What a scorcher

Mad dogs and Englishmen was true yesterday but not today. We had an early session but had to give up by 11.30 as the heat got to us, so we returned to the allotment at 9 and got home just as the clock changed to 22:22. We must be mad, especially as we have to be up at 5 in the morning and we had not eaten. It was worth the wait as, to accompany our salmon, which was farmed in Norway, we had home grown new potatoes, courgettes and broad beans. A veritable cornucopia of tastes and absolutely wonderful. The potatoes came from one bin at the allotment and one at home. The whites seem to have cropped better than the reds but we decided to have a mixture in our meal. We were a little disapointed in the crop but between them we had a sinkfull.

The broad beans were from the crop sown at home in October. We had been a bit negligent in watering and the plants were very limp, so the decision was made to remove everything and replace with tomatoes. The courgettes are the first pickings. There are so many new ones I decided to cut a few to let the new ones develop. Sliced and lightly sauted with an onion and a bit of home grown basil, they were yummy.

Back at the allotment, I plucked up the courage to bottle the comfrey tea. It is amazing how long you can hold your breath if you need to. Words cannot describle how disgusting it smells but the tomatoes love it. It is a bit cloudy as I have left it so long but it made 6 bottles which should last us about 10 years as it needs to be diluted about 30/1. Strangly Ted calls it comfort!!!!! We always though this was because of its healing properties but he must have known something that we didn't.

If you are wondering why the bottles are not filled to the top, it is so that I didn't get any on my hands. It would actually be a way of getting a seat on the train as it would clear the carriage. Once you get it on your skin, soaking in bleach is the only thing that will get rid of the smell (one bitten and all that...).