Outside Days

In the lull between grouse and partridge, No. 2 has taken advantage of my height for a bit of hedge-picking and scrumpying to fill the larder for the coming winter. Yes, we are a bit early for the sloes, but she argues that with the advent of climate change, conventional wisdom can be stretched here in the south. And she has had a look at my calendar, so list-making and task distribution are in full flow in preparation for my disappearance into the shooting season.

Sloe gin is a long-standing favourite, and after a gap in production, I have set aside numerous litres that should be ready in…February. In other words, don’t expect to be drinking my vintage until the 2010 season. You’ll have to settle for shop-bought this season, I’m afraid. With rosehip syrup, blackberry jam, green tomato pickle and rhubarb chutney in production, No.2 is focusing on the other jobs to hand. So if you fancy a day’s partridge over the coming weeks, do let me know…you’d be rescuing me from a spate of chicken pen building, veg garden manuring, and spreading a mountain of barkchip over her garden.

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