National treasures

There seems to be a lot of references to National Treasures recently. I don't have a problem with this concept, in fact, within reason I think it's quite jolly. Recent nominees for this epithet include David Attenborough, Bill Oddie, Michael Palin and Stephen Fry. This set me wondering what the criteria are for being a National Treasure. Based on the above selection, it seems to me they would include: being or having been a comic writer / performer /actor , and / or a wildlife presenter, and have been around for quite a long time.

Small but perfectly formed

Last weekend I made a return visit to the location I searched on 20 August, which I am going to call Manny. Whilst I didn't find a lot, what I did find was in very good condition: 2 small ceps, half a dozen bay boletes, large field mushrooms and meadow wax caps. The ceps went into a bake with some potatoes, an assortment were added to a ragout of home grown borlotti beans, tomatoes and onions, and the remainder were dried now that my dehydrator is now fully operational again. Speaking of which, the fruits I dried (oranges, mangoes, strawberries and plums) and dipped in chocolate (Grren and Black dark cooking chocolate) for Elaine's birthday, were very well received both by Elaine, and by the others in the office.