the blog as you will see (once again I blame it on weddings, festivals and a PhD) so I have quite a bit to update on. <br /><br />Following on from the tomato ketchup success (it really is very delicious) i got the preserving bug.<br /><br />Firstly, I emptied the fridge of summer fruit so made a "summer fruit jam" which contained various quantities of blueberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and some alpine strawberries. It's quite delicious and has a lovely tart edge from the blackcurrants:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2iSMwXq7voL8uWChUs9edQjZdSQXStBzopl5CeGEkzaxRh9XQDpnphz970Y9MBHK96kiXDnbRy3HmqpiiVMzpEMOJ8hVmXrqRnIyhetUAnbugrjiw9AVq5o4lJFCK_VYMrxHdoJqmD1a/s1600/DSCF7208.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2iSMwXq7voL8uWChUs9edQjZdSQXStBzopl5CeGEkzaxRh9XQDpnphz970Y9MBHK96kiXDnbRy3HmqpiiVMzpEMOJ8hVmXrqRnIyhetUAnbugrjiw9AVq5o4lJFCK_VYMrxHdoJqmD1a/s400/DSCF7208.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517225772737389090" /></a><br /><br />Secondly, in true self-sufficientish style, I swapped half a dozen eggs for 1.5kg of plums from a lady at work. I kept some aside to grill with sugar and serve with ice cream but the rest I made into little jars of spiced plum chutney, which is yummy, and should be good for Christmas - I think it'll go well with turkey, or with my special Boxing day sprout and sweed sarnies (yummm!).<br /><br />Unfortunately I haven't taken any photos of the chitney jars so here is a montage of some of our produce:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGN02IFs6pD0X36sqJyRBfAF-k_aR1Y0XP-3_M3JDTc0c8ZtAsT0B4O6iKkgbyaHR6aNn8e1GRLqa-HCwOLC_aM03eQaxfgx4HFt4WcK79xkm0z-xI4PdLvabBCgFPgtGUN8H9aVtMc0Z/s1600/DSCF7306.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGN02IFs6pD0X36sqJyRBfAF-k_aR1Y0XP-3_M3JDTc0c8ZtAsT0B4O6iKkgbyaHR6aNn8e1GRLqa-HCwOLC_aM03eQaxfgx4HFt4WcK79xkm0z-xI4PdLvabBCgFPgtGUN8H9aVtMc0Z/s400/DSCF7306.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517227000603680162" /></a><br /><br />Finally, I walk in the gate every day and brush past the lovely bushy mint bush and it makes me long for mojitos so i decided to do something useful with some of the mint and make some mint jelly. My mummy made some delicious mint jelly when I was younger, which had lots of sugar and was like minty-jam. So, I decided to immitate this and make some lovely sweet mint jelly. It's very sticky but very nice and goes well with potatoes (and, I imagine, the aforementioned sprout and and sweed sanger):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OaRT42Bj1w2nEjYpaF0nf3ZZV7z2QOlHVGD_RI3X7K57pnL5IlE_LWc3WW8-_l7xh8QoazgereDO66N1jdtMYasWtVHbBtW5hU0FN9bbiEaJOeImyIlx6DrKgO74VoQB9s-OeUun1IkP/s1600/DSCF7310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OaRT42Bj1w2nEjYpaF0nf3ZZV7z2QOlHVGD_RI3X7K57pnL5IlE_LWc3WW8-_l7xh8QoazgereDO66N1jdtMYasWtVHbBtW5hU0FN9bbiEaJOeImyIlx6DrKgO74VoQB9s-OeUun1IkP/s400/DSCF7310.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517227909109495330" /></a><br /><br />So we have well stocked cupbopards for the winter...as long as our diet consists only of preserves!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-28044931767594916952010-08-30T22:19:00.003+01:002010-08-30T22:25:59.269+01:00Ketchup catch upWe went to the market on Saturday morning and, on the veg stall, they were giving away 4kg boxes of very ripe cherry toms for £2! Not ones to pass on a bargain, we snapped it up to make some ketchup!<br /><br />Here's a summary of the process, which took quite a lot of time because of the volume!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEios7C_vLk9k8NfInqUP_ZVwfk5j4VLZMWcJjoFybBQl3pPoUINn0iy9iznYa8V5WpDhhFyilgrSirOEgpBW_9Im1m5bysZEQXcvw1uVQLw9xLXz3rrnkhsXgveO1uFar3ypiXqTuhdhBFp/s1600/DSCF7211.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEios7C_vLk9k8NfInqUP_ZVwfk5j4VLZMWcJjoFybBQl3pPoUINn0iy9iznYa8V5WpDhhFyilgrSirOEgpBW_9Im1m5bysZEQXcvw1uVQLw9xLXz3rrnkhsXgveO1uFar3ypiXqTuhdhBFp/s400/DSCF7211.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511316817084087298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgsN3tCrYoH2-u8xkb2hZ6MOVp7oPDJDq6R7bvsyVc1ImaJfyLrq-5gatwWMGXVTlL-ru8QaATg8XoYMmHWobY2lYv7BigjmZWbm_ZKkILUKoKzwJmP6rRn9THvdCkC9d7ARux7zwHIGf/s1600/DSCF7212.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgsN3tCrYoH2-u8xkb2hZ6MOVp7oPDJDq6R7bvsyVc1ImaJfyLrq-5gatwWMGXVTlL-ru8QaATg8XoYMmHWobY2lYv7BigjmZWbm_ZKkILUKoKzwJmP6rRn9THvdCkC9d7ARux7zwHIGf/s400/DSCF7212.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511316810072370514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuKQqbv8Xzmm9Ft6WDc1Iu_Nd8bvG7TNM7bNU7s5ysnsbT0kgRs_bE_DMlJEhJL-ySuNKy9qNGfBcJcFdTGqo_i1ZLvRoGyz_xdNQLeomAJgn_fmr62bPJiX19K2NfJuztLYSK_4X3TIn/s1600/DSCF7213.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuKQqbv8Xzmm9Ft6WDc1Iu_Nd8bvG7TNM7bNU7s5ysnsbT0kgRs_bE_DMlJEhJL-ySuNKy9qNGfBcJcFdTGqo_i1ZLvRoGyz_xdNQLeomAJgn_fmr62bPJiX19K2NfJuztLYSK_4X3TIn/s400/DSCF7213.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511316801397540146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljzCk3vg1QPqNZZBhzk9bmWORtF7aFq7hJfKTiRGiSyucH9_Y2kAXbYW2L1-7Yb78iKzJun5I6dsqIbXFHBxARhlCRvrbFinOS6TVZhDQVDnURYqFroM6AhckI1YaWPa7Bs-dLGTQiz0y/s1600/DSCF7214.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljzCk3vg1QPqNZZBhzk9bmWORtF7aFq7hJfKTiRGiSyucH9_Y2kAXbYW2L1-7Yb78iKzJun5I6dsqIbXFHBxARhlCRvrbFinOS6TVZhDQVDnURYqFroM6AhckI1YaWPa7Bs-dLGTQiz0y/s400/DSCF7214.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511316792281783842" /></a><br /><br />The finished product, 5 bottles of ketchup and 2 of chilli ketchup...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPavIPQLmF6PberFO9p6bOYly9QFisWi-bSg1325X13-HZx1dl-pRu2RP7yLn_N3uYdgKraT-yYnKVkSxzWhzOKMZxfQMVtT8Ah_chIUhg73KkoQSeT3l1gYDRMPmnlKI5zSId6DFBmASl/s1600/DSCF7218.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPavIPQLmF6PberFO9p6bOYly9QFisWi-bSg1325X13-HZx1dl-pRu2RP7yLn_N3uYdgKraT-yYnKVkSxzWhzOKMZxfQMVtT8Ah_chIUhg73KkoQSeT3l1gYDRMPmnlKI5zSId6DFBmASl/s400/DSCF7218.