Of Damsons and Disappearing Doors
first batch
I know I’ve moaned about this before, but the Twitter noise:signal is getting worse even with tight controls on my timeline. It’s still an invaluable news source, but it’s also a prime source of bullshit. As social media has become ubiquitous and readily gamed, this will be a problem with any new public channel, but also the descent into uselessness in any new channel will be quicker as the trolls move in.
Meantime, just like looking at below-the-line comments, one is forced into dismay that they walk amongst us.
Some of them even get elected, too.
***
As promised, and as the photo indicates, I got one of the jeely pans out and made up some Apple and Damson Jam. If anyone is interested the recipe was
2.5K fruit (0.75 damson)
2K sugar
1.5 pints water
I took the stones out of the damsons last night and macerated them overnight with a kilo of sugar.I also boiled up all the left over bits (stones, applecores, etc.) and strained the soft pulp into the mix.
Simmer and hour and a half, then boil to setting temperature (105C).
I got 12 jars (of varying sizes) out of it, 2 of which are already given to neighbours. I won’t know for sure until tomorrow, but I think I may have been just under setting temperature. The jam is very nice, but a little softer than I’d like (although that’s better than overdone).
More to be made later in the week.
***
I thought Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi was wonderful: clear prose, a simple plot, but within the apparent simplicity she delivered subtle ideas and metaphors. It’s a masterclass right there.
***
While in the realm of Susanna Clarke, here’s something I’ve meant to mention for a few days but keep forgetting. On one of the routes I take for my regular evening walk, I used to smile as I passed a garden in which someone had taken the time and trouble to fix little fairy doors in a stone wall and a tree, presumably, I thought, to amuse their kids.
I realised a few days ago that I couldn’t find them any more. Here’s the thing: I don’t mean that I pass the garden and someone has taken things away, I mean I can’t find that garden at all.
***
Music: I encountered Wooden Shjips playing over the speakers in a record shop in town two or three years ago. I’ve been listening to them a lot of late.
Recent Comments