© 2010 Lynsey

320 – Crab apple jelly


Saturday. I think about sleeping in, but instead I get up and make a start on converting a stash of crab apples into jelly. Crab apple jelly, melting into butter, on hot scones is probably the early delight the Persian poets were aching for. Come back in a couple of days, guys, will I have a deal for you…

I come a family with a long tradition of preserving food – bottles of jams, jellies, marmalades, sauces, chutneys, and pickles. Bottled sunshine. Essence of labour, and of love. Dad would maintain the fruit trees and the vegetables, and Mum would bottle the harvest surpluses. I didn’t fully understand it at the time – it was all part of the flow – but Dad’s expression of love was in the richness of the crops, Mum’s in the beautiful artistry of the preserves. Together, in winter, making toast on the open fire, enjoying each other’s company and the bottled sunshine.

Manifesto
18. Every day express love. Some people need to hear it. Most people need to see it. Don’t take it for granted.
30. Every day use all your senses. Touch. Smell. Taste. Hear. See.
50. Every day has an ending.

2 Comments