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511316783157097186" /></a><br /><br />and I have to say, it's absolutely delicious!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-55910975684464903692010-08-15T21:13:00.004+01:002010-08-15T21:47:35.284+01:00It's all over!At last, after 3 weekends of work, the pergola and paving is complete! We finish the weekend once again, absolutely knackered, but satisfied to be done!<br /><br />Here it is:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdvGDnmI6L3bI8fhP5VegQaN51QITi_IrmBlF4FFJcPnTgOxw03b6ef1PiUFydICesE_cR9IrLrr2f9bF9npCLDamxX7JnUQCe1Pef34plQS2R7x8NaJA1yQopmee02aCGt6LO9ngtAYK/s1600/DSCF7196.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNdvGDnmI6L3bI8fhP5VegQaN51QITi_IrmBlF4FFJcPnTgOxw03b6ef1PiUFydICesE_cR9IrLrr2f9bF9npCLDamxX7JnUQCe1Pef34plQS2R7x8NaJA1yQopmee02aCGt6LO9ngtAYK/s400/DSCF7196.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505734204554791714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe63yv0f5B3GTena0-y042PDflhIXA-SPejaTgJGbbF1M7KvgVHw629FXi9GTnaDwYeqiJm6BXFyaMINH9NLs5d1pPzjwOnsD3wn0F65KyMtGP2W7lBPot-Tb_cmg7pkgib6ZdcTSKKFCu/s1600/DSCF7197.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe63yv0f5B3GTena0-y042PDflhIXA-SPejaTgJGbbF1M7KvgVHw629FXi9GTnaDwYeqiJm6BXFyaMINH9NLs5d1pPzjwOnsD3wn0F65KyMtGP2W7lBPot-Tb_cmg7pkgib6ZdcTSKKFCu/s400/DSCF7197.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505734207310440642" /></a><br /><br />We're so pleased with it, even if it does look a bit orange at the moment! I have planted the hop on the right, with the fig tree in front as well as some wild strawberries which I had in pots but I thought would be lovely rambling around the base of the fig once they get the chance. I can't wait to see how it develops over the years as the greenery takes over. I have ordered our grape vine (Kentish Claret) to go on the left hand side. I can't wait to get a little bench to go underneath it...hopefully next weekend!<br /><br />As you can see, the lawn has taken a bit of a battering so I have sowed some grass seed and hopefully it'll recover in no time. <br /><br />Other news of the day is that our beautiful Hollyhock took a battering in the wind today and sadly one of the stalks snapped. Sad for the front garden but happy for the house because I stripped the flowers off and filled a couple of vases. Lovely!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPX4hhpEe6sOm14VSJMAtsWsAruzUNYeliNV9VgYT_LP8IMxxSY9X4zkNzRVTyD6f7wJr59C9CRIJv1h6L2rVhRc8-OH7YPvkRFMU_zehiCfev0fVOhkgrq7HnbppbBZFovaeGKkH6BcG/s1600/DSCF7199.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPX4hhpEe6sOm14VSJMAtsWsAruzUNYeliNV9VgYT_LP8IMxxSY9X4zkNzRVTyD6f7wJr59C9CRIJv1h6L2rVhRc8-OH7YPvkRFMU_zehiCfev0fVOhkgrq7HnbppbBZFovaeGKkH6BcG/s400/DSCF7199.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505734217433287714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYCYm8sOAnbGxokQlkK5vmfbeYenqfxdAg2iMyd4qTTJysr3CO_mfIJidIB8z1N6uILGonixzXKyk181wQiWKI_egu4TewEJEpFhHSE7_Dk7eYA3rjOVlgulkTB-gRpvd_1gR8v05u07r/s1600/DSCF7201.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYCYm8sOAnbGxokQlkK5vmfbeYenqfxdAg2iMyd4qTTJysr3CO_mfIJidIB8z1N6uILGonixzXKyk181wQiWKI_egu4TewEJEpFhHSE7_Dk7eYA3rjOVlgulkTB-gRpvd_1gR8v05u07r/s400/DSCF7201.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505734219296696722" /></a><br /><br />It's got to be bedtime soon. It's been such an active weekend with all of the digging and two outings on my new bike. I'm so glad I'm working from home tomorrow - lie in!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-29732610834344418452010-08-14T14:21:00.003+01:002010-08-14T14:29:41.325+01:00I want to ride my bicycleTonbridge, despite being a small town, has 3 bike shops! The best, in my humble opinion is a little shed crammed full of second hand bikes run by a man who, we are told, as a further 200 in his garden at home as well as a load more in a lock up! For some time we have been pondering whether to get a bike so, finding ourselves with a free Saturday morning, we paid him a visit. <br /><br />We were seriously tempted by the tandem he had standing there but decided that it might not be very practical! So, I am now the proud owner of a very lovely metallic orange Puch Sprint...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85J12chhVOvWW52ns_wWWbFwuitD6EeMawgTvhVQLApYYVHSJWDnHh3wa1cjxSKsIpRCapbE8igWp19n7j9dEQtyJvOWIY_b2QS4u9rxQaZqYsQLTLUb1kDNK2d4Y7Lg5M1eUtj_SQBBf/s1600/DSCF7193.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85J12chhVOvWW52ns_wWWbFwuitD6EeMawgTvhVQLApYYVHSJWDnHh3wa1cjxSKsIpRCapbE8igWp19n7j9dEQtyJvOWIY_b2QS4u9rxQaZqYsQLTLUb1kDNK2d4Y7Lg5M1eUtj_SQBBf/s400/DSCF7193.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505255955672785458" /></a><br /><br />Isn't she beeeeeooootiful? I immediately popped down to one of the other bike shops (somewhat larger!) and got her a basket which I think she wears very well indeed.<br /><br />I haven't really riden a bike for at least a decade but was pleased with how well I got on. I did a turn of the park, discovering a little village of barges on the river which I didn't know existed. I let Matt have a go too. The bike man is going to see if he has any vintagy men's bikes at home so we will pop back next Saturday to find out and, fingers crossed, we can both have one!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-29162032524584941442010-08-09T20:33:00.005+01:002010-08-09T20:39:00.343+01:001 more of our 52 mealsWe managed to have another of our <a href="http://fifty-twomeals.blogspot.com/">52 meals to save the planet</a> (from Home Farmer magazine - aiming to grow enough to make 1 meal a week from your own produce) last week - stuffed courgette (stuffed with breadcrumbs, nuts, tomatoes, courgettes flesh and cheese)with new potatoes and salad. All from the garden! (apart from some of the stuffing)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXs7vmj-5ujP-ChZr2wvodTj3DOQo-0Kk98CIsao5Ot85q3KsljwxFc_5YoKFQDzhwkutdtt6qGa18dfj8WNoaPEc4Q8XfWDZlIlo81qYZZ79fjSOfd9UNYcyugm_aB_DoHxUv0gJXSJp/s1600/DSCF7150.