I honestly thought that the blackberries had all but finished, but I saw my friend Susie yesterday on the lane between our two villages, picking merrily away whilst her two terriers waited patiently. To be fair they weren't the most perfect of specimens, (the blackberries, not the dogs) but as Susie says, they would be fine for blackberry vodka.
Blackberry vodka? Oh no, I don't do vodka....ever since the olden days.. since the first Christmas after leaving the convent school, I got drunk on a number of vodkas and lime. You will note that the exact number isn't mentioned. That's because I'm unsure of the number - it may have been four or five. No more though...
My first hangover. I thought my head and stomach would explode, and I vowed never to drink the stuff ever again. I couldn't even stomach the smell of Roses's lime cordial for years either.
So the thought of blackberry vodka even after all these years was distinctly unappealing. Until yesterday.
I blame my friend Laura. I was whizzing down to her place to get something to knit a gash on my arm, which kept splitting open. Another incident down at the allotment in case you were wondering....
Ever efficient, she had a well stocked medicine cabinet cleaned, the wound and patched me up...but unlike my local doctor's surgery ,she also offered me a wee glass of blackberry vodka.
She's made quite a lot this year as well as other fruit vodkas and gins.
I smelt it first, fruity but clean. I took a tentative taste...and I began to smile. Bursting with blackberries, it also was so smooth, I polished the glass off faster than you can say "Hallelujah". My decades long aversion to vodka was cured in a couple of minutes.
On my way back up the hill, I bumped into Susie, who was still blackberrying. I think she's out to outdo Laura in the quantity stakes....they'll be getting a still next.
So guess what I was doing this afternoon? Walking Boo around the village , picking about 500gms of blackberries to make a bottle 's worth.
Which I have done, and which will now be put away until Christmas. Or perhaps not - depending on my willpower.
Today's track is from Josh Kemp, a Midlands musician in his early twenties, who I met the other week at the launch of Oxjam. He's a engaging songwriter, with some gorgeous love song lyrics, but he's also such a good guitarist. What's more, he really made me laugh with this song taken from his new EP Sofa Surfin.
His hangover was far more extreme than mine ( I just lay in a darkened room) ....but I expect it strikes a chord with many....
Blackberry vodka? Oh no, I don't do vodka....ever since the olden days.. since the first Christmas after leaving the convent school, I got drunk on a number of vodkas and lime. You will note that the exact number isn't mentioned. That's because I'm unsure of the number - it may have been four or five. No more though...
My first hangover. I thought my head and stomach would explode, and I vowed never to drink the stuff ever again. I couldn't even stomach the smell of Roses's lime cordial for years either.
So the thought of blackberry vodka even after all these years was distinctly unappealing. Until yesterday.
I blame my friend Laura. I was whizzing down to her place to get something to knit a gash on my arm, which kept splitting open. Another incident down at the allotment in case you were wondering....
Ever efficient, she had a well stocked medicine cabinet cleaned, the wound and patched me up...but unlike my local doctor's surgery ,she also offered me a wee glass of blackberry vodka.
She's made quite a lot this year as well as other fruit vodkas and gins.
I smelt it first, fruity but clean. I took a tentative taste...and I began to smile. Bursting with blackberries, it also was so smooth, I polished the glass off faster than you can say "Hallelujah". My decades long aversion to vodka was cured in a couple of minutes.
On my way back up the hill, I bumped into Susie, who was still blackberrying. I think she's out to outdo Laura in the quantity stakes....they'll be getting a still next.
So guess what I was doing this afternoon? Walking Boo around the village , picking about 500gms of blackberries to make a bottle 's worth.
Which I have done, and which will now be put away until Christmas. Or perhaps not - depending on my willpower.
Today's track is from Josh Kemp, a Midlands musician in his early twenties, who I met the other week at the launch of Oxjam. He's a engaging songwriter, with some gorgeous love song lyrics, but he's also such a good guitarist. What's more, he really made me laugh with this song taken from his new EP Sofa Surfin.
His hangover was far more extreme than mine ( I just lay in a darkened room) ....but I expect it strikes a chord with many....
Blackberry vodka sounds fab - but I've never drunk whisky since I was 21!
ReplyDeleteWhisky huh? So exactly how drunk were you Jo??? Where and with who?
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