It was all going so well. I arrived at the market yesterday morning good and early. I set up my stall at a leisurely pace, stopping to swap pleasantries with some other stallholders, and was ready and waiting for the surge of early regular customers. Business was brisk – very brisk, in fact in the first hour I reckon that I had sold 70% of my stock! Banter was exchanged with familiar faces and all was well with the world. Then things began to unravel. A sensation that i knew only too well from past experience began to manifest itself. My vision was affected by kaleidoscopic patterns dancing before me, and mild panic set in. It was the aura that signals the onset of a migraine, and I knew that I had to pack up and leave the market in double quick time. My way of dealing with these events is to lay in a darkened room and sleep it off, but I have to get there before the blinding headache sets in, so there was no time to lose.
My neighbouring stallholder Andrea assisted me in my escape, and was kind enough to pack my tables away for me. Market regular, Sally, overheard me talking about my mini crisis and presented me with some soluble pain relief tablets that I was happy to knock back – anything to keep the beast at bay whilst I made the journey home. It must have looked strange to unsuspecting customers that a stallholder was abandoning ship at great speed in the middle of the morning, and I apologise to anyone that came late hoping to buy from me. Next week I will endeavour to stay the distance. Today I am feeling groggy with migraine hangover, but should be okay by tomorrow.
Last Wednesday our kitchen tap sprung a leak, so I have had to isolate the water supply to it. That means that I have been ferrying water in large saucepans from the bathroom – which is at least downstairs, for cooking, washing up and hot drinks. The plumber has been and has ordered a new tap, and is due to fit it tomorrow. The one that failed was only just over two years old! Other than that it has been a relatively quiet week on the domestic front (thank goodness). I have got into a routine of dog walking, poultry minding, cooking and tidying up. Only one wrist is broken, so Jennifer can still push the vacuum cleaner around, so I am grateful for small mercies.
She had an appointment at the fracture clinic last Friday where she received some good news. The X-ray showed that there has been no movement of the bones in her wrist, and as a consequence she can keep her brace on rather than have it plastered. From a day to day practical point of view that makes a big difference as the brace is much less restrictive than a cast. Unless anything negative happens the status quo will remain until they sign her off in 5 weeks time.
All of this upheaval at home has taken my eye off the ball and I now have less than two weeks to get my self-assessment tax return submitted. That shouldn’t be a problem, but I need to set aside time to actually get on with it.
The days are drawing out noticeably now, particularly evident in the afternoons, which is cause for optimism. There is also an increase in birdsong, with thrushes, robins, blackbirds and tits singing joyfully. This morning the skylarks were making themselves heard in the field behind us, as were Redwings, and a Nuthatch was vocal down the meadows. It’s only mid January, so we are far from out of the woods, but there are signs of what’s to come. The long range weather forecast from the Met Office is suggesting another cold spell of weather towards the end of the month and in to February, but we will have to wait and see if that occurs.
This week sees the return of the sprout. Many of you may not have had any since Christmas, which is three and a half weeks ago already, so if like me you are particularly partial to the little green balls of loveliness this news will be music to your ears….well eyes I suppose as you are reading this. In addition there will also be Brussels sprouts tops, which are very nice too, and some good Savoy cabbages. Carrots this week will be washed, and there are rainbow as well as regular ones. Onions, parsnips, leeks, swede, red cabbage, mushrooms, squash and spuds make up most of the veg list, plus sweet potatoes. Yes, about them. Have they been featured on the telly by a top chef recently? Because last week there was an unusually high level of demand for them? Just curious.
When it comes to fruit, there will be avocados again, but if they are like last week’s you need to be prepared to let them ripen for a few days before using them. The Clementines were rather nice I thought, so there will be more of them. The Salustiana oranges lived up to their billing in terms of juiciness, so they are allowed another outing. I am hoping that blood oranges will be available for the following week. Apples are Gala. Where I have dropped a clanger is with the Seville oranges. I underestimated demand for them and thought that I had enough stock to see me through, so I didn’t buy any for the coming week. Well, at the market yesterday they flew off the table as Marmalade mania took hold. However, don’t fret, there is no shortage of them, and I will have them for the following week.
I can’t sign off without thanking a very special customer for providing me with a Red Cross food parcel last week. Having read last week’s blog in which I bathed in a pool of self pity regarding my domestic situation, she went to the considerable bother of making a large pot of delicious Mulligatawny soup, and a wonderful loaf of Tea Bread. It was the kindest of acts, for which I am immensely grateful. It did at least mean that one evening we had a decent bit of grub! No, it really isn’t that bad, I am capable of knocking up some quite passable offerings. Isn’t it tedious thinking of what to cook every day though?
Right, I’m off to browse my copy of Mrs Beeton, so I will leave things there. Have a good week.
Phil