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCXs7vmj-5ujP-ChZr2wvodTj3DOQo-0Kk98CIsao5Ot85q3KsljwxFc_5YoKFQDzhwkutdtt6qGa18dfj8WNoaPEc4Q8XfWDZlIlo81qYZZ79fjSOfd9UNYcyugm_aB_DoHxUv0gJXSJp/s400/DSCF7150.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495828875401698" /></a><br /><br />Very excitingly, we are also getting loads of ripe tomatoes. We have always suffered from Blight in the past and, as such, have always had to make do with green tomatoes but tihs year we have red! We have just had some for dinner with cheese and ham on toast - yummmm!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiKkeoHorWpvbpQyVvSAqrVvfpEs1AWqJTuL8XgZD9R9d_2yCwbFDaWnnE7ynZvTvRmCLjNdiGdyvPWJeMwhDIFLpfNbR9pIgtAO1t5sVY9GwusGRUC7NcLWHGVvH6UhBm2jibQMAi4wH/s1600/DSCF7186.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXiKkeoHorWpvbpQyVvSAqrVvfpEs1AWqJTuL8XgZD9R9d_2yCwbFDaWnnE7ynZvTvRmCLjNdiGdyvPWJeMwhDIFLpfNbR9pIgtAO1t5sVY9GwusGRUC7NcLWHGVvH6UhBm2jibQMAi4wH/s400/DSCF7186.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495845731918514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Km8nGz_3XGCdhdJA_I5t6LxXUGrzH-iEtS6Jw7wYdR5T0uX8U5w_Dlralib_NsOClZqKjb6sq7ds8F7HgxBF0bf_hRXDfDAqz6vRu6kQ4zZA-rrCw1IKjGn4iA5Zkes-aUfqnwfdz30w/s1600/DSCF7184.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Km8nGz_3XGCdhdJA_I5t6LxXUGrzH-iEtS6Jw7wYdR5T0uX8U5w_Dlralib_NsOClZqKjb6sq7ds8F7HgxBF0bf_hRXDfDAqz6vRu6kQ4zZA-rrCw1IKjGn4iA5Zkes-aUfqnwfdz30w/s400/DSCF7184.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495854695536034" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-65203458199513906062010-08-09T20:28:00.004+01:002010-08-09T20:33:02.536+01:00Wild flower meadowFor Christmas my sister, Katy, gave me a couple of packets of wild flowers, one of which I scattered down the back of the allotment where nothing else will grow and they've done remarkably well. Here is a selection:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1poXq-M5ttN9SnxAl1MPSzCSmqBB4ZLBWalh5jWYXNDB8lvWeeQkDXXb33KaaOd2pZe1e9XYStsqzPOkD4q6uPIKahzx4QPJFKWve6PA24e1vd_baItqZVZUacQjKk3zB9886OkzUHrq4/s1600/DSCF7148.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1poXq-M5ttN9SnxAl1MPSzCSmqBB4ZLBWalh5jWYXNDB8lvWeeQkDXXb33KaaOd2pZe1e9XYStsqzPOkD4q6uPIKahzx4QPJFKWve6PA24e1vd_baItqZVZUacQjKk3zB9886OkzUHrq4/s400/DSCF7148.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495241049363714" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBpbKFPDEkRdw6WOOQzi87OlSxanZ7z5SwxYjs9PgfI5DUbl3j-Pas6l9Nn_bmRk35B4e7gluFlIdmW19xzKNrJ05OIkV1uQaRR32ahzkZrauS5Tb-lfzMo7YY3ka2sh9BUB0IHsyyEzh/s1600/DSCF7147.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBpbKFPDEkRdw6WOOQzi87OlSxanZ7z5SwxYjs9PgfI5DUbl3j-Pas6l9Nn_bmRk35B4e7gluFlIdmW19xzKNrJ05OIkV1uQaRR32ahzkZrauS5Tb-lfzMo7YY3ka2sh9BUB0IHsyyEzh/s400/DSCF7147.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495232403401266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhPombk3oSo4GfenJlh2F0cAkDKY9dl-7U0a2brPvjWkfr0rYFzNY47ryFs95yeziTZj18M94QEwTW90nanrDUNOXhEKfPDPTSIS6kdI4JlOUsR2-fYxQQgyeSABzuIJ5tHQF294cgBDh/s1600/DSCF7146.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhPombk3oSo4GfenJlh2F0cAkDKY9dl-7U0a2brPvjWkfr0rYFzNY47ryFs95yeziTZj18M94QEwTW90nanrDUNOXhEKfPDPTSIS6kdI4JlOUsR2-fYxQQgyeSABzuIJ5tHQF294cgBDh/s400/DSCF7146.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495230132242674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS7pWf6iLZ52z-cyWAUjo6GunzrlT3ge2CZyWgI7svdjBxMvUtP8lQYMSAUGv1jHRhaDBOpGG1hshQCE0Gg1a7wycyIGYRq49dajbpye8L_mawD9_VgJui1TaG_N9mRPS3t18e9LTsAwh/s1600/DSCF7144.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicS7pWf6iLZ52z-cyWAUjo6GunzrlT3ge2CZyWgI7svdjBxMvUtP8lQYMSAUGv1jHRhaDBOpGG1hshQCE0Gg1a7wycyIGYRq49dajbpye8L_mawD9_VgJui1TaG_N9mRPS3t18e9LTsAwh/s400/DSCF7144.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495221434929410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQTC5sfWAOy-9Rv7WrMQOrXxrfRtwn4gq2Q-enn140t8Dt9W7DyZA2QGrri7qe-OBbNje-nnnP3lt4Ujg0C7uWCDBAUCXLyB2DiVLC3vAm8ZDYFhDGNncGNelRuthUDYA25KLL7KWLWih/s1600/DSCF7143.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQTC5sfWAOy-9Rv7WrMQOrXxrfRtwn4gq2Q-enn140t8Dt9W7DyZA2QGrri7qe-OBbNje-nnnP3lt4Ujg0C7uWCDBAUCXLyB2DiVLC3vAm8ZDYFhDGNncGNelRuthUDYA25KLL7KWLWih/s400/DSCF7143.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503495208194106706" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-47331371871510070912010-08-09T20:23:00.002+01:002010-08-09T20:27:58.048+01:00Pergola shangrilaOn Saturday night I had my last hen night of the year (number 5!) and Matt his penultimate wedding (number 4) so we went our seperate ways to eat drink and be merry. This made it doubly difficult to get up early on Sunday morning to lay a patio but lay we did...for 11 hours! We cam frustratingly close but the weather and the final episode of Sherlock conspired against us so we put it on hold and have just now finished. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGV2AiUhp_BsJTEnCxkxCTIFoPvi9X1yk_yEeKhDAbt930YQb1hh558sxuE8KgwkwLuggMMwGL6KcRitR4YS68rOkKnRzvunQu3OlELp5I4rUfBeY2lzZtOvI1vVVzj-BsH7qaq53RScYQ/s1600/DSCF7187.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGV2AiUhp_BsJTEnCxkxCTIFoPvi9X1yk_yEeKhDAbt930YQb1hh558sxuE8KgwkwLuggMMwGL6KcRitR4YS68rOkKnRzvunQu3OlELp5I4rUfBeY2lzZtOvI1vVVzj-BsH7qaq53RScYQ/s400/DSCF7187.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503491682123922098" /></a><br /><br />The garden looks like a building site still, and the poor grass is suffering but by the weekend (in which we have nothing to do - hurrah!) we will have it all cleared and I will be spending Saturday digging a nice big hole for the giant pot I've bought for the fig tree while Matt finishes the patio edges and we attach the trellis. I might make a trip to the garden centre to get some nice shade loving plants for the back of the patio, where this is a little strip of mud. