One last visit before a week away in Italy. And with a storm looming which may or may not be another Michael Fish moment. I am a little worried!

So I’ve left my new path unfinished, screwed the shed roof to the frame (thanks for the tip Alan!), huddled all the pots & planks and taken down one of the culticaves. I wanted to take both down but there wasn’t enough time. Without the cave looming over the flat bit in the middle of the plot I can suddenly see how much digging there is ahead of me. Gulp!

Our resident firestarter was happily kippering the field with a ginormous bonfire of the (damp) leftover blackthorn and brambles from the work party. It looked like the field was covered in heavy fog. I hid in my shed till the worst was over – gave me a chance to tidy it up a bit.

Now to turn quince juice into jelly before we go – there is no room for it in the freezer so it looks like something of a late night for me…

Edit: managed to squeeze half the juice into the freezer. 1.3l juice plus 250g sugar and a squeeze or two of lemon = 900ml finished jelly. Will make a sweeter version (400g sugar) with the rest for having on toast – this is for very flinty cheese. And Mum.

Also made quince brandy (quinces + brandy, then store in dark place) and a second batch of sloe gin – this time Sipsmiths version with a whole almond instead of extract and no sugar added. 300g sloes per 350ml gin. Sugar syrup to be added after 3-6 months of ‘resting’. Stored in Gordon’s bottles.