Apple and Bramble Pie

Dear Cathy

Thank you for your kind words dear. There have been one or two unkind remarks since the show which are rather hurtful, but I stand by my decision to enter a burnt Lemon Drizzle Cake and an over-sized Bakewell Tart. Some time ago I was asked to join the W.I. to bolster their dwindling numbers, and I was giving it serious consideration, but on further reflection I don't think I'll bother!

We have been very busy adjusting to the new school term and all the new after-school activities and associated logistics. No sooner do I think I've got it all sorted than something else crops up. My eldest has just started Brownies and is loving it already. Strange really - as a young girl I attended for a while but could never muster up much enthusiasm and ended up getting thrown out. I never knew why and mother still can't talk about it! Anyway, at the end of each meeting there is a cake sale and everyone takes turns to make little cup cakes etc. We're not baking until November but I'm looking for inspiration already. Do let me know if you have any suggestions for something special won't you?

The latest bake was Apple and Bramble Pie (p221). The recipe said one could replace blackberries with various other fruits and I used Whinberries, hand-picked by the Latte family at the end of the summer holiday. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had been pond-dipping in the morning. We followed this with a cup of tea and a slice of Wild Edric's Tart at the Bog Visitor Centre, and then continued up to the Stiperstones where we spent a happy hour picking the delicious little berries. It was so satisfying to take them home, sort them, wash them and put them in a pie. I took a picture of them because I thought they were so beautiful.

The Damson tree in the garden is also laden with fruit and we have been picking that too. I have tried three times to make jam. The first batch burned, the second set like concrete and the last separated into a thick syrup with a few damsons floating around in it. I have now given up as I was wasting such a lot of fruit. I have frozen some for pies and have started off some Damson Gin which takes three months to brew! The rest I have given to Lois for her to make jam, and she will repay me with a couple of jars of the finished product.

That's all for now. Your dear friend Lucy. x

PS ref your last letter - what happened to the cat?

PPS I am having a lovely time playing with Pottermore. I have opened an account at Gringotts Bank, bought all the equipment I need for Hogwarts in Diagon Alley, and I've got my wand from Ollivanders!