All it takes…to make a batch of marmalade…to warm a winter heart, to dazzle the eyes, tempt the olfactory system and lift the spirits…is five plump Seville oranges plucked from the tree…to make a day so special it will resonate for many more…even years
I have glorious memories of the Alhambra from April 1976…there were very few tourists, the banksia roses and wisteria foaming over everything and the distant sierra covered in snow. My mother bought a guitar from a luthier working at his craft from an open shopfront not far down the hill.
As to marmalade, my favourite is the cumquat variety. I use roughly equal weights of sugar and fruit, and deliberately caramelise it slightly…because we all decided that the year that Ma became slightly distracted from her makings and toasted her panful remarkably proved the best “vintage”. I don’t let my marmalade actually burn though, that would be far too awful to scrub clean.
Many happy returns for your birthday, Mickey…(EVERY birthday is a champagne birthday !).
Oh how glorious the Alhambra must indeed have been in 1976...and what a perfect place to buy a guitar - how delighted your mother must have been! I think we're on the same page marmalade-wise - though our jars wouldn't go down well in a competition! Thank you for your birthday wishes dear India. Mx
Swoon, your essay is so atmospheric, I’m off to Seville and Granada soon so will keep my eyes open for the sluice gates in operation! Thanks for describing them. 💝
Oh Andrea...lucky you!!!! You're in for a sublime immersion - have a wonderful time :)))) And thank you for following along! Mx
I have glorious memories of the Alhambra from April 1976…there were very few tourists, the banksia roses and wisteria foaming over everything and the distant sierra covered in snow. My mother bought a guitar from a luthier working at his craft from an open shopfront not far down the hill.
As to marmalade, my favourite is the cumquat variety. I use roughly equal weights of sugar and fruit, and deliberately caramelise it slightly…because we all decided that the year that Ma became slightly distracted from her makings and toasted her panful remarkably proved the best “vintage”. I don’t let my marmalade actually burn though, that would be far too awful to scrub clean.
Many happy returns for your birthday, Mickey…(EVERY birthday is a champagne birthday !).
Oh how glorious the Alhambra must indeed have been in 1976...and what a perfect place to buy a guitar - how delighted your mother must have been! I think we're on the same page marmalade-wise - though our jars wouldn't go down well in a competition! Thank you for your birthday wishes dear India. Mx
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Swoon, your essay is so atmospheric, I’m off to Seville and Granada soon so will keep my eyes open for the sluice gates in operation! Thanks for describing them. 💝