Monday Monday and why I love Fridays

Mondays are usually such busy days aren't they?

The first day back at work , all systems a gogo from the moment the alarm shrills, there's a sense of urgency, and even excitement,  and a sense of "What will happen this week?"


But today is a Bank Holiday here in England , an official day off and the last one until Christmas. I adore bank holiday Mondays ...they are days which seem to give you carte blanche to do exactly what you will, whether it be going out , meeting up with friends or just slobbing about the house, reading, listening to music or having a doze on the sofa. Today I'm off to the allotment to pick apples and Victoria plums and perhaps if I feel the urge, do some weeding.

So a lovely day, but even though I love my job, Fridays are my favourite days.   For many, they mark the end of the working week, the beginning of the weekend and freedom for a couple of days.

 For years I've worked on a Friday. They've always been a complete rush, as it's a  busy day in a newsroom. You're making packages and features, and orb booking guests for the Monday  breakfast programme. Often stories fall down at the last minute, and you have to pull something out of the bag,chase a fresh angle or a different story, and you can't leave until everything is done.

This always seemed to happen when it was a Friday fizz night with friends which happens once or twice a month.  I was always the last to arrive. A bottle and a half of prosecco would have been polished off , some nibbles and canapés already eaten and lots of gossip already done, dusted and dissected before I'd got a foot through the door.

That's all different now though as I now get Fridays off....and I am bloody well loving it. Arriving on time for Fizz Night, food shopping all done leisurely instead of battling the hordes at Waitrose on a Saturday, and time to walk the dogs, see friends, go to the allotment or read.

 On one Friday each month a group of friends all meet for lunch to critique each others work and have lunch. This month , four of us  drove off to Grantchester for work news, chat, and a chance to see one of our latest books hot off the press - Pippa Goodhart's The Great Sea Dragon Discovery . Brilliant book , and stunning cover ....

Last Thursday night, my darling daughter, her husband and dog all arrived, so Friday was a heady mix of shopping, wine tasting and lunch, and that was all before 2.30pm.

An hour or so later though the dogs made it quite clear (there were four at home) decided that they wanted another walk, so my son in law and I nipped off in the car to the canal a couple of miles away.

A quiet part of the canal where we could have a gentle stroll. There was no one around, only the cows to our left through the hedge who were on their way to afternoon milking.....

















I love this part of the Grand Union Canal....

It may be only twenty two miles away from Leicester where I work, but it's a whole world away from there in terms of noise, bustle  and the start of the Friday leave work early traffic. 


We didn't see anyone else apart from a couple who waved as they passed us by...

Birdsong, the gentle mooing of the cows, chatting with Harry and watching the dogs all enjoying their walk ...what a lovely way of recharging my batteries on a Friday afternoon.

Simple pleasures make me smile...

Then it was time to load the dogs back into the car, and driving home, up the lane
















with a goodbye from this lot...
















to begin cooking supper for eight of us and trying out the new wines we tasted earlier.

Relaxing around the table until it was dark...and still the chatter continued by candlelight. Bliss....

Each Friday is different, and quite a few Fridays this Autumn are going to spent writing, but it's a delicious feeling knowing that Friday means fun, freedom, fizz and friends.

Here's to Fridays which for me are the best day of the week, whatever I do.....

National Plum Day

Apparently today is National Plum Day here in the UK....the first one ever.

Of course people in Pershore, Worcestershire will be celebrating it as part of their Pershore Plum Festival - they are famed for their plum harvests dating back to mediaeval times.

Plums are one of those fruits that I didn't care for much as a child, but over the years I've become an avid fan of such a delicious fruit. Especially over the last three years since I took on another small strip of an allotment . It may be small but it contains a damson tree , a Victoria plum tree and one of unknown origin along with a number of apple trees.

So why do I like plums so much? There's a gutsy depth of flavour...which can be both tart or sweet. They're such versatile fruits which can be used in so many different ways, and they're good for you. Packed with antioxidants, they're good for lowering blood sugar (they have a low glycaemic index score ) lowering blood pressure, not to mention helping your intestines, heart and even your bone health.

Two weeks ago I was the allotment, and the damsons were still as hard as bullets. I thought they'd be ready in perfect time for the village show on 1st September as usual. I was wrong though  - last week I checked and the wasps were circling the tree, a sure sign that they were ripe, or  some were even  over ripe.

I picked at least twenty pounds of damsons , and gave about three pounds away immediately to my neighbour on the next plot. Once home, my plans for the day were rearranged as dealing with the damsons had to take priority.

I decided to try a new recipe for damson jam first. This is a very soft set jam where the fruits are whizzed to a pulp first in a food processor before cooking in the preserving pan.

I made a litre of damson ice cream for the first time, whisking away the ice crystals in an ice cream container and popping back in the fridge at intervals. This was very fresh and fruity, and I was rather taken by it. But not the first time, did I wish I had a proper ice cream maker. One day, one shall be mine...!

I digress....I froze about five pounds in a sugar pack, made a litre of damson gin and then wondered what I could do with the rest.

I posed that question on twitter and instagram with a photo of my damson haul.

My friend Laura merely suggested more gin, but that's not surprising , she loves making any type of fruit gin. Then Antonio got in contact...he and Daniele run Gelato Village in Leicester.....my favourite geleratia outside of Italy. I've written about them in the past  here

http://thinkingofthedays.blogspot.com/2017/11/gelato-days-when-maestri-gelatieri-came.html


Antonia hasn't made damson sorbetto before but thought he might like to try. So on Monday I put three kilos in my wicker basket and dropped them off at the geleratia, only a few minutes walk from work.

The next morning I received a call. "It's ready " said Antonio, and I could tell he was pleased with the flavour when he sent this tweet.

Well, I couldn't wait until I finished work that evening. to taste my very first plum sorbetto.
The colour was deep and appealing, the taste sublime.

What alchemy and magic had Antonio conjured up to transform the damsons which only the day before had been growing on my tree?

I got some of the other customers to have a quick taste.....the comments ranged from "Wow!" to "This is so fruity" to "I think this is the best flavour today."

Feeling so proud of my plums and admiring Antonio's handiwork, I was then given a huge box full of sorbetto to take home and put in the freezer, and the rest was sold.

My husband I have been eating damson sorbetto every night since Tuesday. A pudding which is not only damn tasty but healthy - so that's why we're having some tonight too, to celebrate the first ever National Plum Day.

I've been back on the allotment today though, and picked pounds more damsons..........