Eat Your Heart Out, Mr. Keiller.

We have been making marmalade.

What nicer way to spend a cold January afternoon than sitting companionably at the table chopping the warm soggy orange peel ('no dear, I know you like Thick Cut, but that's more Steak-Cut') whilst engaging in idle chatter - 'Have those cracks in the wall always been there?', 'It would be nice to visit the Van Gogh Exhibition at the R.A. don't you think? ', and 'Did I ever tell you about ..?'

Watching John skillfully retrieve the boiled pips from the juice with a potato masher was quite an eye-opener, and stirring large quantities of sugar into the boiling pulpy mixture and seeing it voraciously consumed was somehow rather seductive. And oh the pleasure of reaching that perfect 'rolling boil', followed by the heady excitement of waiting for Setting Point to be reached! We took turns recovering small amounts of the mixture to test - I virtuously returning mine to the pan, whilst John devoured his with greedy delight.

At last we decided it was ready, so whilst John ladled the steaming golden mixture into hot waiting jars, I fixed the lids and wiped the sticky outsides with a damp cloth. We were disappointed to find before going to bed, that the marmalade though almost cold, showed no sign of setting - but what satisfaction next morning to discover it had jelled perfectly.

We produced around 10 lbs of marmalade in jars of various sizes - far less now than the vast amounts we made with the help of the children over the course of many years. We used the same old recipe, and it brought back such memories of happy times with the family all involved in this productive and very satisfying winter pastime.

In bed that evening I found myself repeating over and over in my mind the words of one of my most favourite childhood poems ....

The King asked the Queen and the Queen asked the Dairymaid

'Could we have some butter for the Royal Slice of Bread?'

The Queen asked the Dairymaid, the Dairymaid said
'Certainly - I'll go and tell the cow now before she goes to bed'

The Dairymaid she curtsied and went and told the Alderney

'Don't forget the butter for the Royal Slice of Bread'

The Alderney said sleepily 'You'd better tell his Majesty

That many people nowadays like Marmalade instead'.

The Dairymaid said 'Fancy' and went to her Majesty

She curtsied to the Queen and she turned a little red.
'Excuse me Your Majesty for taking of the liberty

But Marmalade is tasty if it's very thickly spread' ...................

(I don't know why, but as a child I always loved repeating over and over - 'for taking of the liberty')

Anyway next morning we much enjoyed our Sunday breakfast boiled eggs, followed by toast AND butter AND marmalade ........ both very thickly spread!