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBh3DO1Dn0f8sx7Gs40nbpJfuaqKccDIoi8wMdP_p4xjuwUBKmkztPrEP-kEef1gaH7k7z7NuA2MGHAN7bK0B6AN7PGhIempE_fyauTHdq_4Ftsav4-LKCYaWnn-NIlhDk9UJkOG5wPIE/s1600/DSCF7188.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBh3DO1Dn0f8sx7Gs40nbpJfuaqKccDIoi8wMdP_p4xjuwUBKmkztPrEP-kEef1gaH7k7z7NuA2MGHAN7bK0B6AN7PGhIempE_fyauTHdq_4Ftsav4-LKCYaWnn-NIlhDk9UJkOG5wPIE/s400/DSCF7188.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503491684683831202" /></a><br /><br />After we finished there was nothing else to do that have a celebratory cheese cake and shandy. A meal fit for royalty!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8cVCdHbYVra3KSsHpQryr5h-KeMiVmgyzPdTOnIL06a1UGrlUpxDT3J2ooycKbQwCDVVZsHFCiBEnKbQFOoK5rlVuYoY2dHsR2mWPu_BbcgJCbw1_fkjwxrXDerOPtC5riY5cGPcVWZI/s1600/DSCF7189.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8cVCdHbYVra3KSsHpQryr5h-KeMiVmgyzPdTOnIL06a1UGrlUpxDT3J2ooycKbQwCDVVZsHFCiBEnKbQFOoK5rlVuYoY2dHsR2mWPu_BbcgJCbw1_fkjwxrXDerOPtC5riY5cGPcVWZI/s400/DSCF7189.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503491693831956386" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-47846947173590585892010-08-09T20:13:00.003+01:002010-08-09T20:23:15.549+01:00A Blue daySaturday was an emotional day for us as we said goodbye to our little Blue. Poor thing has always, in the 7 months that we've had her, been sickly, and has been laying softies for a couple of months. She hadn't eaten for days so we took her to the vet and he confirmed what we thought - egg peritonitis. It's fatal 99% of the time and although she looked perky we decided it would be cruel to keep her alive just for our benefit so the very nice vet let us say goodbye and off she went. We know we did the right thing but still sad to see her go - we always love the under-chicken and she was certainly that!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTa5FEHW5L7_oj3yCoqvSuDh74eHvWdUyTtrb0_QfSScO0RuLPic7pt1HdHQvmdrOuQgdhv7ihltUiTKAajBfpqBkemW0wYvJ6rEWDp2m7hr5YltRmB7t569nPpZFDUoL8GYX49gPTd-t/s1600/DSCF7174.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTa5FEHW5L7_oj3yCoqvSuDh74eHvWdUyTtrb0_QfSScO0RuLPic7pt1HdHQvmdrOuQgdhv7ihltUiTKAajBfpqBkemW0wYvJ6rEWDp2m7hr5YltRmB7t569nPpZFDUoL8GYX49gPTd-t/s400/DSCF7174.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503492560072330786" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-19503715672152901732010-08-05T21:47:00.007+01:002010-08-05T22:12:57.404+01:00Pergola-la-laI have been thinking about a pergola for some time. An odd thing to think about I'm sure you'll agree but I have been certain that our garden really lacked it. Our neighbours gardens are so empty of plants etc (although one side is getting better) that we don't get anything filling any space so it makes our garden feel even emptier! So I decided a pergola was the answer...<br /><br />This weekend just gone we took a couple of days off so we had some time to get it done. We took our little car down to the local timber merchants and placed our order, which they prepared straight away (very nice chaps) - we managed to fit it all in the car and get it home without losing any out of the open boot (phew!). <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGmzacSsOP7R62OxlaI5yb-yrW74YwEBPy3W5OfAHQiU6nxyvBYoKj_BxZ2TmdwmWM52MWQSs025vjdPLjVA9ckatSISDWqGX-2K4J7hcIHx9gKcESxJu0b4-iisxfNyiJI9blVJ77ZRh/s1600/PIC_1473.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGmzacSsOP7R62OxlaI5yb-yrW74YwEBPy3W5OfAHQiU6nxyvBYoKj_BxZ2TmdwmWM52MWQSs025vjdPLjVA9ckatSISDWqGX-2K4J7hcIHx9gKcESxJu0b4-iisxfNyiJI9blVJ77ZRh/s400/PIC_1473.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502034927410065154" /></a><br /><br />Two very hot and sweaty days later we got the main posts up:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdiLzFcrhZ7u7dWR0dKJwxxYeRxF3E0PS4XAWgmTd1slaiN1y_ueJtLkj9kcCPL_k2y8mfvVQjUjX0SjULn5r3QS6XFEZigqji0_gPluiZNhv5ECpS5_SE94ZIZ44p59k88V447ucJqdx/s1600/PIC_1474.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdiLzFcrhZ7u7dWR0dKJwxxYeRxF3E0PS4XAWgmTd1slaiN1y_ueJtLkj9kcCPL_k2y8mfvVQjUjX0SjULn5r3QS6XFEZigqji0_gPluiZNhv5ECpS5_SE94ZIZ44p59k88V447ucJqdx/s400/PIC_1474.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502034917447262466" /></a><br /><br />I'm afraid I don't have a photo of the finished product yet. The cross beams are now on (not in this photo). We are also going to put some trellis panels on the left and right hand side (to the left and right of the main posts) for the grape and hop to grow up. The fig tree is also going to go into the ground in front of the right hand side. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TKUwg3h7OchGyIA8Pu5cw1Q58i_0fEeRxFdMGJOsf3A6OdK1YGVcG8KIRP4ruv4RDzp0l0JcE94ljZULaI0T6w2bLs2YYbPoqGeV3fu1XNUtcX7CCUj1B_4kznCT-lUPhxtJjXUwO2Jz/s1600/PIC_1475.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TKUwg3h7OchGyIA8Pu5cw1Q58i_0fEeRxFdMGJOsf3A6OdK1YGVcG8KIRP4ruv4RDzp0l0JcE94ljZULaI0T6w2bLs2YYbPoqGeV3fu1XNUtcX7CCUj1B_4kznCT-lUPhxtJjXUwO2Jz/s400/PIC_1475.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502034909661890226" /></a><br /><br />We also still have the patio to finish. We tried to get some nice reclaimed tiles from the local reclamation yard but were shocked to discover that they were £3.50 each (we would have needed 250!), which is considerably more expensive than those that we've seen before so plan B was Homebase where we found some nice-ish brick tiles. Not perfect but they'll do! We need over 200 of them so I did 2 shifts bringing them home in the car so that it wasn't too heavy. I still have one or two more loads to go but couldn't face it this weekend so I will need to get up early on Saturday to get them while Matt starts preparing the ground for laying them.<br /><br />The chickens decided that we needed some assistance with the pergola. This is Rom, who decided that a pile of bricks would be a good place to sit (she just hopped up there. Isn't she clever!