Well now ...

... that was a pleasant weekend. It helped, mind you, that I worked on neither Saturday nor Sunday. The bank account won't enjoy this much, but I did!

So, Saturday morning found me on the allotment, while The Builder was in Sheffield getting his eyes tested and organising some safety glasses. And very pleasant it was there too. I got LOADS more raspberries and LOADS more blackcurrants and some potatoes and some tiny, tiny beetroots. There are more blackcurrants to come!! I begin to think you can have too many blackcurrants. I am very nearly beginning to think you can have too many raspberries. The potatoes, on the other hand, don't seem to be producing all that well. The potatoes themselves are fine, there just aren't very many of them.

Anyway. The van has been fixed. A Man delivered a new battery for it this morning and it seems to be breathing still. The Builder picked me up from the allotment and we trundled back though Tupton to pay the Man with the Battery and then we went to Bakewell, via a new (to us) route. The Builder needed thingies for his screw driver and there's a tool shop in Bakewell. While he was sorting that out, I joined the enoooooooooormous queue at the fish and chip shop, where they make some of the finest fish and chips in the world, then we went and sat on the wall by the river and ate them in the sunshine. And so to Chatsworth for some salady stuff from the farm shop and home. Where I processed blackcurrants. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... What to do with all these blackcurrants. I've made blackcurrant jelly, some blackcurrant syrup. Ive got punnets and punnets in the freezer. Consult recipe books. Hmmmm. Might try my hand at a form of cassis. There are blackcurrants steeping in a bottle of red wine in the larder. Must get some gin and brandy for the next stage. Now, what for dinner. Jacket potatoes with butter and tuna and a rather nice salad. And so to bed, after a nice, quiet, pleasant day (see, I said it was a pleasant weekend!)

Sunday dawned bright and shiny, though it had clearly rained quite hard sometime over night. Washing and ironing done, we ambled into Chesterfield to collect Tabitha from Macdonalds, where Gareth had dropped her. Back home to fortify her with toast, vegemite and cheese then off we went exploring.

First we went to Hardwick Hall, which Bess of Hardwick (redoubtable Elizabethan Lady) had had built after not-quite restoring her father's house next door. I quite like Hardwick Hall. It has a fantastic Long Gallery, lots of amazing tapestries, interesting bits of furniture. Plus, it's all under roof so if it rains (and rain was threatened) you can stay nice and dry. Tabitha wasn't quite as impressed. She prefers ruins. And Chatsworth. I think she thinks that Hardwick was built to demonstrate wealth (as it was), power (indeed) and bravura (absolutely). The Builder and I rather enjoy visiting, however. So, in order to accommodate Tabitha's ruin fixation, we went to look at the Hardwick Old Hall (the aforementioned not-quite restored father's house). That is substantially ruined (various generations of Cavendish, now the Duke of Devonshire, have scavenged it for things at Chatsworth. Bess' second husband, by whom she had her children, was a Cavendish. They seem to own half of Derbyshire -- and none, I think, of Devon!). But you can climb a tower to the roof level. Fantastic views.

Still not raining. So we went to Sutton Scarsdale where there is the most amazing 18th century country house -- but with only the walls standing (http://www.derbyshireuk.net/sutton_scarsdale.html) Was very interesting. So too is Sutton Scarsdale itself. Here we are, out in what is formerly mining country and almost in the middle of nowhre, there is a hamlet which absolutely reeks of money. Very bizarre. Clouds threatening we made our way home, via Sainsbury in Chesterfield to pick up alcohol supplies.

While we were waiting for Gareth to arrive (he's landed a job in the Bull's Head in Ranmoor, just by asking for it!) Tabitha and I watched "Cheaper by the dozen", the original, not the more recent "remake". Was very cute. Then, the threatening clouds having gone away, I went out and lit the barbecue. Chatsworth does fantastic sausages; no salt or gristly bits in them, and I had lamb and mint, pork and apple, and beef and tomato snags at the ready. And chicken kebabs. And nice bread rolls. Tabitha assembled the salad and we all sat outside in the lovely evening light, munching and quaffing. Earlier in the day I had made summer pudding. The Builder and I had strolled up to the village shop in the morning and bought some white sliced bread for the summer pudding (and put hundreds of dead bottles into the recycling bins? Us? Nooooo; must have been someone who looked like us!) I made it with blackcurrants, raspberries and some redcurrant juice, and glazed it when I served it, with blackcurrant syrup. We had it after the barbecue with fresh cream and it was wonderful. Might have to do it again! Then Tabitha and Gareth took themselves off to the quiz in the Bull's Head and I went to sleep. And to bed.

It's been threatening rain all day in Sheffield. I wonder if we got any at home.

Oh. And I've broken yet another pedometer. Knocked it off my trouser waistband with my shopping bag this morning. It fell to the pavement with a mighty whack. And disintegrated :-(