Cordiality

It has become an annual tradition for me to make elderflower cordial. It is a lengthy process, stripping the flowers from their slightly toxic stems and leaving them to infuse. My neighbour commented that I must have a lot of patience. My unspoken response was that spending time outside, working with the bounty of nature that I have gathered with my own hands, is not an onerous task. It is instead one of the few occasions when my brain can actually stop. The mindless repetition of stripping flowers into a bowl for hours on end and letting my thoughts wander is a kind of therapy much needed in this life of overstimulation and a focus on the unreal. 

Plus, it tastes so much better than the stuff you buy in the shops.