Good company, lots of food and reading and a few whiskies.

Adhering to the rule of six, my lovely niece (the redhead) and three friends are taking advantage of the weekend to escape London. After 14 weeks with us during lockdown she certainly knows her way around the barn kitchen.

After two weeks in a warm dark cupboard it was time to strain the juice from the apples

Now the juice is stored in a cupboard for a further four weeks by which time it should have become apple cider vinegar

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Out come the tromboncinos and squashes and in go garlics

A pile of straw

We are watching a zoom presentation by Dr Emily Grossman, a top scientist who regularly appears on television, radio, in the press and was recently named as the second Honorary STEM ambassador alongside astronaut Tim Peake. Emilygrossman.co.uk

Emily has become a spokeswoman for XR (extinction rebellion) and her presentation tonight has laid out the terrifying risks of climate change and the rapid speed at which it is occurring. She shared a video by the World Economic Forum. The consequences of carrying on as we are is truly unimaginable and horrifying. We ain’t seen nothing yet!

We can act, we must act but we can’t sit back and wait for our global governments to take the lead. They haven’t and they won’t and if they don’t we will continue to see a staggering rise in global temperatures and the destruction of more and more species.

Not every sheep, but quite a few, eat from my hand. Their muzzles are soft and I adore these animals.