Deblyn

Hi Brigid! I#ve grown lots of Scarlet runners in the past - the bright red is beautiful against the plani dark green of the leaves. When they were first introduced into this country in the 17thc they were grown as only ornamentals; it wasn't for a hundred years or so that people realised you could eat the beans!! The Sunset runner is a relative but with the most beautiful peachy pink flowers; the beans are the best I ever tasted. This year's seed is what I saved from last year, so should be quite good I hope. I've also grown white flowered runners and the bi-coloured read and white ones - they are all pretty but the Sunset has the best tasting beans so far.

Well the caps lock seems to be working now; since then I actually went out and got the beans planted, just the runners to do this afternoon. It's quite warm here - outside in sleeveless t-shirt and shorts. If there wasn't so much to do I would enjoy just sitting in the sun! Getting loads of washing dried though as there is a good breeze too. I've got courgettes and Westbrook's Lakota squashes to plant out today too. Everything needs a good water. The sunshine is lovely.

Today, probably later when it is cooler, I will get the climbing beans planted out. I grow them first in pots, then when a good root is formed, set them out in the bean bed. they are probably my favourite veg to grow - they have lovely flowers, great names, and taste good too. One of my favourites is Lazy Housewife, which I grow every year; it's called that as the beans are so easy to shell when they are dry, so I suppose lazy housewives would like them! this year I'm also growing Mechelse Trios, Poletschka, Dinah's Climbing Blue and Mr Fearn's Purple Flowered Climbing Bean. the last two of these are "heritage" varieites. I also grow runner (pole beans in the US I think) beans; I got hold of a different variety called "Sunset", WHICH HAS PINK FLOWERS. (i WILL CONTINUE THIS POST WHEN MY CAPS LOCK GETS UNSTUCK - SORRY!)

We have a good crop of elderflowers in the garden already, some ready for picking now. I will make several gallons of wine, some elderflower champagne and maybe elderflower jelly. We have enough trees to leave a couple for the later berries, for the birds, jam and elderberry wine and elder Rob for the winter. I also make elderflower cordial and freeze it - it's lovely. Summer is here!

"Oh that God the giftie gie us, Tae see oorsel's as ithers see us............." Robert Burns

I finally got around to travelling down to Cornwall to pick up the box of family photographs; ann says I can take what I want and let her have the box back next time I see her. I sent a few to my mother, who has suddenly developed an interest in them - call me sceptical but.............. Anyway, there are some beautiful old sepia prints of family members, including several old ones of my granny. I will lightly pencil on the back any names I know, so we don't have this problem when they get passed on next. Some of the names are lost; if only Granny had been asked to go through them and put names to faces, but it's too late now. I want to frame some of them as they are such lovely pictures anyway. And my mother also slipped in that some of my forefathers went out to Canada, so that will add another dimension when I finally get started. I feel a bit of an obsession coming on! I also inherited my granny's best china teaset and teapots set, her shopping bag, her dictionary and her flying duck picture which always hung in her sitting room. I feel quite honoured to have them, and they bring back fond memories of my lovely granny.

A friend of mine comes from the Isle of Skye, where she and her family lived on a croft. Her dad kept a small flock of about 50 sheep, and one time I was up there at shearing time and I was allowed to have a go. All by hand, no electric shearers. I had a good docile ewe, and got to the bit where you sit her on her bum; I took so long that the sheep fell asleep! I was told I did a fiarly good job on here, but full-time employment offers were not forthcoming!!!!!!!!

I'll pass on that one thanks Deb! I had pate on toast and Pina Coladas. The children had fruit and yoghurt with mini chocolate muffin, orange juice.

"Cat Chat" is the clever title of a book by Helene Thornton, an Irish woman who spent some time in Provence and fell in love with a man and his cat! It's a lovely book, with a nice "feel" to it, funny in places. As well as the cat aspect, it gives a good insight into daily life in provence, which is always interesting. Quite a short book and easy to read, not just for cat lovers. "Saving Grace" is a very "English" comedy by Tom McGregor. A woman is faced with losing her family home after her husband commits suicide by jumping out of a plane without a parachute, narrowly missing a troupe of Morris Dancers! She has to devise a plant to make enough money to keep the house, and comes up with a garden-related solution! It's a good read that descends into fast moving comedy near the end. I thought after I'd read it that it would be a good film, but apparently someone has already done it, so I will have to look out for it. Full of English eccentrics, very funny. "Highland Fling" by Katie Fforde - I read this at one sitting after I got it out of the mobile library yesterday. Her fiction is very easy to read and the heroine always gets her man, but very entertaining along the way. This one is about and Englishwoman in the Scottish Highlands sent to sort out an ailing woollen mill - more men in kilts!! Very good light reading and funny in places, especially the dotty old matriarch of the family. So that's what I've been reading. next on the list is "Rum - Nature's Island" by Magnus Magnusson, about the tiny island off the west coast of Scotland. I've seen the island, but never visited it. Yet!!

Have requested it from the library; we seem to have trouble in getting some of the American fiction though. Except Jluie Garwood...................! funnily enough I met a man called Sir Johm Medlycott last weekend; wonder if there is a connection in the dim and distant past. Maybe it's a good omen and the library will be able to get it for me!!

