Damson Days

Damson Days, a look at the ancient hedgerow fruit, its origins, uses and cultural history, including a simple recipe for a preserve

Farming, the Next Generation

The United Kingdom’s agricultural sector stands as a pillar of food security, rural economies, and environmental management, yet it faces a generational shift amid rapidly evolving challenges. With the average farmer’s age around 60, the industry urgently needs fresh talent to ensure its sustainability yet many have abandoned the profession. For a long while theContinue reading “Farming, the Next Generation”

Cotton Chronicles, Kissing Shuttles

Shuttles are elegantly formed wooden tools used for weaving textiles, like cotton, on looms, they are usually manufactured from Dogwood, Cornel or Persimmon, all hardwoods which rarely splinter. Within a shuttle is a hollow which contains a hinged ‘shuttle peg’, upon this is mounted a ‘pirn’, basically a long thin reel or bobbin, around whichContinue reading “Cotton Chronicles, Kissing Shuttles”

If anyone’s wondering why some of my posts are being reposted it’s because of a glitch with jetpack/wordpress!

Some of my posts appear to have inexplicably been moved from ‘published’ to ‘draft’, so to make sure they are visible I’m having to re-publish them. It’s probably just a weird glitch but I’m not a software engineer so I don’t understand what’s going on, anyway hope this explains things! A B-H