Chutney. My foray into Hereford town centre. Many wet and windy days – the Weather Gods must have read last week’s griping and sent autumn early.
The apples are flying off the trees – literally.
My photos from Herefordshire week 34 are on Flickr. You might like reading Phil’s weeknotes too, so I’ll start including links to those too.
Busy week at work, getting projects into positions where it’s OK to leave them for a couple of weeks while I’m on holiday. Can’t wait.
I do love seeing the sheep out of my office window. No desire to return to The Office, although that’s an option for attorneys from 01 September, on alternate weeks following the Team 1 / Team 2 model.
Strange realisation that September is only a week or so off, and it feels like the summer has flown by. Not helped by this week’s awful weather. I’m British, so I have to obsess about the weather.
Friday was sociable, with Zooms and FaceTimes with London friends, plus a phone call with Val. Lots of mutual catching up.
In between, CHUTNEY made from Forty Acres Windfalls. Of which there are many.
I doubled the recipe for Frugal Feeding Apple & Cinnamon Chutney AKA Frugal Feeding Chilli Apple Chutney, producing 13 small / medium jars made using Golden Delicious blown from their tree in the Orchard by Friday’s high winds.
Janet’s Jam Pan makes even double quantities look meagre.
Chutney-ing continued on Saturday with 10 small jars of Anglo-Indian Apple Chutney made from a photocopied recipe for a microwave version, but done on the stove. The small jars are usually the size I give away as gifts or thank-yous, so I might have to make another batch as it’s one of my favourites.
I also made lettuce soup for lunch. Tastier than you might imagine. Lettuce and mint from the garden, onions and peas from the supermarket. A good way to use up bolted lettuce top leaves.
Phil and I did the Bacton Square on Sunday morning, followed by a speedy mow (around 2 hours, which is a new record for me). Then a drive to Dinedor for a late afternoon/early evening BBQ with dad and Jean. We returned with armfuls of rainbow chard.
Monday morning’s gloom-busting walk saw a retread of the Kerrys Gate – Cockyard – Duffryn Farm – Camp Crossroads – Thistly Field route. Lots of butterflies pottering around the hedgerows and verges. Managed to get a snap of a Small Tortoiseshell. My old iPhone never does them justice.
And in the afternoon I drove into Hereford for my first trip into the town centre since March, spurred by the introduction of a click and collect service at the library. As well as replenishing the bookshelves, I sorted out change of address at Lloyds, whizzed around Waitrose, and bought a new bird seed feeder.
Busy in places (still school hols), but people kept their distance and wore masks. I’ll be happy to go back again for a longer mooch, and perhaps for a coffee or lunch outside. And to return my batch of library books.
Telly: Polished off The New Pope (still meh), watched most of Watchmen (OK, but you probably need to be a comic nerd to get the most pleasure from watching it) and started Harlots (fun).
Podcasts: Slow Burn, The Anthropocene Reviewed, BBC Radio 4’s Books and Authors and World Book Club, plus History Extra.
Phil also showed me some of these Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 screencasts of people trying to land at/take off from Lukla. The jumbo jet ones are the funniest. The videos don’t quite capture the heart stopping 90 deg turn required between the landing strip and the Dudh Kosi river valley. Haven’t checked to see if there’s a $500+ helicopter option…..
Chucking it down here today (Tuesday). Good job Phil cleared the back gutters….
Chutney-time.