My furlough wanderings mean I have spotted more flora and fauna than I have noticed in previous years. In particular fruit & berries that could be foraged and turned into alcoholic beverages. So far I have experimented with cherries

Next up, but a little tougher to harvest (and surprisingly early this year) blackberries. We have an old and established bramble bush at the end of the orchard. It takes no prisoners and I have the scars to prove it. I have in the past, riding my bike home after a boozy night out, ended up in said bramble bush, ruining a perfectly good set of tights and creating a not insubstantial Hils size hole in the hedge. I think its proximity to the bee hives has resulted in a fabulous crop of fruit this year – so something good has happened in 2020 then!

Last up, our traditional damson gin, which should be ready for the local tasting comparison just before Christmas – oh no, not the C-word and in August too!