What a truly perfect September day this has been, days like this stay in my memory for ever. On just such a day fifty-two years ago I had my first day at school. I remember lining up in the playground, it was a very small country school in the Staffordshire Moorlands and there were no more than forty children. It was almost at the top of a very steep hill surrounded by huge trees and the old church was just a few yards up the road. I remember sitting in a pool of sunlight that streamed in through the high arched windows playing with some building blocks, it seemed a very long day. History records that on my return home, which was in a vintage Humber motor car (the local taxi driver also did funerals) I announced that school was very nice but that I did not think I should bother going again, Childish innocence indeed!
Enough of this frippery, back to today, we had oatcakes and cheese for breakfast with the usual orange juice and lots of tea, then I set about preparing dinner. This took ages as I had lots of different vegetables to prepare all from the garden. Extra vigilance is needed with these delights as they are the haunt of caterpillars, slugs, snails and beetles of all shapes and sizes. Failure to remove all of these calls forth calumny upon the head of the cook/gardener so I picked over them with extreme care. Then I barded the partridges with streaky bacon and an onion cut into quarters, added a little water and a shot of port wine, covered the dish with foil and set it aside for later. Finally I made a sauce of elderberry and apple jelly with a large glass of port wine and the juice of an orange . A visit to the garden centre was next as we needed a new seed feeder for the small birds, the last on having been marmalised by squirrels. The new one has a very strong thick cage enclosing the plastic tube which contains the food, if the pesky little varmints get through that I will eat my hot water bottle......I do hope that was not a rash promise!
I did nothing in the garden today as my knee was very painful and I consider discretion the better part of valour, particularly if I want to do any more gardening this week, I just enjoyed the sunshine as I picked the herbs for the stuffing and picked some marigolds for the vases in the kitchen.
The partridges were good and there was very little left except a few roasted potatoes, I always make too many. We all saved a little of the partridge for the cat Twiggy as she had been picketing the kitchen for hours and none of us cared to feel her claws in our vitals if her share was not forth coming.
I intend to do very little cooking tomorrow, only the bread to make and an easy dinner of cold meats and cheeses, what a relief after today's marathon. I am very tired, more that usual for me at this time of day, perhaps it is the change of season, I have always felt that hibernation would be a lovely way of spending the winter months when all is dark and drizzly. I should curl up with a heap of yummy munchies, a stack of my favourite DVDs and a very snug quilt and only get up for Christmas say, or if it snowed a lot, or if there was a beautiful frost. Perhaps there are too many things I should miss after all. Anyway I hope this lovely golden glorious weather lasts for weeks and weeks, there are still lots of small squashes needing time and sunshine and besides it is lovely to be warm without being too hot, don't you agree?
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