The weather has now taken a definite turn into winter; cooler, wetter, windier and the allotment now looks most desolate. Not much work to be done but still plenty of root crops (parsnip, beetroot, swede) to harvest. There is a little spinach and chard, a few slug eaten lettuce and plenty of parsley, but not much else in the way of green veg. Cropped, what I expect to be, the last of the second surge of artichokes. We have not been very successful with brassicas recently so the only ones we are trying for at the moment are some sprouting broccoli that won't be ready before March/April. I think the issue has been a combination of neglect, very wet spells and the endemic club root.

The leaves on the horseradish are dying off so I decided to dig some up. Couldn't but think of Ben and his enthusiasm for horseradish. He was doing some work in the house last year when he found me about to chuck out some old horseradish that had been hiding in a corner of the fridge for a couple of weeks. After he expressed an interest I gave him a taste, which he loved, wolfing down a whole teaspoon of it. Not too impressive as it had lost a lot of its punch while 'maturing' at the back of the fridge. Later in the week I made up a fresh root and again offered Ben some to taste. Not realising the substantially increased potency he put another teaspoonful into his mouth. The effect was immediate and literally explosive with Ben just managing to make it across the kitchen to the sink before spitting it all out. Very slapstick and very painful for Ben, so did I laugh?