Birthdays

This week has been a birthday week in Apricot House as our littlest apricot turned one. He had a party tea with a bumblebee cake and jam sandwiches and a trip out to Blenheim Palace to try out his new wheels. He was delighted with all the fuss if slightly bemused as to why he had to eat so much cake.

Hats are flying out to far away lands, and gorgeous new arrivals in Italy and Germany will be kept warm and snuggly in Apricot Hats sent by air mail with love. The first fair is swiftly approaching and I am getting a little anxious about the arrangement of my stall. Several trial sessions have proved messy at best, downright disastrous at worst. Time to enlist the help of the special friend, the one whose presents are wrapped just beautifully with ribbons and rice paper that make you sigh as you receive them. She will know what to do.

Flapjacks are a regular feature of Apricot House teatime, and I've always been pretty happy with my reliable recipe. This week, however, I baked them in a deeper, narrower tin and for less time. They came out really rather fabulously and were gone before I could blink. Littlest Apricot, although relatively impressed by birthday cake, hoovers up flapjacks and squawks for more.

Friday night would normally be a curry or risotto night. But I think the Apricots may head out to enjoy this fabulous evening sunshine with a pint and a basket of chips at the pub.