For country cook Flossie Squires, the lengthening shadows of August mean one thing: that it's time to dig out the wicker basket and go blackberrying.
Photographs by Michael Paul
I've always picked blackberries, to make jam and jellies. When I was little, and late summer came around, we'd be out berrying all day. We had no fridges then, only one of those old meat safes to put them in. My mum would cook up pies and jam straight away because blackberries don't keep well. We'd have a fruit pie every Sunday with whatever was seasonal, and if there wasn't any fruit we would have mincemeat. I don't believe in buying pies, I'd rather make them myself.
Blackberry time also meant it was time to go back to school. We only had one teacher, who taught us the three Rs. We learnt patching and knitting but not cooking. I wasn't a good scholar really. I remember getting my work wrong one day and the teacher wouldn't help me. In fact, she went to get her cane, so I ran home. Later on, Sidney Hill, who was my sweetheart, gave me his book and I copied out the work I'd got wrong. Sidney died a few years ago. We were still friendly. He left me a clock.
I left school at 14, in 1938, and went to work on a farm, on the milk round. The milk was all in churns and people would bring their jugs and we'd tip out a pint for this body or a quart for that. It was good training because when I came here in 1954 with my brother and my mum, we had our own cows. Twice a day we milked, then we'd take the milk down the hill on a bicycle because we hadn't got a car. We used to tie one churn on each side of the bicycle. We did that every day for years.
When we first moved here and were getting money together for the animals we used to take in a few paying visitors. Mum used to do all the cooking and I'd set the table. But I used to watch her and I learnt. That's when I discovered my love of cooking. Things don't always turn out right the first time but I don't get frustrated because I can always give it to the chickens. I just try again, doing it in my own way, and it always comes right.
I cook by experience now, rather than using recipes. For tea, to go with my blackberry and apple jelly, I make rolls, or 'cut-rounds', as I call them - just bread rolls baked with a bit of sugar in. They're delicious with jam or jelly and clotted cream. And if there are youngsters about, I'll give them ice cream with blackberry jelly on top. I don't have children of my own because I never married, but I don't regret that because I've got so many great-nieces and nephews. There's always young people around, they all love to come and see me.