Over the past month, two notable things have happened in my journey to becoming a Pink Tractor Lady. Firstly, my collection of pink paraphernalia has increased dramatically and secondly, I’ve made a concerted effort to seek out Pink Ladies to find out what taking part is really going to entail. I’m as keen as mustard… Continue reading Pink Ladies Tractor Run – the key to success? A sports bra…
At the end of last year a friend emailed me. He said, ‘I think I’ve asked you before about Detectorists: I’ve watched every episode over the past few weeks, and I love it. It’s filmed in your neck of the woods, innit?’ I replied the next day and said, ‘I’ve never seen Detectorists before, whizzed through the… Continue reading Metal detecting in Norfolk…
On New Year’s Day, as 2023 rolled into town I found my phone lighting up as a new message came through. It said, ‘how about tomorrow morning?’ ‘Yes’ I said, with a huge smile on my face. Come the next morning I was standing in a farmyard about to meet the tractor that will take… Continue reading Diary of a Pink Tractor Lady – I meet my tractor…
On a frosty walk through the woods, a momentary stop to appreciate the clarity of the day drew my eye to the south-facing trunk of a struggling ash tree. It was covered from top to toe in what I thought was some sort of fungus but on closer inspection it turned out to be clusters… Continue reading Ladybirds in hibernation…
Six years ago I witnessed a sight that stopped me in my tracks. There I was, cycling on the backroads of South Norfolk when out of nowhere a host of women came hurtling towards me on an array of tractors bedecked in pink. It was the vivid and widely-loved Pink Ladies Tractor Road Run. I’d… Continue reading Pink Ladies Tractor Run, here I come…
It’s that time of year again, when the floral scent of lavender continues to fill the air. The recent balmy weather has encouraged the aroma of the sweet herb to linger longer. Whilst lavender flowers are widely dried, I often feel it’s underused in baking and cooking. And now, as the flowers start to fade,… Continue reading Lavender ice cream recipe…
It’s me again, I’m back! After months of inactivity, the growing abundance of produce in the garden has me reaching for the keyboard again. Whilst I’ve been quiet here, I’ve been a whirling dervish in the garden. Three new raised beds contain 124 dahlias (it’s been 18 months in the making), autumn-planted garlic, shallots and… Continue reading Strawberry lassi recipe…
As the new year rolls into town with a wave of warm weather it’s made me think about the coming year in the garden – about what I’d like to sow and what I’d like to cook with what I’ve grown, foraged and found. January can often be a bleak month in the garden but… Continue reading What to do in January in the garden…
The sun is out and it’s a gloriously beautiful day. On a potter through the garden I passed one of the fig trees and caught the most wonderful scent. If you didn’t already know, fig leaves carry an intense coconut scent and flavour. I kid you not. Even now, as the garden and all the plants… Continue reading The very best fig leaf recipes (including fig leaf ice cream)…
This morning I awoke to a tweet on my phone’s screen which simply said, £27/t. It meant nothing to me, but a little digging revealed the news that NFU Sugar and British Sugar have announced a one-year sugar beet contract for 2022. It means that beet farmers will receive a fixed sum of £27 a… Continue reading Sugar: From British beet to bake…
