Clad in heavy duty gardening gloves, I stripped the gooseberries from three of the eight bushes this afternoon.  It is not a job for the faint hearted and the thorns try their best to protect the fruit from human hands.  Nevertheless I brought in nearly 6lb of ripe gooseberries and then sat in front of Wimbledon to top and tail them and then put them into freezer bags for use later in the year.