Caz and Bid have been doing Friday Volunteer Days at Willow Organics, operating on the same basis as WWOOFing with people coming along to work for the day in exchange for lunch, cake, maybe a bag or two of salad leaves and a hefty slice of getting in touch with the land. And that.
We’d planned to go over and join in today and Ady was able to go into the office a bit late and take us over /come over to collect us later so we had an earlyish start for us. I had previously told Caz we don’t get anywhere for 930am, often not even downstairs in our own house but we were there with wellies on for 930am today :).
The kids disappeared and we barely saw them all day. They joined us for lunch, at one point Davies rang me because he’d not seen me for a couple of hours and wanted to check ‘you are ok?’ 😆 but other than that were off playing with walkie-talkies and having a ball.
I was put to work with a dibber 🙂 Planting on onions and then fennel before doing some weeding. That took us to lunchtime and several other people had arrived to help out so I chatted to them :). Lunch was delicious; pasta, sweet chestnut, squash and coconut stew with lovely bread followed by apple pie. All very lovely :).
After lunch Caz, Jo and I headed to a nearby neighbour to pick some apples via the opposite neighbour where all the kids were and Julie, Jack, Maisie and Lorna had arrived as they now keep Honey the pony there. Had a very brief catch up with Julie and then went to gather apples. When we got back the husband and wife team who do willow planting and willow structures and were clearing a large area ready to plant willow in were ready for some assistance so Caz and I armed ourselves with gloves and went to do some clearing of nettles, brambles, wood and ivy. My arms look like I self-harm and my legs got scratched through my jeans to the point that blood seeped through but I got to have a go with a petrol hedgetrimmer and came home tired from proper physical work :).
Ady came to collect us and stayed for a drink and catch up with the people still around before we needed to get going in time to put chickens away before dark. We arrived home to discover the van back on the drive (hurrah!). We’d got the kids fish and chips on the way home so everyone got cleaned up, I read some Running Wild and the kids went to bed, Ady and I had baths and dinner. Baths definitely very high up my list of things I will miss next year.
“delicious; pasta, sweet chestnut, squash and coconut stew”
Yeah, I’m laughing 🙂
So the future tastes vegan, who knew? 😉
Yeah, right Nic.! We are your friends who have fed you. We know it had to have a face, a mother and some fur or feathers before it could be termed delicious ;-). Glad you had a good day and hoping willow is well.
I’m not saying it wouldn’t have benefitted from some bacon and of course I had some pork lozenges in my pocket to keep me going 😆
Maybe you need some of that bacon jam Jonathan mentioned a few months ago (see, he’s not all high culture 😉 ) to take with you next year for those dangerously vegetabley moments.