We returned home on Friday to find a "missed you" card from TNT. A quick phonecall and the consignment was delivered the next day (very good of them to deliver on a Saturday) and inside was... our hedge! 52 young trees, most of which were no more than whips, but all looking in good condition. A few hours' work over the weekend and we now have what looks like a row of sticks shoved in the ground next to our fence. All we can do now is wait and hopefully, the spring will see a load of new greenage marking the edge of our garden.
While I was digging, <3 was hard at work baking -- and I did a little myself in between hedge planting stints. Between us we now have a sizeable portion of what <3 describes as the EU Cookie Mountain: fudge, choc chip cookies, gingerbread, parkin, cinnamon and almond blobs, biscotti, figs in marzipan and shortbread. Very large quantities of everything, largely for distribution to friends and family over the next couple of weeks.
The culinary icing was put on the metaphorical cake with a roast Sunday lunch based around a piece of pork shoulder from the local Dews Meadow Farm, which produces some excellent pork (and related products). I think this was probably the best roast I have every cooked -- everything came out just right. We are rapidly becoming more and more convinced by the wisdom of buying our meat from local producers who use non-intensive farming methods. Aside from ethical issues regarding the treatment of animals, and the desire to reduce "food miles", this joint did not cost much more than something similar would have cost in a supermarket and tasted so much better.
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