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6HolOCFuH978zLLscC1itvWPdwlyHk-KLEyUI0RD828vwC_aNeuKtF3p8rpJJ9QaybnB0RSl_mVjn9BjOapwKXRyVdO18AP_uoDOGtxb0qFpjhQbwHVC8LrkBGtp2Q7LNYn6sbdnZSix/s1600/DSCF7181.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA6HolOCFuH978zLLscC1itvWPdwlyHk-KLEyUI0RD828vwC_aNeuKtF3p8rpJJ9QaybnB0RSl_mVjn9BjOapwKXRyVdO18AP_uoDOGtxb0qFpjhQbwHVC8LrkBGtp2Q7LNYn6sbdnZSix/s400/DSCF7181.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502032982056582946" /></a><br /><br />Blue, who is still quite ill and having antibiotics, was also trying to help Matt by removing bugs and worms from below the ladder. Isn't she good. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPwmfXfueF6VTdGVhtRYBvAZHun8I6N8E5C8r3gOh3tA-KGvG5PxEK7Up7cNtd0mdxDAdOKJCXEGp8gC2v_gSxR7QnYASNNIhKVS2FzumpqN8iwK78lXVoRMDhwhSG0ZK94KiXmvyyNjK/s1600/DSCF7177.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPwmfXfueF6VTdGVhtRYBvAZHun8I6N8E5C8r3gOh3tA-KGvG5PxEK7Up7cNtd0mdxDAdOKJCXEGp8gC2v_gSxR7QnYASNNIhKVS2FzumpqN8iwK78lXVoRMDhwhSG0ZK94KiXmvyyNjK/s400/DSCF7177.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502032974317704194" /></a><br /><br />Having dug out the post holes, and some of the paving area, we made a nice pile of soil on some tarpaulin ready to go down to the allotment. The girls, however, had different ideas. Apparently a neat pile is not the done thing and a nice flat dusty spread across the lawn would be much better:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaY8xOEPSVtGcSfIHwx2ytzWn2DQ02MJuCO4IMCF7ZUDWKFthjpQMj7l9uBcrphuoeofGPUfAjRfJCdKDfasjFc6ZQ3RYwXnkULQgIRmDYXbrf-ayaZq8CxlRfwpCWh0I716NJdkLzCUhd/s1600/DSCF7183.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaY8xOEPSVtGcSfIHwx2ytzWn2DQ02MJuCO4IMCF7ZUDWKFthjpQMj7l9uBcrphuoeofGPUfAjRfJCdKDfasjFc6ZQ3RYwXnkULQgIRmDYXbrf-ayaZq8CxlRfwpCWh0I716NJdkLzCUhd/s400/DSCF7183.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502033311565122978" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-69054680638204090412010-07-26T21:29:00.004+01:002010-07-26T21:54:05.806+01:00Ground ForceI have been feeling rather down about our garden recently - the grass is looking a bit scraggy (I refuse to water it), and the chickens went on a rampage last week and flattened lots of plants. I have also been neglecting the beds a little bit recently (working and doing a PhD doesn't leave much time for gardening!) and we are planning on building a pergola so it feels a little bit in limbo.<br /><br />In order to make myself feel a bit better me and my mummy went plant shopping at the weekend - spending some of my birthday money from grandma. <br /><br />A lovely Hibiscus ("red heart") - with big white flowers with a dark red centre, which I have put near the back and hoping it will fill out nicely over the next few months and years. <br /><br />I managed to find a white Hollyhock which I was delighted about, being one of my favourite flowering plants. It's gone in at the back in the hope that it will spread and get nice and tall in future years. Katy has also given me a pink one which she has grown from seed from one of her plants so hopefully we will get some nice big spikes of flower next year to add to the "family"! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv63ATVpx9dFVfWqujd-TzBD8x-Ipe25h2mxhs6fK4o3tbrj_Kg49iG3_yozkJo3cqukYXZcMBE6SkF3zuGLCmbQgJxcaJryrPuZIOiwpvG4-bpDLv7rYRek_yhSCp0KiyvldfwQBpZhdO/s1600/DSCF7127.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv63ATVpx9dFVfWqujd-TzBD8x-Ipe25h2mxhs6fK4o3tbrj_Kg49iG3_yozkJo3cqukYXZcMBE6SkF3zuGLCmbQgJxcaJryrPuZIOiwpvG4-bpDLv7rYRek_yhSCp0KiyvldfwQBpZhdO/s400/DSCF7127.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498316034517254674" /></a><br /><br />The most gorgeous Delphinium (Guardian Blue) with flowers which look blue but are actually a mixture of blue and purple. Again, at the back, and there are plenty of buds which I'm hoping will open.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayeXsQQPO4iXz3Kd2BjW2l660B-ndbQA-Qyj6QKqeyOlk9dm8vSEq9Sux0MQ_4XcaqxO6Z0YwJzMzeSDOgSYn-02ZgfetksT1Z42BQ9Y5mh6AYkFE5cI2ZatW93SZa9T9VuPI_VZH4Ovm/s1600/DSCF7140.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayeXsQQPO4iXz3Kd2BjW2l660B-ndbQA-Qyj6QKqeyOlk9dm8vSEq9Sux0MQ_4XcaqxO6Z0YwJzMzeSDOgSYn-02ZgfetksT1Z42BQ9Y5mh6AYkFE5cI2ZatW93SZa9T9VuPI_VZH4Ovm/s400/DSCF7140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498317300981619410" /></a><br /><br />Coreopsis (grandiflora Sunfire), which has amazing yellow flowers with a red centre, and has tonnes of flowers, which I am hoping I can keep going by deadheading and picking for cut flowers - the bees seem to love it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uuAy9zm-ZU-VFZVpNU8A2RS9Bw-KnHY_4AN-SBS83wYfAUbLuZtzuZ4F5xiXSo9T9c35bTkugP7SyYJnbNSBQGy9tE1jtgYI62c9sUzKfWS3eRz-cIN5k1jwWwqGr-I_zZHaQwd8zVN3/s1600/DSCF7133.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uuAy9zm-ZU-VFZVpNU8A2RS9Bw-KnHY_4AN-SBS83wYfAUbLuZtzuZ4F5xiXSo9T9c35bTkugP7SyYJnbNSBQGy9tE1jtgYI62c9sUzKfWS3eRz-cIN5k1jwWwqGr-I_zZHaQwd8zVN3/s400/DSCF7133.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498317293665356146" /></a><br /><br />Next to the bright yellow sunfire, I have a Catanache (blue), which has silvery foliage which lots of purple flowers on tall stems. They close up in the evening so I don't have a photo, but they are very pretty and make a lovely rustling sound in the wind. <br /><br />I also got some little plants to go at the front of the bed - a lovely little yellow poppy, which again has lots of buds which I am hoping will open. It looks everso delecate so I am hoping I don't kill it!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3b38bBD8KqLelwXLsQskvn0PIeE99FrTcVK4YU_7MoY-F_XGqD43eqLHc1wFYAwu5s_kr-G-UbP1WdAYcAnGVFOmfDNfjZdLt5ziHC0nulnMZywRKPURGZE9PZYB1Pw82RRv8od1lMjqP/s1600/DSCF7130.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3b38bBD8KqLelwXLsQskvn0PIeE99FrTcVK4YU_7MoY-F_XGqD43eqLHc1wFYAwu5s_kr-G-UbP1WdAYcAnGVFOmfDNfjZdLt5ziHC0nulnMZywRKPURGZE9PZYB1Pw82RRv8od1lMjqP/s400/DSCF7130.