Mary Wesley is good; have you read anything of hers?

I am aware of the bad feeling from a lot of Americans regarding the French and German peoples. However, there are many more countries than just these two in the E.U., so in no way is the term French/German superpower realistic.

Why is it a "political fix" - giving the contarcts to a European company? It's a European project, so it seems reasonable that the work be kept in Europe; money need not always be the bottom line. What about the "political fix" that I read about wheree contracts for the "rebuilding" of Iraq are mostly going to US companies?

I got the final set of squares from Cat this morning, so mine are all complete and ready to go. Can't wait! Thanks Cat.

Rhubarb can be frozen either raw or cooked. If you freeze it and want to amke jam out o fit, then I would make sure it is defrosted and drained first, so there is not too much liquid or the jam may not set. I have nver made rhubarb and strawberry jam myself; I'm not a huge fan of strawberry jam. I am making rhubarb and ginger today. The chutney is made with rhubarb, onion, sultanas, sugar vinegar and spices. it is made and in the jars now, but will need to be left a month or two to mature before eating. the secret is to have something on the go all the time with chutney; when you are eating the stuff that is ready, there is plenty more maturing away in the cupboard to take its place like a rotation. that's the theory, but needless to say my proactice is a little lacking sometimes!!!!

Still a work in progress, Mary. I haven't heard from her in a while now, but I am working on the poultry chapter, checking recipes and conversions into metric. I had a group of people over here doing the same, but interest has fallen away completely for some reason. No - one seems bothered much about it which is sad after all the initial enthusiasm. I will try and keep going though, as maybe my comments etc will help her anyway. Thanks for your interest too.

Loads of rhubarb in the garden at the moment, so today I am making rhubarb chutney which is bubbling away nicely on the stove, and I have set the rhubarb and sugar to leave overnight to make rhubarb and ginger jam in the morning. I am hoping there will be enough left in the garden to make wine later in the week too.

You may not want to know -it's not exactly cordon bleu, but very popular in this house!! It's a chip (ie French fry) sandwich - using white bread, buttered, with the chips in between. Sounds horrible, but we like them over here!! Certainly not terribly healthy, but the chips and butter were organic..............

The Government has taken it upon themselves to push through a Bill in parliament which will instruct all the water companies in the country to add flouride to water. I am totally against this; I don't want poisonous substances added to the water supply; long term effects are not fully known, and I don't want my family and me involved in this. Why won't they ask the people whether they want it or not? It is on the supposed instructions of the dentists that they are doing it. I think people should have the choice. No flouride in the water, but if individuals want flouride, they can choose toothpaste with it in. Don't make my decisions about my family's health for me, thankyou very much. I am writing to my MP and the Prime Minister about this. Hubby says this is my new hobby, writing to my MP and the PM.!!

I'm still around when I'm not out in the garden. Lots to be concerned about here at the moment. Funnily enough, not the Post Office. Turns out this was jsut a rumour. The Chairman of the Parish Council phoned the planning department who said that no formal application had been received, so we are off the hook with that one for the moment; the Parish Council will be keeping an eye on it though. Tonight there is a meeting about an application to build two small houses on a plot in the middle of the village beside a listed cottage; all are slpa bang in the middle of the conservation area. it's good that we have the chance to go along to these sorts of meetings and air our views. i just wish that more people would attend them and make their views known instead of sitting at home and moaning about what goes on. Grass roots politics is for everyone to partake in, but so few do.

We had chip butties tonight (Mr Lowie was out!) and i had a beer with mine.

I think they are probably the same. The trees here grow to 15 - 20ft if left to their own devices. They can be pruned to keep them in check if you need to, but I like to tlet them go how they want. Maybe we have small trees and you have large bushes!! I'm fairly certain they are the same things though.

Feed it to your lawn???????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankyou Seldiesgirl for the lovely squares that arrived this morning - just Cat's to come now, for me. I don't know if all my squares were washed previously; a lot of my stuff came from my stash in the cupboard; I didn't wash the new stuff. personally I think that washing new cottons was more important in the past; fabrics these days don't tend to shrink like they used to. I've never had any shrinkage problems with patchwork things I've made from new and used fabrics, so tend not ot bother. I do however, wash stuff, obviously, if it comes from a jumble sale or charity shop. Can't wait to start!

I don't know how many of you, if any, make beer, but here is my easy recipe if you are interested: 1 lb malt extract 1 lb white sugar 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 oz dried hops 1 gallon water. Boil up hops in water and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile put sugar, malt extract and salt into large plastic bucket. Strain out hops when ready, stir into sugar etc until dissolved. Set one tablespoon of yeast with a teaspoon of sugar and some warm water. When frothy, stir into liquid in bucket when the liquid reaches blood temperature. Cover and leave five days. Add 2 ounces more of sugar, siphon off and bottle. Leave at least two weeks before drinking, but it is much better if left longer. I made five gallons which is fizzing away nicely by the Rayburn. The kitchen smells like a brewery! The spent hops are a useful addition to the compost heap as well.