The summer passed in a whirl with unexpected levels of demand for our preserves wherever we stopped. In some ways it was a bit like driving on a remote road with the fuel gauge edging towards zero as we headed south to the IWA festival in Worcester - the last event of our 2021 season.

We thought we had enough stock for the three day event, then we opened for business and sold every last jar within two days. Well, they do say its best to leave when the crowd is still wanting more....

And so it was back home in early September and a mad scramble to pick and process the Apples, Plums, Pears, Sloes and Damsons we need for next years stock. And that's what we have been doing for the last six weeks, slowly filling the shelves of our store room with the promise of good times in 2022.

Our last outing with the boats was in late October when we returned the Jam Butty to its birthplace in Shropshire have it blacked (bottom painted), but even on this journey we couldnt resist reaping natures harvest when we came across a late fruiting plum tree near Pelsall. Just enough to make a last batch of the ever popular Pear and Walnut Chutney.