Out & About Magazine Autumn 2020

LOCAL VIEW

JONATHAN HOPSON muses on coping with the rigours of lockdown

D etermined to improve my somewhat meagre culinary skills during lockdown, and following a tip from a cycling friend, I discovered the joys of home bread-making. There are a wide range of pre-prepared artisan bread mixes available in local shops and it’s not necessary to use an electric bread mixer. Mixing by hand generally produces great results, as long as adequate time is allowed for the dough mixture to prove. The process of creating,

blackcap, goldfinch, chiffchaff and yellowhammer. And as Beatrix Potter noted in the Tale of Timmy Tiptoes , the yellowhammer’s distinctive song sounds as if it is singing, “A little bit-a-bread-an’-NO-cheese!” Some of our favourite local walks are around the Highclere Estate and in July we were fortunate to capture the mirror-like quality of Duns Mere in the afternoon sunshine.

baking (and eating) home-baked bread,

albeit from pre-prepared ingredients, is extremely satisfying and definitely to be recommended! The artisan theme has

Lockdown has provided time to grow vegetables and build a garden shed

carried across to the garden and during the last few months I have managed to construct several raised beds and a 12’ x 8’ feather-edge boarded garden shed. Although it looks as if there will be a reasonable crop of carrots and courgettes in the weeks ahead, the prospective runner bean and tomato harvest looks less promising.

We should nonetheless remain positive and make the most of what we have around us

As a newcomer to growing your own vegetables, there’s clearly a lot to learn and it’s not just about planting, watering and waiting! The garden shed construction project has been something of a labour of love, but has proved, at least so far, to be the most enjoyable ‘lockdown project’. The tarpaulin provides temporary protection from the elements while I source some suitable metal roofing sheets. Taking more frequent long walks in the North Hampshire countryside has resulted in a greater appreciation for the local wildlife and particularly the wide range of bird life. Using BirdNET, a useful Android app, we have identified a range of different bird species, including

Heaven’s Gate and Duns Mere on the Highclere Estate

Later in the month we visited Heaven’s Gate, a delightful 18th century folly on the summit of Siddown Hill above Highclere Castle that was restored in 1997 by George Herbert, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon. Interestingly, on the day we visited, two separate colonies of bees had made their homes in crevices in the brick work. It’s difficult to project forwards and accurately forecast to what extent the current situation will change, (if at all), during the next few months, but we should nonetheless remain positive and make the most of what we have around us.

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O&A AUTUMN 2020