BUMBLEBEES

“A Bee is an exquisite Chymist”

— ROYAL BEEKEEPER TO CHARLES II

PROVIDE FOR THE BEES
AND THEY WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU

In our garden, the bees like to congregate in the sticky petals of the artichoke flowers, and along the tops of the chive flowers as they sway in the breeze. In the meadow, they duck and dip into the foxglove bells. I am thankful that they are here - working their magic on our garden to ensure that we will continue to have gooseberries, potatoes and chives. 

The bumblebees are the best - big, fuzzy and droning, they never scare me but make me smile. And what incredible magic they are able to work, back in their hives! Having taken the dust of a million flowers, leaving fertility in their wake, do they act as ants - simply collecting, building and eating? No. They weave their flower spices into something completely new: those gorgeous hexagonal structures dripping with honey.

If I could play a small part in this amazing chemical process, it would be to keep a garden of blooming organic flowers - what a small price to pay for such a reward. 

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white clover

honeysuckle

delphinium

catmint

artichoke

chives

foxglove

lavender

rosemary

marjoram

snapdragon

dandelion

primrose

forget-me-not

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PICKING THE RASPBERRIES

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I firmly believe that berries taste best just seconds after they have been picked from the bush. 

I wait patiently all summer, watching the green orbs of raspberries and strawberries, growing in leafy hollows behind the water tanks in our backyard. Finally, one day near the beginning of autumn, they are all a deep red.

When I go to pick the raspberries, I am no longer patient. I do not wait to eat them inside. Instead I stand there, listening to the wind and the bees and the squeak of the washing line as it turns round. These outside noises - combined with the first sharp burst of raspberry flavour on my tongue - these two separate sensory experiences go together like peas in a pod. 

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CHEESE BOARDS

If I was to die tomorrow, then today I would go out and get all the ingredients for a cheese board:

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A strong blue cheese.

A perfectly aged sharp cheese.

One soft and nutty cheese.

Two packets of crackers, the best kind I can find.

A bunch of spiced, stuffed and seasoned olives dripping in oil.

A fruity chutney.

Two bunches of grapes.

And, last but not least, a bottle of red wine.

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It was our tradition, each week, to get all of these things together, me laying out the olives in small bowls while Oliver opens the wine. Then we would sit and feast.

There is no greater pleasure than that of a cheeseboard - the mingling of creamy, salty and pungent flavours with the sultry headiness of the wine. I love the way it brings together such simple ingredients - the fruits and labours of the earth, of my home country, and makes each one shine out in its pure state of being.