Saturday 30th July 2022

Welcome to the weekend.

When Jools was swimming the other week, she mentioned to someone she was talking to, when told the other person had horses, that on her bucket list was grooming a horse.

So, that was easy to sort out, and so Saturday morning was when she went to Hougham to groom the horse.

That was after getting up and shopping, in which a weekely shop with nothing really out of the ordinary came to £140. There was no washing tablets, expensive bottle of booze, just two bottles of tripel at a fiver each and a bottle of very cheap fiz at six quid.

There were gaps on the shelves: bacon especially, but there was smoked streaky for our breakfast, which I get cooking once we're home.

And having eaten them, I say to Jools you go to Hougham and I'll wash up and stay here as I have the tart to make.

The tart.

Not just any tart, limoncello and grappa tart.

This is something that popped up in the Sunday Times magazine 20 years ago, and I make each year when raspberries are plentiful. I do cheat now and buy ready made pastry, that saves an hour.

I separate 12 eggs, saving the whites as I only need the yolks. I weigh out the sugar and ground almonds, then pour in the limoncello and grappa, add the eggs, then spoon the sugar, the almonds and finally the zest and juice of three lemons. I let that mix for five minutes.

I line the tin with pastry, pour in the punnet of raspberries, finally pour the mixture into the tin, covering the fruit. I ensure none is wasted.

Then into the oven for an hour or so, in the meantime I wash up, clear away and do the other things so that by the time the tart is cooked, the house is tidy, and I just wait for Jools to come home.

When she did, we have a cold drink, then I load up my cameras and we drive out to Barham for some orchiding.

Last weekend a friend in Lancashire said that having seen BLH that was now the last species he would see in his county, and we are nearly at the end here too, but there are four species I have yet to see. I took the decision not to go to Lullingstone this year to see the Green Flowered Disappointments. I was going to go last week, but chose to go to the Surrey Hills instead. It would have taken half an hour but time was tight, and I think I made the right call.

So three more, two Helleborines and the ALT to go. And I knew I would see the helleborines this day.

Up the lane towards where I hoped the Yellow birdsnest would have showed, but they failed totally this year, but a few weedy Broad Leaved Helleborines were worth the walk, and in remarkablly good light, I got some good shots of the spikes and flowers.

A drive two miles down the lane to Covet Wood, where we found the hard standing empty, no campers, happy or otherwise.

I had no idea whether we would find any at all here. Last year there was just a couple of spikes, the rest failed. So, only one way to find out.

A long slow walk along the narrow track, uphill all the way, and then up the steep slope into the beech wood.

We walk all the way thought the wood, the trees towering over us, somewhere, there should be orchids.

We walked to where we had found the very first VH clump what, six years ago? And they have vanished, like they were never there. I don't think they showed last year, either.

I knew where to look, however, and soon, just off the path I found a multi-stem spike, all in flower and looking fabulous.

We explored more and found a good half dozen clumps, maybe 30 spikes, and some to come into flower next week.

I turned to Jools and asked: fancy a pub lunch?

She did.

And as it happened, there was the Black Robin a five minute drive away.

After parking and walking through four motorbikes, we found a table on the veranda free, had an orange juice and lemonade each before we ordered a burger each. And a beer. Or cider.

And I can tell you, dear reader, the burgers hit the spot.

And on top of that, you'll be glad to hear, Saturday was the first day of the new football season. And I got us home in time to make a coffee and set up the radio to listen to the games.

Norwich are red hot favourites to go back up, so they, of course, lost at Cardiff 1-0, and were poor with it.

And then there was the Charity Sheild to watch, LIverpool v Citeh. Again.

A good game, lots of chances and very competitive for a "friendly". Pool won 3-1. Pep not happ with that. At all.