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498316045904008290" /></a><br /><br />Also at the front is this very pretty Sanvitalia (Inca), which has tiny yellow daisy like flowers. I think it should spread nicely under the larger plants. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdTtTPOu0YJ42czFFRkzNhFonXqF3IHKoqbanyBwVFDaE8SWdvj7IQ5wTqKUsey8oqSA2K1u2iIni5aHG1rTrF9hjZN6nU9gUM31Cw4Wl1wL_9wbnBqpIiF8OQS2dh0kZfNFH6vhjGIHe/s1600/DSCF7131.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdTtTPOu0YJ42czFFRkzNhFonXqF3IHKoqbanyBwVFDaE8SWdvj7IQ5wTqKUsey8oqSA2K1u2iIni5aHG1rTrF9hjZN6nU9gUM31Cw4Wl1wL_9wbnBqpIiF8OQS2dh0kZfNFH6vhjGIHe/s400/DSCF7131.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498316048888463474" /></a><br /><br />Finally, these lovely evergreen bedding plants (Lysimachia Aurea), on the right, which has beautiful light green foliage which looks like it will spread across the ground and provide some nice winter colour. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fT9tlQhEIsBEiDmOQZDSXmVku2jFBa5ov_OJ0nHQ-3KnOz-2qv_VXS5pORIJt1zoJjbFeNe3nvWZAkMYOcTs0MOuHXdAfdzmxwqhbpk0OKL3Scgac7ochQLqXUqNXMRxc_VzoYXuRjs3/s1600/DSCF7141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fT9tlQhEIsBEiDmOQZDSXmVku2jFBa5ov_OJ0nHQ-3KnOz-2qv_VXS5pORIJt1zoJjbFeNe3nvWZAkMYOcTs0MOuHXdAfdzmxwqhbpk0OKL3Scgac7ochQLqXUqNXMRxc_VzoYXuRjs3/s400/DSCF7141.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498317310085454514" /></a><br /><br />The produce that we have in the garden is also doing really well. We have some cayenne chillis in the greenhouse, which has HUGE chillis on them. I've done so much better this year at watering and tending them and it really shows. I just need to keep it up now! The tomatoes, which I hadn't intended to grow but just popped up out of mummy's compost! I'm glad they did though, and hopefully August will be sunny enough to ripen them. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYuE-EspnFn6b7GEO7QbfalL6kDMyCjOFC5kF897IBb3DJw2XmdL1wK2Ayz1Els2y0jXyKBSddw69DJ9cDQMtTpgZBNxnpa7diFPWuyEzPDficCKVBK93yzY4ipIwVpjf961ob33bA2MG/s1600/DSCF7122.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYuE-EspnFn6b7GEO7QbfalL6kDMyCjOFC5kF897IBb3DJw2XmdL1wK2Ayz1Els2y0jXyKBSddw69DJ9cDQMtTpgZBNxnpa7diFPWuyEzPDficCKVBK93yzY4ipIwVpjf961ob33bA2MG/s400/DSCF7122.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498316003143948610" /></a><br /><br />All in all I think the garden looks a lot better. Not perfect, I still have a lot that I want to do, not least build the the pergola. I would also like to fill it with more plants including some climbing up the fences on either side to make it feel more lush.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKd_dIvdolcs1imbjER1F9mn-msFB_wpTrGQBPoVy6euLSJYs18Fdf79TZ0VRA07A74x0SiFTgA9XoBsXhLEJKUSrkna-vKXl0b6QelABf3bCjFyI_RH_jVY-uoIJ7EsXjRVJajxPLCpf_/s1600/DSCF7142.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKd_dIvdolcs1imbjER1F9mn-msFB_wpTrGQBPoVy6euLSJYs18Fdf79TZ0VRA07A74x0SiFTgA9XoBsXhLEJKUSrkna-vKXl0b6QelABf3bCjFyI_RH_jVY-uoIJ7EsXjRVJajxPLCpf_/s400/DSCF7142.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498317315220388418" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfHhl5qWG9oXN76K6ZNIxSqKqSTLJKVYjFBHA2naGkLrBbgt0yEgN-58nOAV6z1ACWb3DQChOw-FtOjfEMz0ocK_fX2znd-jGZejZARPZfdKblZ6vrOmfT8Jhl2nxN0yt_dWnbBRw3taa/s1600/DSCF7123.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfHhl5qWG9oXN76K6ZNIxSqKqSTLJKVYjFBHA2naGkLrBbgt0yEgN-58nOAV6z1ACWb3DQChOw-FtOjfEMz0ocK_fX2znd-jGZejZARPZfdKblZ6vrOmfT8Jhl2nxN0yt_dWnbBRw3taa/s400/DSCF7123.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498316022788708530" /></a>Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-82281112740144893322010-07-26T21:14:00.004+01:002010-07-26T21:28:01.395+01:00No potato famine here!This Sunday, Matt had his family visiting while I went off to a friend's wedding. Normally you would expect a family visit to involve tea, maybe a nice dinner or some wine. But oh no, Matt put them to work on the allotment, they had to earn their keep!<br /><br />They filled the water butt (well needed!), pulled up the spent beans and dug up the early potatoes. The potatoes have suffered from the lack of water and too much heat somewhat and the first earlies were hit by frost so we were sure that we wouldn't get much of a crop. How wrong we were!<br /><br />The first earlies, which looked very pathetic, produced a nice little crop of new potatoes (Chopin):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqpDgWbm2qu4_NYknvWIktabXCOK2p_254AuZZwlXoqAqcu9jTzfKtqII9YQFWusdy4fMkb0onTu9Cx__HbFVNEsJZRHK20zeNVZD1lToz9SCBWeaqzqxQ429Ui2RwNJKW_f-B1Sx-KD5/s1600/DSCF7119.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqpDgWbm2qu4_NYknvWIktabXCOK2p_254AuZZwlXoqAqcu9jTzfKtqII9YQFWusdy4fMkb0onTu9Cx__HbFVNEsJZRHK20zeNVZD1lToz9SCBWeaqzqxQ429Ui2RwNJKW_f-B1Sx-KD5/s400/DSCF7119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498313202563290930" /></a><br /><br />The second earlies were more impressive. The kestrels in particular, with their lovely purple splodges, produced some whoppers! One of them will provide us with a nice sized jacket potato to share!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_2tsAzhjUcRTr3-raPW8l9I8xmkqVMCUuJa4RnO_nCDzVosc5uT4UOrRyBVMqg0kC24D8hB4MgvWJGjoxgkVNac4H6R9XNKyn-081IePwcMBNrOoZ6ugJVqWoFtEb99MDlMJKn0nqrhyphenhyphen/s1600/DSCF7117.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_2tsAzhjUcRTr3-raPW8l9I8xmkqVMCUuJa4RnO_nCDzVosc5uT4UOrRyBVMqg0kC24D8hB4MgvWJGjoxgkVNac4H6R9XNKyn-081IePwcMBNrOoZ6ugJVqWoFtEb99MDlMJKn0nqrhyphenhyphen/s400/DSCF7117.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498313194292775538" /></a><br /><br />The Condors have produced some lovely red potatoes, which I reckon will be good for fat chips. Yummmmmm!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWrMfcDndoGHpG-C4hHMIiCHEvPz7r1kkeZsosD8-_GisqiTd4FOWu7E0nLbHFvXa3ikFBbLs-w4dsnctx14hKvHki62x6wTtr3UZGhCX330OisEfLXrm958R-QXV_u2_xkHkxw6f7HLW/s1600/DSCF7118.