pumpkinstrokemarrow

Got the first three rows of broad beans in today, although it has to be admitted that one row was quite short and none were full length. But ground in good condition and we will soon be on track. Some weeks later that last year's bean start. As last year, have planted Imperial Green Longpod from Samuel Dobies (aka Suttons). Have plated Aquadulce in the past, claimed to be OK for winter planting, but not for the last couple of years. And learned tonight that Thompson and Morgan - who I had thought of as expensive Welsh wizards with a fancy web site are actually based near Ipswich. So odd that my parents were not into them - unless they had some good reason that is.

While doing all this the children in the neighbouring primary school appeared to be having lessons on how to be football fans. Two adults were playing a sort of tennis on a temporary court on the playground and a succession of classes were led out to sit on the two sides of the court and cheer for about half an hour in the cold. The children made a great old din and seemed to be enjoying themselves but I seem to remember that when I did games at that age we were actually allowed to play them, not just watch some southern league semi professionals do their stuff on the playground. Perhaps I am missing something.

Red letter day on the council front. We have just taken delivery of a rather stroppy leaflet advising us that the council will no longer collect any wheelie bin which contains garden refuse. All garden refuse must be recycled on the spot or taken to the waste transfer station. BH says that this is not the council being officious, rather that one of the Blair nannies gives councils brownie points according to the amount of recycling that they do, irrespective of the value of said recycling. I am not so sure. Furthermore: first: I do not think that garden refuse has a measurable effect on global warning or any other eco-fad. Worrying about it is entirely symbolic. Second: my ecostanding is that the more carbon we keep locked up in paper, wood, garden refuse etc the better. That way there is less in the sky. So the best thing to do is to bury it at the bottom of anaerobic land fill sites where it might turn into coal in a few hundred million years time. Second best, leave it lying around in your garden, rotting as slowly as possible. That way you get a very modest one time gain on carbon in the sky. One could go on. At least the offending leaflet did not tell us the scale of penalties for first and subsequent offences.

Black letter day on other fronts however. The council is too busy with eco-fads to worry about anti-social behaviour but according to "The Telegraph" today, if we worry about it on their behalf we are likely to go to jail for our trouble. For example, if you have the luck to collar the toad who is spitting at your elderly mother and carry him (or her) off to his (or her) mother to extract apology and punishment, you run the risk of being arrested for kidnap of a child. A very serious offence and you will probably find yourself on the sex offenders register as a peddo.

But given that we can't cope with a few teenagers with spray paint, how will we cope when another "The Telegraph" eventuality comes to pass? That is to say when you can stave off cancer using some horrendously expensive drug for 20 years at £1m per person. If this happens to a quarter a million of us a year (in this country that is), we have an annual bill of £250bn which is clearly unsustainable. I wonder how the Sun will suggest that we deal with the problem? Thunder on about how evil it is to put money before life and death?

Nearer home, we had our first top rib of beef for perhaps 20 years this weekend. We first learnt about it as newly weds in Harringey West 35 years ago when the butcher there explained that this was a very cheap way to buy good beef. (It could also be cut to a size to fit a Baby Belling). Which it was at the time and for some years after - but we have not had one since butchers more or less expired 20 years ago. Luckily the man in Cheam was willing and able to do the business and the Harringey theory still holds good. We went for the on bone rather than the rolled option - which last has the advantage that lots of fat from neighbouring parts of the cow gets wrapped up with it - but you lose out on the bone lark. Half the price of fore rib and nearly as good - better if you like well done and bits near the bone. Cook it slow and you get a very tasty roast. Not sirloin steak but a differant sort of bovine experience. Only catch is that the joints don't come terribly big - around 7 pounds tops.

Amongst other things served with a sort of Italian (perhaps Sicilian) sausage which claimed to be Parma ham in sausage form, bean pudding (vide supra) and two sorts of dessert: white or red pudding. Needless to say, plus cabbage, swede and all that sort of thing. Plenty of good wine, but I forgot to round things off with the fancy Oddbins' calvados which would have done the chocolates a treat. Better luck next time.