The End of Summer

The August bank holiday weekend always signals the beginning of the end of the summer for me, and now I'm counting down the days to September as autumn begins to roll in.

Our bank holiday was very busy. Both my husband and I had the Friday off work too so we cleared out the basement and tidied and cleaned the rest of the house. By late Saturday afternoon the main rooms that visitors see and use were looking good - living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. The basement was ready for its new task - cider brewing!

Yes, Saturday evening my brothers and the youngest's girlfriend arrived bearing five large carrier bags filled with pears from my parents' garden. One look at the sheer volume of fruit and we decided all we wanted to do was chill out, so we ate pizza and ice-cream, caught up with each other and played Carcassone until it was time to hit the hay.

Next day, the pear preparation (and awful pear-related work puns) began! One brother washed the pears, the other chopped, and my husband sent them through the juicer and into the brewing bucket.

Meanwhile my brother's girlfriend and I set to preparing for the afternoon's tea party - a treat for both my and my husband's families, as a very belated thank you for helping us move house back in March. I baked chocolate flapjacks, and together we made mini scones to be served with cherry jam and clotted cream. She and my brother had already made incredibly delicious lemon & lime cupcakes and a large chocolate sponge. We then also made several sandwiches - ham with lettuce from the garden, cheese and cucumber, and roasted vegetables with houmous, all cut into neat little triangles. Whilst we worked hard at this the men had transformed the dining room into some kind of hideous pear-filled nightmare. Unwanted cores and bits of pulp scattered everywhere. Within an hour, however, the room was looking spotless and the smell of pear (as delicious as it is) had thankfully vanished. The perry-to-be was safely hidden away in the basement, merrily starting to brew. The table was set up with one cake stands and plates of sandwiches, the kettle was on ready to make different pots of tea, and we had just enough time to mess around with a chain mail coif, discovered during one of the earlier tidying sprees!

If the coif fits...

Then my husband's family arrived, shortly followed by my parents, and time to tuck in was finally here! And if I may say so myself it was all rather tasty!

The awesome lemon and lime cupcakes

We spent the afternoon drinking cup after cup of tea and eating lots and lots of sandwiches and cakes, catching up with each other, telling stories and jokes, and generally relaxing. The house felt very quiet after everyone left, but both my husband and I felt strangely serene. I think it was what we needed. Then it was off to church for the evening service, before having a chilled evening watching Lost and eating eggy bread for supper (well it wasn't like we'd eaten enough bread earlier or anything!)

We both slept very well that night!

The bank holiday Monday was a day for just us. A late start, a wander along the river as it wends its way south out of town edging ever nearer to the sea, a windswept picnic on said river banks, an attempt to pick blackberries that were a little too close to the overhead bypass to be safe to eat...

Blackberries signifying that autumn is almost here

The sparkling waters of the river

Then it was back home to more of those wretched pears. We filled a large pot with them and stewed them, then freezing them ready for winter puddings. And there is still half a bagful left, argh! Forget zombies, pears have been invading our house! Still, we're hoping the perry brewing works and that we will be enjoying some fine and tasty cider in time for Christmas.

In the meantime though, as it's now feeling distinctly autumnal, and summer is well and truly coming to its end in Sussex, I think I shall have a cup of tea to warm the cockles.

Photos my own.