Flowering Crab Apple

Also known as Malus Halliana, from China. I spotted these bright berries on our winter walk around Westonbirt Arboretum, a few miles from where we live in Gloucestershire. We go there fairly often, though I hadn't been since the new round of improvements to access and parking took effect in June. The aim of the Forestry Commission, who runs it, is to restore the arboretum as far as possible to the original vision and design of its creator, Mr Holford.

We'd aimed to follow the winter trail right round the old arboretum, but even with THREE pairs of gloves on, I was cold when not actually jumping up and down in the sunshine. Thick frost was evident on the shaded leaves, and the arboretum was quieter than I'd ever seen it. We cut short our route and headed back to the coffee in the car, before driving back 'over the top' via the green splendour of Minchinhampton common, now bare of cows. Summer grazing ended las month. I recalled my sunny picnic on the common in late June, and marvelled to realise that it was nearly six months ago!

Back at the house, I got straight into making the Christmas cake, having done all the prep earlier. It's my first Gluten-free Christmas cake and I had made it very complicated for myself by buying a kit from Tesco's and then realising that most of the ingredients were a) poor quality and b) not gluten-free! So I got in more supplies and ended up using some of the Tesco stuff as well, but following a Dove's farm recipe while using a Phil Vickery-recommended flour mix that I'd blended myself. Added to this, I'd just bought my first-ever food processor which came without any proper instructions! At any rate, I got the cake into the oven and it started to waft the traditional spicy aroma around the house...

Next, we brought the tree in, and the decorations down from the loft, and started to build Christmas in the living room. It's a tidy-up and ritual that I simultaneously love and dread, because there is a lot of junk to be moved every year, and nowhere to put it. Unlike most households, we actually DO have a spare kitchen sink in our setting room, though it is incredibly well disguised! That got moved on to another room today. Maybe it'll make it to the kitchen in 2015.

It's about half done now, but I need more lights because the tree is so big! Have ordered some more because I found a massive online sale, but I think I'll put some more baubles up tomorrow, anyway.Bomble is asleep in his little box-bed. I even found the name-tag that my niece, now 16, stitched for him when she was eight! Steve is watching Montalbano, but I hope it ends soon, so I can carry on watching my pirated copy of the BBC 1980s children's series, The Children of Green Knowe. Perfect pre-Christmas viewing!