A Taste of Summer 2014

G (aka Mr Dyson/the Dyson man/Pops/the other half) is a bit of a whizz at producing fruit-inspired spirits. For the last 3 or 4 years, he has made multiple batches of Sloe and Bramble gin and vodka. This stuff is LETHAL!!! Also, very, very delicious.

Today was sunny and warm, and as I was giving the house the kind of cleaning it had not seen since I took up my YES campaigning, he cleared off outside to the patio to prepare the first batch of the 2014 harvest.

He had picked some sloes on his way home from work yesterday, and these babies were huuuuuuuge! Almost as big as small black olives. His recipe is: Gin (or vodka) of good quality. If it is not nice enough to drink on its own, its not good enough to use for mixing with berries. Sugar; enough to sweeten the drink, but not so much as to make your teeth scream. Sloes; black and ripe and ready for bruising to release the juices before dropping them into the bottles of gin/vodka.

Method: wash some large plastic bottles, then pour good quality gin or vodka into them. Add sugar to taste. Bruise Sloes / Brambles by putting them into sealable plastic bags, and gently bashing with rolling pin. Add the fruit to the bottles. Put lids on bottles, and shake well. Lay bottles away somewhere safe, where they can be turned and shaken ever couple of weeks until Christmas time, at which time they are poured out and strained through muslin into jugs. When the strained liquid is collected in approx. 12 weeks time, pour it into washed and sterilised glass containers and seal immediately.

From this batch I think we will hold back one bottle to toast the next attempt at Independence when it comes. And it will come, hopefully within the next 30 years.

By the time he had finished his endeavours, and retreated to a deck chair to read his book, I had managed to lick the house back into some kind of shape. I was disgusted at the state of the bathroom, and the kitchen floor. Much better now I have to say. Next weekend I will focus on the garden, which needs a serious tidy up and cutting back.

I took a little while out to check who was up to what on Facebook, and very proudly discovered that my brother Pete has had a tattoo saying '45%' done on his wrist, in recognition of the 45% of the Scottish population who voted YES in the referendum.

Afraid I'm a bit of a kiff, so I have taken the easier option to make my feelings of discontent known: I have joined the SNP today.