This recent comment from Margaret reminded me that once again the ever popular how to make elderflower champagne page is bringing in lots of visitors to the site. Hopes are high that as well as having a go at making the champagne, visitors will have a go at making elderflower cordial – much easier and far less risky than making the fizzy version.
Margaret wrote:
Well this has certainly made interesting reading. I have laughed so much at some of the stories but think it may be nervous laughter as I have two buckets of the stuff sitting in my garage! I have never attempted to make my own wine, beer or indeed anything like this before so don’t quite know what to expect. I will be bottling it tomorrow into plastic screw top bottles which previously had fizzy water in them, compliments of Tesco. I am wondering what to expect from the bottles having read some of the hilarious comments on here. Should I prepare for the worst? dress in combat gear, goggles, hard hat and wear asbestos gloves? Perhaps I could hire a suit of armour from somewhere, better to be safe than sorry! I will keep it in the garage I think, safely covered in a duvet and a tarpaulin. Only hope I like the stuff after all of this!
Hedgerows are festooned with elderflower in full bloom right now so once again I urge you to go pick a few heads (ideally on a warm still sunny day) and make your own delightful drinks – just remember to leave some flowers to mature into elderberries for the wine makers and of course our feathered friends.
Posted by Pasty Muncher on
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 Filed in London
· 3 comments
Last weeks edition of the Radio Times included a postcard sized scratch-and-sniff card to accompany the latest series Filthy Cities.
By scratching the card viewers are able to experience life like aromas from London sewers, a New York tannery and “muddy” Paris – three cities featured in the series on BBC 2
For those who weren’t able to pick up a copy the cards are availble from public libraries while stocks last – find your nearest library here
Filthy London
Beginning this new three-part series on the histories of three of the world’s leading modern cities, Dan Snow looked at the squalor of medieval London.
The stench and filth in the streets was unimaginable, consisting of a ripe cocktail of mud, dung, urine and excrement. Added to this repulsive waste were the foul chemicals from leather- tanning factories and the putrid run-off from brewers, butchers and fishmongers. The only way to get through these open sewers was to walk on raised wooden overshoes, like miniature stilts.
Dan Snow has always been an hands-on historian, but there are plenty of occasions in this vivid programme when he must have wished that he had stayed in the library. He slaughters a pig, rakes muck and retches at the sight of raw sewage.
Heres a clip:
Future episodes of Filthy cities will feature Niffy New York and Pongy Paris.
