Season’s greetings. I hope the festive season is as you wanted it to be. Mine was quiet, mostly reading, a few cocktails and no turkey. I went to the plot on Boxing day and this weekend and feel like order is being restored.

I’ve a few harvest pics to share from November. Nic, a fellow blogger and grower, shared some sweet potato slips earlier this year; this is the harvest. I’d dug others up throughout October but these are the best.

The purple sprouting broccoli is already in production. The plants withstood the storms and seem happy following on after the peas – I’m already sharing with the neighbours.

The Christmas plot tour this year was a visit to Leadenhall Market – we had a few drinks before moving on to The Lookout at 8 Bishopsgate for a nighttime view of London. I was able to look down on what used to be known as the NatWest Tower, which decades ago was the tallest building in London. Feeling old we moved on to the next stop at Dirty Martini’s for happy hour. We left very happy after several gin-based cocktails and made our way to our final destination to see the play The Lehman Trilogy. Before 9/11, I sat next to a Lehman’s partner on a flight back from Hong Kong. It seemed rude to ignore him for 8 hours, so we briefly chatted. The thing I still remember is how dismissive he was of the “Essex boys’ hungry for money but lacking the education to hang on to it” He reckoned one of those Essex types lasted 12-18 months before burning out. I’m sure he was well insulated from the Lehman crash but there is a little bit of me that hopes not too much. The play was excellent. I was surprised to learn only 3 generations of the Lehman family were involved with the bank.

I didn’t cook the full Christmas lunch. I went with brunch – Salmon and avocado with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. I did however feel the urge to make marmalade! This is clementine with cardamon and thyme – closer to orange compote but very good. I’ve six jars of varying sizes which should last a few years.

Recent allotment visits have been limited to checking for storm damage and picking calabrese and PSB. I’ve spent the last few days weeding and mulching. I feel good and the plot looks good – I must do it more often.

Wishing you all a very happy New Year, full of bumper harvests and no pests or weeds.