BEE FRIENDLY FLOWERS IN JUNE

As we approach High Summer in arid Essex, I am delighted to see that here we absolutely do not have any shortage of Honey Bees, Bumble Bees and other beneficial parasitic wasps etc. All bees need a plentiful supply of both nectar and pollen. I strongly recommend that everyone should consider planting bee friendly plants…

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Fig Jam in November

If you are very fortunate, you, or maybe a neighbour, will have a Brown Turkey Fig in the garden. We do, and we always get a fabulous crop of huge, luscious figs in July or August. Our fig tree is a sport of one which has regularly been doing the rounds in our part of…

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Haute Cuisine in Covid Lockdown number two?

Ok, just wondering if we shall eat as well this time round as we did in the Spring of 2020 during the first Covid -19 lockdown in England Then I had all the family at home working in their high-powered international jobs. I was utterly exhausted having to provide three square meals a day, all…

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East Coast Sailing, long weekend, August 2020

Just three nights at sea on our beloved Ranger was all it took in these troubled times to make us feel like we had holidayed like Kings! I often wonder what other sailing folk require from their boats in terms of holidays. Is it to enjoy many a cracking salty sail? Is it to have…

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Twinkle, twinkle little star…..Elderflower Cordial to make in May

Right now, at the end of May in South East England, is the time to go and pick a large, double handful of just opened elderflower heads, with which to make the ridiculously easy, but exquisitely delicious Elderflower Cordial. All you need are a few lemons and oranges, around a kilo of granulated sugar, and…

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Homemade Baked Beans, and how to feed the family very cheaply

Still in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and fast running out of funds, let alone inspiration, with which to provide two square meals a day to six fully grown homeworkers, I thought I would see if I could make my own baked beans. Only criteria being that they must taste as least as good…

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