On the Red Hill ; Where Four Lives Fell into Place

 When I wrote about the long list for the  Wainwright prize for nature writing on June 9th, I said there was one that sounded interesting............. so I bought it. 

It was 'On the Red Hill' by Mike Parker

 

On the Red Hill is the story of Rhiw Goch, ‘the Red Hill’, and its inhabitants, but also the story of a remarkable rural community and a legacy that extends far beyond bricks and mortar. It is a story that celebrates the turn of the year’s wheel, of ever-changing landscapes, and of the family found in the unlikeliest of places.

I like reading about parts of the country I know and the small town of Machynlleth is a place we often visited whenever we went to The Centre for Alternative Technology which is just a few miles from the town.

 This is a story of a house in the hills outside of Machynlleth and the two people who owned it before passing it to the author and his partner.

 In 2016 Mike Parker and his partner Peredur were witnesses at the civil partnership of their elderly friends Reg and George, the first to be held in the Welsh town of Machynlleth. A few years later when Reg and George died within weeks of each other Mike and Peredur found that Rhiw Goch had been left to them. Mike has put this book together using George's diaries and photographs and Reg's paintings and notes and the memories of people who knew them. This fascinating book is a look at how life for gay couples has changed in 60 years and how the year turns in a quiet beautiful part of North Wales.

There was one paragraph that resonated for me ...........Silence is as rare and precious a commodity as a truly dark sky, and only more so today. Almost no one, even in the countryside, is free of the hiss of traffic somewhere in their soundscape, the starkest proof of our Faustian pact with the car. I know that the irony verges on hypocrisy, for living at Rhiw Goch makes us painfully dependent on driving, but the divine absence of road noise here is the luxury I'd find hardest to give up.

That's just how I feel about this house. As the quiet country roads near the smallholding gradually got busier we (well me usually)  often wondered if there was anywhere left in Suffolk where you couldn't hear constant traffic in the distance. This house up the end of the lane is one of those rare places. That's one reason I will be sad to leave when the time comes.

I enjoyed On The Red Hill - a really good well written story.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

It's All About Basil

The common name for Basil might come from the Greek word for King -   Basileus. In some countries it was valued highly and in others thought of as evil and in some old herbals it was thought basil could turn into scorpions- Strange what people thought hundreds of years ago.

Back in early smallholding days, when I grew herbs to sell at the Suffolk Smallholders show, I often grew different sorts including Purple Ruffles and Large Leaf Lettuce basil. Basil is supposed to be a good companion plant for tomatoes so always planted out into the polytunnel beds - it did well there.

 This year my basil seeds failed to germinate - twice - so (when I eventually remembered ) I bought a pot of basil from Morrisons for £1 and took lots of cuttings, put them in water and hoped for roots.

(The pegs around the edge aren't pegging the cuttings to the jar, just there to lodge the cuttings so they don't fall right into the water.) Every few days I stood the jar in the sink and ran in some fresh water.
The leaves I took off the cuttings before putting them in water were dried in the microwave on a bit of kitchen roll, then crunched up and stored in a jar.

For ages they didn't seem to be doing anything but eventually the cuttings produced some good roots

Only one cutting failed to root and the others have now been potted up into compost to grow on and hopefully give me plenty more to use fresh and dry for winter.


Thanks to everyone for comments on Saturday.
Back Tomorrow
Sue

Nearly Normal Times? A Saturday Round Up.

A busier week  compared to the last 15, lunch at Son and Dil's, a shopping trip, a visit from the youngest two grandchildren - I also went to see Youngest Daughter and oldest Granddaughter - luckily I remembered the way to the coast after all these weeks!
Another job done was a batch of Lemon and Grapefruit Marmalade using a tin of prepared Lemon Home Cook Marmalade and a tin of grapefruit in juice. This makes a really tangy marmalade - I think it's my favourite.
Plus at last the front and side hedges are finished. I don't do the bit right at the end of the garden, it's more trees than hedge (and the extension lead won't reach that far) and I certainly can't do the huge hedge between me and the field. For one thing its just too high and for another it's where all the hedge sparrows live- it's a much thicker and denser Hawthorn hedge - than all the rest. It also doesn't have loads of brambles sticking out so I can get close enough to mow along the bottom.


 Added to the food produced list this week were the first beetroot  - small but perfectly formed.

and a couple of pound of redcurrants - these went in the freezer - waiting for apples and I'll make redcurrant and apple jelly for me and for the Christmas Hampers. I made Redcurrant and Rosemary Jelly last year so want to do something different.

 

 I also picked the first mange-tout peas which went into a stir-fry and then more to put in the freezer after a quick blanche. There won't be many to freeze but a few is better than nothing.

Now the question of the day  -Shall I go and look round the first car-boot sale tomorrow? It's the local small one rather than the Huge Needham Market boot sale which has been cancelled for the rest of the year.  I've read the website about strict arrival times for sellers and buyers and how they will have spaced the cars and put tapes up to make a one-way route for people buying - that's all fine but I have a feeling it will be crazy busy.

The updated food from home list (produced since March)

• 9 small lettuces (I now have a gap because the next sowing took ages to get going)
• Rocket and small beetroot leaves
• 6 Cucumbers - and 8 more given away
• a few asparagus spears
• lots of rhubarb
• A surprising amount of strawberries from 6 new plants.
• 3lb of gooseberries
• Lots of raspberries and 3lb put in the freezer
• Several courgettes.
• Few new potatoes 
• First tomatoes from greenhouse
• First Aubergines
• 2lb Redcurrants 
• Beetroot
• Few mange-tout peas

This week I'm grateful for

1. A visit from Eldest Daughter and Eldest Grandson has been arranged
2. More delicious raspberries
3. Rain for the garden
4. More good books

Have a good weekend - enjoy your first pub visit since March - if that's your thing!
Back Monday
Sue