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWrMfcDndoGHpG-C4hHMIiCHEvPz7r1kkeZsosD8-_GisqiTd4FOWu7E0nLbHFvXa3ikFBbLs-w4dsnctx14hKvHki62x6wTtr3UZGhCX330OisEfLXrm958R-QXV_u2_xkHkxw6f7HLW/s400/DSCF7118.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498313186491902242" /></a><br /><br />We need to sort them and store them to make sure they don't go mouldy (we are a bit rubbish at storing produce normally!). Excitingly, we still have a bed of maincrops, which have lots of foliage, so fingers crossed they will produce some good sturdy potatoes for storing. We'll leave them in the ground for a bit longer and keep our fingers crossed that the Blight stays away.Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-69111222191037727562010-07-21T23:01:00.006+01:002010-07-21T23:18:47.003+01:00Oh I do like to be beside the seaside<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOf778VelfYdrM5-_BnMC3tUi3zYjX06VrwzUh27mB6AKMCN-4OD2TnzXYt2VaeY80fpH5Rbkidv74-Q3MfI6UnRgktPk0tvZAy_dO2clldUWa1CHQwI4-3Qerv9BcyrSQXHCN0Ezrae2E/s1600/PIC_1450.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOf778VelfYdrM5-_BnMC3tUi3zYjX06VrwzUh27mB6AKMCN-4OD2TnzXYt2VaeY80fpH5Rbkidv74-Q3MfI6UnRgktPk0tvZAy_dO2clldUWa1CHQwI4-3Qerv9BcyrSQXHCN0Ezrae2E/s400/PIC_1450.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496484729243167522" /></a><br /><br />July is always a busy month for us. Not least because it starts with my birthday and I do like to celebrate as many times as I can (I figure I'm getting to get older no matter what so I might as well have a party!).<br /><br />Matt and I don't buy each other gifts for birthdays, we buy "experiences"! This year he treated me a trip to the Kentish seaside town of Whitstable to celebrate the final year of my 20s. I have wanted to go for ages and it's only 45 minutes away so perfect for a day out. <br /><br />We were incredibly lucky with the weather, it was a beautiful sunny day (dare I say a little too hot!) so we really made the most of it. We wondered around the lovely little non-chain shops (bliss!) - Frank is a gorgeous shop with wonderful little gifts, the cheese shop where we bought a selection of Kentish cheeses to take home, Sundae, Sundae which does delicious flavoured ice cream in little boats, and numerous other lovely shops.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2AynHU1dxNZGEGMLg7pu84bhgGDIp5BDVWtG1dVca8VBHEMYzrmaifCaWL-BCQi5XAZD05f-EPxWCaYf8zcPlq0bU18urlqlj_WY0_u9PNwdOUr2pHkWcmYQTkLVicVmvj4LfqgInxSX9/s1600/PIC_1468.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2AynHU1dxNZGEGMLg7pu84bhgGDIp5BDVWtG1dVca8VBHEMYzrmaifCaWL-BCQi5XAZD05f-EPxWCaYf8zcPlq0bU18urlqlj_WY0_u9PNwdOUr2pHkWcmYQTkLVicVmvj4LfqgInxSX9/s400/PIC_1468.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496486385209399298" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEift0d_pijO6becycfPv1Z3FV2OCBXBbQoi7kicUTLiLfqJxdpwnBytlc7LFYQuhHhHiYUYrH35TkPVziJJk6QI1PqWMYJNth-OCk0EVl1xDMeXQhivrDA6likWH5bhWWU09QRhjQ0qvfWz/s1600/PIC_1467.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEift0d_pijO6becycfPv1Z3FV2OCBXBbQoi7kicUTLiLfqJxdpwnBytlc7LFYQuhHhHiYUYrH35TkPVziJJk6QI1PqWMYJNth-OCk0EVl1xDMeXQhivrDA6likWH5bhWWU09QRhjQ0qvfWz/s400/PIC_1467.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496486380550487346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxl63hlEqkZFlFtoEke_Os4mhRdMqB3coHpJ2Ux3K-dNixPUy0iKvVhaMzw5bSDYcHavNYsMilAmEEa3pB4Bg3gZaoZ20PMPfoOBsvzigo4UAQyVX-0MxwBFgPqOVaG8haVQQY29A_kvt/s1600/PIC_1462.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxl63hlEqkZFlFtoEke_Os4mhRdMqB3coHpJ2Ux3K-dNixPUy0iKvVhaMzw5bSDYcHavNYsMilAmEEa3pB4Bg3gZaoZ20PMPfoOBsvzigo4UAQyVX-0MxwBFgPqOVaG8haVQQY29A_kvt/s400/PIC_1462.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496486371211981218" /></a><br /><br />We visited the seafood market and treated ourselves to some fish and chips:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzBcbSJDv3VUOcPOV7BAPcWOjho3M9nzzVOW4o29_-1E5MwgC7k7CqElzAU9n4qNcLMGm3mUqE5T-GAdZyl7b245I02hMKpF9NnndMUPSctXqyN52gMQ0FrCKVp3ZfOWnuqL1SJ3VDWvl/s1600/PIC_1445.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzBcbSJDv3VUOcPOV7BAPcWOjho3M9nzzVOW4o29_-1E5MwgC7k7CqElzAU9n4qNcLMGm3mUqE5T-GAdZyl7b245I02hMKpF9NnndMUPSctXqyN52gMQ0FrCKVp3ZfOWnuqL1SJ3VDWvl/s400/PIC_1445.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496485364383527618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf3uNTd9qz9V7iHBaOzEqvzXUsV6Iid9ECgfPlF6_JoymKu_9BEXV2z0Lu554EOMVr0pNCzeNvAVrtgO1Fpy08JrjU9I-DgEg5spy1kTRGdqVZpXygkeCuvo4PqbzxyTVm-eCjlSkJ1rS/s1600/PIC_1442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBf3uNTd9qz9V7iHBaOzEqvzXUsV6Iid9ECgfPlF6_JoymKu_9BEXV2z0Lu554EOMVr0pNCzeNvAVrtgO1Fpy08JrjU9I-DgEg5spy1kTRGdqVZpXygkeCuvo4PqbzxyTVm-eCjlSkJ1rS/s400/PIC_1442.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496485356275654578" /></a><br /><br />We spent a good while wondering along the beach and even went for a swim in the sea!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTnSHUfEhVAucqVd-kCx30nDxq1GKrysjQU1IcPuzGTLkVJbgkr8cZDiz_WA8V0gYuPQro-t625LBZZXYTT002eahgNPdUB3_uOlE3afNEW0lwl2VL5oSJRlm_9QYsQVz4AuwgmKQnu2L/s1600/PIC_1455.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTnSHUfEhVAucqVd-kCx30nDxq1GKrysjQU1IcPuzGTLkVJbgkr8cZDiz_WA8V0gYuPQro-t625LBZZXYTT002eahgNPdUB3_uOlE3afNEW0lwl2VL5oSJRlm_9QYsQVz4AuwgmKQnu2L/s400/PIC_1455.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496484746830119346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtS86bEtscIEBA-TwvN3uSs7AWekmMQgyc9bs-N-acCZn8X960CAsDR3TC3834yXra7AkAbXiR4PfW5-v4mhxiGZPwUB6_zdZ_kO1TlZOSMUlixTN9oDvCVhyphenhyphenHUJboCiQb7kC0LZNfgv2/s1600/PIC_1459.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtS86bEtscIEBA-TwvN3uSs7AWekmMQgyc9bs-N-acCZn8X960CAsDR3TC3834yXra7AkAbXiR4PfW5-v4mhxiGZPwUB6_zdZ_kO1TlZOSMUlixTN9oDvCVhyphenhyphenHUJboCiQb7kC0LZNfgv2/s400/PIC_1459.