How do you like Your Molotov Cocktail... ice and lemon?

Wow. The Elderflower is exploding..... A glass bottle with a metal and ceramic stopper blew itself to kingdom come in the dairy!

Trying to burp the bottles proved equally hazardous to life until I suggested we freeze them.

'After all Champagne doesn't fizz up if it's especially chilled..' she said smugly to the hubby, as she reminisced back to the time when she was a Stolly-Bolly girl in London, selling art....... ah bliss.

So we stuck them in the deep freeze and when they were really cold we burped the bottles.

They are now being stored in the cellar and require burping once a day.... Poo! it's like having 30 children!! Still it will be worth it in the end...

Decadence of country life....

It was pandemonium here the night before last. The sheep from next door, on noticing that the grass is always greener, escaped to our patch. Our neighbour was out, so hubby and I tried to catch the blighters, fearful they'd wander away off our land and over the common; our fields are not sheep secure.

It was hot and humid as we lashed up and down a buttercup and clover meadow... so pretty. so D.H. Lawrence, till I noticed that hubby was carrying a tin of Strongbow, supping between bouts of chasing! Chav, and he wouldn't even give me a sip!

Defeated, we waved at a friend who was off to the pub in the next village, asking him to check the hostelry for the official shepherd of said sheep. Pretty soon our neighbour reappeared with his crook. Jesus like, he ushered the prodigals back to their own field.

Later, when the kids were in bed, I wandered out to the garden to start the nightly plant-watering ritual. Coming towards me up the gravel drive was Willy the Shetland pony! He was dressed in his fly suit, complete with face and ear mask. In this get-up he looks like he's wearing armour; off to a short-person joust at any moment.

He was clearly fed up with his lonely field, (the other ponies had been taken to a show jumping event for the evening) and delightfully he'd found the gate to his field open!!! (School boy error that one!) Fortunately he was on a mission, not to escape, but rather to enter the field nearest the stables. I obliged, opening the gate for him and shutting it firmly behind his little bottom.

The animals on site are certainly full of personality.

The chickens have been on a go-slow for a little while and I've only been reaping 4 eggs a day instead of my usual 8 or 10. I cook a fair bit and swap eggs with pals at school, so I'd really like at least 10 eggs per day. Today I received a call from a friend of a friend who owns an egg farm: They have 13,000 chickens and have agreed that we can pop over on Saturday morning to pick up some of their older girls at £1 each. I'm going to let the sproglets choose two more chickens each, giving us 12 in total. Can't wait.

We finally bottled up the Elderflower champagne. It smells great but looks like scrumpy cider. We await the results. I don't think we'll even try it for about a month, although by all accounts we'll need to burp the bottles once a week, in case they explode!

Elderflower Champagne

Last night we four intrepid explorers trooped into the furthest field. We were foraging for Elderflower heads to make Elderflower Champagne, to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe.

It proved a difficult task; 5ft stinging nettles, gorse and a rambling rose protected our most productive Elderberry tree, but eventually we had a decent stash.

The conconction is brewing in the dairy and it smells divine. I pop in now and again purely for an aroma-fest.

I'll let you know how we progress in a few days or weeks...hic!

Food Glorious Food!

Yum, yum, yum....

Antoinette Savill's dinner party was fantastic. Her house is a stunning barn conversion, set in a farm just outside Ludlow.

It was still warm, so we all chatted over Champagne in the garden.

Brought to a round table, we began the feast with Wild Garlic Soup. It was delicate and refreshing - the garlic had been picked in the woods locally. The main course and my husband's absolute favourite, was poached salmon and seasonal veg. Later, he confessed that he wished he'd asked for more! Then followed individual lavender pavlova, home-made ice cream and rhubarb. I really loved the pavlova, I may even attempt that myself! We closed with some delectable cheese.

I'm a fan of vodka, so Antoinette let me taste her home made damson vodka ....stunning; sweet and fruity, thank goodness we only had time for a little taste or I may have over-indulged! I now know who to ask for advice, as The Larches is rife with fruits. I see me making some pretty impressive Christmas pressies this year....and far easier than chutney!

The guests were charming, intelligent and artistic. (not sure whether I fall into one of those categories...) They hailed from London, my old stomping ground. In a previous life,.... so very long ago,...sigh..... I had lived in Battersea. We always pronounced it Batt-er-see-ah, to big up its status. Renowned for its power station, it is a pretty enclave 'south of the river.' It is most certainly south of the finery of Sloan Square and the hallowed King's Road, which boasts the store, Peter Jones!

'Oh lovely,' quipped a guest, 'you lived in South Chelsea.'

Earlier that day Antoinette had discovered a puff-ball mushroom, in the woods. It was the size of your head, I kid you not! Although we had to rush home to allow the babysitter to escape, Antoinette's overnight guests are sure to get an amazing breakfast this morning...

And so, with our tummies full we left them quaffing and headed home to the babies. What a lovely evening.