Ripening

I had an hour or so this morning to go hunting for blackcurrants. The berries like the wheat are ripening.

Most fruit you can get in fresh or frozen form - often, when frozen, in a mix like summer fruits. However, in recent years finding just blackcurrants in the shops (either fresh or frozen) is a challenge. The pick your own places are now fewer and those that survive have become larger family day-out enterprises with play parks and mazes.

The one near South Queensferry is time-ticketed and I could not get a slot for the morning so I headed down the east coast to the farm shops there. Eventually I found a few punnets and some jam was made later.

It did give me a lovely part-morning out in the countryside with some lovely flower meadows and views over the Forth before the rains came in.

Early afternoon I tried some local shops but again no luck. I did see a few hardy souls setting off on the Edinburgh naked bike ride. Given the rain and wind most of them were nearly- naked. Not a usual sight in central Edinburgh!

The day was rounded off with repairs to chairs (while watching some tennis and football) and a dose of Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple.