Originally published on Photoblog by Gethin Thomas JANUARY. 05, 2021
[157-365] 5th. January 2021- Today is the day. There was a while there when I doubted I would be able to make marmalade this year, everything seemed to be stacking up against it, like trucks stacking up at a tunnel entrance.
This time last year we had just been told we were moving house in 5 days time or it was all off. So obviously no marmalade in 2020 and that was just a sign of things to come.
As we got nearer to 2021 it seemed less and less likely I would be making marmalade this year either. Only 10 days ago there were tens of thousands of trucks parked up either side of the English Channel with nothing going anywhere, including oranges from Spain.
I put out enquiries to the local "dealers" for any sign there were supplies coming this way and got mixed results. I didn't have to resort to hanging around dark back streets waiting for cars with blacked out windows to crawl past or anything like that but I sometimes felt I was aiming impossibly high. I did wonder if any unmarked fishing boats might be plying a trade in illicit post Brexit goods around the local harbours and whether I should get out my sunglasses and a big hat and go and ask some questions, but then suddenly I got a phone call on Sunday afternoon from Alan. He had secured the goods. Four kilograms of best Seville oranges. I didn't ask where he got them, but he is a greengrocer so it probably wasn't anything Agatha Christie, I don't think blood was spilt unless it was from blood oranges.
For the recipe I use for marmalade check out this link.
I picked up my oranges yesterday, symbolising as they did Spring in Winter, or at least Spring in Seville. Orange as the sun of summer they offered hope of better things to come.
We had a bit of a blip last night when yet another lockdown was imposed but at least I know actual real people who are already vaccinated and others who are about to be.
I'm going to leave it there, so imagine you can smell those oranges and if you are able, get out and buy some, making marmalade is very easy and the fact that my whole house is smelling like a Spanish orchard at the moment is like a vaccination against negative thoughts.