I once had to minute a meeting with finger tips black from podding out broad beans... either nobody noticed or they were too polite to mention it! It would not come off and had to just wear away.

Some cake mixes can be like a batter to look at rather than a dough, I make a chocolate cake which is runny when you poor it into the tin but sets to a lovely moist cake. Trust your sisters recipe and carry on.

Feel for you poor souls with quagmires. Cauliflower technically OK....

Daffs at this time of year are early varieties. If you check out the catalogues you'll find they generally list them in order of flowering. Although warm weather helps to bring them forward, not by that much.

Had a stroll round the garden yesterday and had the following in flower: Daffs Luecojum (?) Vinca Green Hellebore And a couple of roses; Compassion and Alberic Barbier Also spotted a bit of wild pink campion that had popped up under a shrub. Seems pretty much the usual for this time of year, daffs a...

It's great... I'm doing nothing! Normally rushing about like the proverbial blue .... fly

Have walked the dogs and fed the chickens, now it's time for the third cup of tea.

Have a good Christmas all.

A very Happy Christmas wish to all the forum members and the KG team.

Now, must get the seed tin out and see what I want to order for the new year...

Alan, was that a shoot for one of those naked farmers calendars? Either that or she has an allotment too!

Adverts. Can anyone make sense of perfume adverts? How about that chap who drives into the desert to, for some unknown macho reason, bury his bit of bling? Quite apart from his appalling shovel technique where he chucks sand over his own head (someone send him a copy of KG) why would that make you b...

Sounds a good list Pa Snip. For the first time in 30 years I'm not cooking Christmas dinner, No.2 son and his good lady are cooking at their place. I'm looking forward to it as I know it will be a good meal but I feel slightly lost as though there is something I should be doing! I am in charge of br...

Darwinian selection at it's ...sharpest?

My dad started me off on beetroot and I've loved them (and him) ever since.

Thought there had to be a simple answer Ron... he didn't get one. Not when I have to lug the mattress myself

I don't begrudge people sitting in coffee shops but there were a lot of people of non-retired age in there (without laptops!!) and I never seem to find the time... Just wondered how they managed it! I suppose so much shopping is done on the internet that some shops have become superfluous and at lea...

Have to work at keeping her awake in the evening for a bit. With no.4 son I didn't get a solid night's sleep for 2 years...

Just like you should never tell Cook how beautiful another woman is, never, ever, praise another woman's cake....

Rolls rose and cooked, cake is yummy.