Quincident in the kitchen

It all started so well: a batch of quinces picked, cooked and mashed... the quince mush safely transferred to the jelly bag. 3 hours later, a satisfyingly large bowl of aromatic juice. Juice boiled with sugar to setting point. Ladles of golden juice carefully funnelled into sterilised jars.

And then... crash...!  I'd made the mistake of leaving the BBC podcast of Mick Herron's 'The Secret Hours' playing while I did all this. As it moved towards the denouement, I must have been distracted; I moved the tray of jars slightly and they crashed to the floor. In effect I'd just varnished the tiled floor with a slick of quince jelly and glass fragments. 

At least I didn't burn myself, and fortunately I'd only filled 3 jars. There was enough juice left to fill four more, so the fruit wasn't all wasted. But clearing it up took ages - I reckon quince jelly could be used to weatherproof timber, it sticks to surfaces so effectively.