Toast and mamalade anyone???

Just been back to the UK for a few days, gosh it was cold, but it was nice to see the grandchildren again.
The last time we went back to the UK was before Christmas and on our return, we found that the gardeners had got a bit too excited with the secateurs and had scalped my oleander plants down to ground level.
Before we left this time, I thought it safer to be more explicit and go around the garden with the head gardener, (sounds rather grand doesn't it, he's only the head gardener because he owns the garden company), and make a list of what plants needed pruning and by how much, just stick to the garden and keep out of the orchard I told him. That's idiot proof I thought, couldn't be clearer.

When we returned, it just so happened that the gardeners were in the garden beavering away and I had a wander around to see how much they had managed to do, not expecting them to have done all on the list. When I got to the orchard, which they were told to keep out of, the fruit trees were bare and all the fruit lay on the ground, grapefruits, oranges, lemons and limes had been pruned and taken off the trees.

Seville Oranges

I thought it best to fetch the local kommandant who I knew wouldn't be pleased to see for herself, and to save her going berserk at me sometime later.
To say her indoors went ape sh*t would be a bit of an understatement, and according to plan she wasn't going ape sh*t at me for a change. Joáo the head gardener quickly called over and was getting both barrels. I am not sure if he had been told off by a woman before as the Portuguese still believe in male dominance.
However, he was under no illusions that he was getting a rollicking and he was most apologetic explaining that he didn't know that the understudies were in the orchard as he was in the top half of the garden, but they were his men and he did take full responsibility.

Lemons

We couldn't help thinking that as they knew we were away and as it was Friday, just maybe the fruit was headed for the Saturday market in Lagos, which just so happened to be the next day.
However, as they had been caught at it, we quickly gathered up the fruit and for the past 7 days we have been frantically making marmalade a month before we intended to.
As we were a bit short of jars and with only a small crop of lemons we had to put out a local APB in search of a supply of more jam jars and lemons. Within 24 hours the local supply chain came to out aid with a plentifull supply jam jars and lemons.
So far we have made over a 100 jars and there are still more than 20 kilo's and grapefruits and 50 kilo's of oranges still to do.
Anyone for toast & marmalade.

Just a few of the jars of marmalade