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496484738591498546" /></a><br /><br />Here are some of the other highlights:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_MzKRLRHe_DrvFGRoXikrOluaIdJMtL7XjYtYUfGMm7H3Idf2rCT0w0ORX51mwF84EbHbrGtLCBvOwXuBvxTARkS_sG2dSa6nQrZdcpMlFd67qnPDp5nl_1F9dvUwIu88cIT1JNogmqJ/s1600/PIC_1466.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_MzKRLRHe_DrvFGRoXikrOluaIdJMtL7XjYtYUfGMm7H3Idf2rCT0w0ORX51mwF84EbHbrGtLCBvOwXuBvxTARkS_sG2dSa6nQrZdcpMlFd67qnPDp5nl_1F9dvUwIu88cIT1JNogmqJ/s400/PIC_1466.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496484755468813682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBdbhAZlKPCo8F-aSYGl0DSxe_5_-vnyNv16BpMPCivt8RnxAkR9maLtAESeJ6c5Q3uwTcP4rwxaHoZmlTEJFdM5wBmarGCYvPH9NQs38SrGZNjZ9Eqa-UT6v4jcDACGw8y3TPjxCqx9h/s1600/PIC_1439.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBdbhAZlKPCo8F-aSYGl0DSxe_5_-vnyNv16BpMPCivt8RnxAkR9maLtAESeJ6c5Q3uwTcP4rwxaHoZmlTEJFdM5wBmarGCYvPH9NQs38SrGZNjZ9Eqa-UT6v4jcDACGw8y3TPjxCqx9h/s400/PIC_1439.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496487201387151602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKkSqDh643j2AYt743i7te45w50S5hlRaKmZFEr6gk6AkTeq91_VFbX3psbFtv27omJ44eS7IPL2k9VPC15DelcGq0NX0rGiKJVIY0sivt77g8M7Vee-RupP-G6Y1B8Igltf57rjClANR/s1600/PIC_1460.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKkSqDh643j2AYt743i7te45w50S5hlRaKmZFEr6gk6AkTeq91_VFbX3psbFtv27omJ44eS7IPL2k9VPC15DelcGq0NX0rGiKJVIY0sivt77g8M7Vee-RupP-G6Y1B8Igltf57rjClANR/s400/PIC_1460.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496487190652837074" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiY8OxNPgua4qS17eblLxJ5-QdfD3QLML2u2B9ninxqW9TYFOZCrqGYmgv0Syucmyr83FRU0Q2wZIHmvUbaqoUkVy57GW1YKB9W3TS9zAl4BmQEXaURA4zhD42NaGn0aYMSkY2amSGzZD/s1600/PIC_1469.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXiY8OxNPgua4qS17eblLxJ5-QdfD3QLML2u2B9ninxqW9TYFOZCrqGYmgv0Syucmyr83FRU0Q2wZIHmvUbaqoUkVy57GW1YKB9W3TS9zAl4BmQEXaURA4zhD42NaGn0aYMSkY2amSGzZD/s400/PIC_1469.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496487184334364818" /></a><br /><br />If you haven't been I would urge you to, particularly on a sunny day, it really is lovely!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-36234430603634972262010-07-05T11:59:00.003+01:002010-07-05T12:04:43.135+01:00Egg count - JuneStart of a new month so time for another egg count. We've seen a bit of a dip this month: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhVfyJJEKyQzT3ZO1CJ5DfxYjQoWZTPjF_AjsRNZCL3i8G_BrkGLK9fZi6U6BWNKqGUQsBRonS5xUyviYf4zKF3AiHxZhSEq-9jtMO0MkwYmrOzraZlVyiFzjJtqrJeEzSFfhznE9pdoZ/s1600/June+egg+count.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhVfyJJEKyQzT3ZO1CJ5DfxYjQoWZTPjF_AjsRNZCL3i8G_BrkGLK9fZi6U6BWNKqGUQsBRonS5xUyviYf4zKF3AiHxZhSEq-9jtMO0MkwYmrOzraZlVyiFzjJtqrJeEzSFfhznE9pdoZ/s400/June+egg+count.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490375360884188978" /></a><br /><br />This can be mainly explained by Blue, who was laying the most regular beautiful brown eggs, is having a bit of a tough time. A lot of hers come out soft and are gobbled up by the "old girls" in seconds, and the rest of the time she is laying tiny brown eggs with no yolk. She seems fine apart from this so we will just need to keep an eye on her as always. The others seem to be doing ok though, we have 2/3 most days. It's also probably down to the hot weather - I wouldn't fancy trying to squeeze one of those things out in this heat, would you?!<br /><br />We can't really complain with this month's figure, which averages out as more than 2 a day. We are still selling them relatively regularly which is paying for their food. All you can ask really considering their poor start in life so well done girls!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-190775122908793476.post-89703039711772620012010-07-04T21:39:00.004+01:002010-07-04T21:55:17.535+01:00Broad bean and pea falafelWe have the inevitable glut of peas and broad beans at the moment and we've now had our fill of pea and bean salads. We had our first pea and bean risotto of the season this week, which until now has been my favourite early summer dish, but not any more!<br /><br />Courtesy of Jamie at Home we discovered the recipe of broad bean falafel, and I have adapted it slightly to use some peas by including a pea and mint dip.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For the Falafel</span><br /><br />1kg broad beans (add smoe peas if you don't have enough)<br />1/2 tsp cayenne pepper<br />1 chilli<br />1 tsp cumin<br />1 small bunch mint<br />1 sprig coriander<br />1 tbsp flour<br /><br />Blend all of the above, adding the flour last. Once blended make into dumpling shape falafel, 8-10 of them. Cook them in a deep pan of oil until brown on the outside.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For the dip</span><br /><br />Some peas (couple of handfuls probably - I can't remember how many I used!)<br />Half small bunch mint<br />Small pot natural yoghurt<br />Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon<br />splash of olive oil<br /><br />Blend everything except the oil together, adding more or less pea/mint to taste, and a bit of salt and pepper. Splosh oil in at the end.<br /><br />Serve with pitta and salad, like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEzBP-AAzOIzGUiG3Pyu3Oh-9-RdMrLGrdwcefKJ4IBFmlb3Qa3M9hyTEEPRmGfN1YlRQ3sEaOfewChBintHWlM2SHAOlLiTSuS9519RqerG9AS1w9NWl_dPphLEYGU1mq42ios-MaGHm/s1600/DSCF6911.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEzBP-AAzOIzGUiG3Pyu3Oh-9-RdMrLGrdwcefKJ4IBFmlb3Qa3M9hyTEEPRmGfN1YlRQ3sEaOfewChBintHWlM2SHAOlLiTSuS9519RqerG9AS1w9NWl_dPphLEYGU1mq42ios-MaGHm/s400/DSCF6911.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490156546701506914" /></a><br /><br />Absolutely delicious! Try it!<br /><br />We are doing so well at making home produced meals - we've at least 5 now which are almost entirely from our own garden/allotment. Hurrah!Bexhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16658013837894549588noreply@blogger.com3