The Best Dressed Shed Competition

Sunday was the Best Dressed Shed competition, and because I like doing arty things I thought I'd give it a go. By the time Mike & I arrived at the allotments, Wendy & Carl's mini-shed was bedecked to perfection, in patriotic style, with union flags, and a little table complete with kettle, all ready for a good British cuppa. As for me, well at the last minute I'd had second thoughts about the object of the competition. Was it to be a 'best dressed(up) shed' or just a very tidy looking shed? In the event, we rushed down on Sunday morning, and hastily transformed the boring, green shed into a bright beach hut, with the aid of sheets of red, blue and yellow wrapping paper and just about enough drawing pins to hold it on, hoping that the wind wouldn't get up. My friend had lent me her yellow deck-chair and some seaside postcards, we'd borrowed a bucket and spade from our grandchildren (plus a little sand),plus the yellow sun brolly that already lives in the shed, and a seagull I'd made from card and paper, hanging from the arch. It was all good fun, and hopefully we can have another go, next year. As for winning or not, well it's the taking part that matters, really.

It was good to see Hazel again. I hadn't seen her for some time, but she had been otherwise engaged with her new kitchen extension. I think she would appreciate this photo, which I have entitled 'Spud-u-like'. She was very proud of this large specimen. In fact, Sunday turned out to be a good day for catching up with the 'girls' on the allotments - Hazel, Wendy, Chris, Marion and Sue.

Last night our eldest son and family came round for a meal. Apart from the beef, almost every ingredient had come from my plot - potatoes, carrots, a variety of beans, and rhubarb and redcurrants for the pudding. I'd cooked down the fruit, with sugar, in the microwave. When it was cool, I put it into a flan dish, and covered it with about five layers of filo pastry (brushed with melted butter between layers). Then I decorated the top with pecan nuts. The first time I made it I brushed melted honey over the top layer, but as I'd run out of honey this time, I used melted apricot jam (taking care cover the nuts too). Then into the oven, Gas Mark 5, for about half an hour. Lovely with creme fraiche.