Kai-Lin has been playing in the Duddington playground (Highfield) every evening during this research holiday. The place is clean, tidy, and well-organised. On most days, the place has been empty – except for one afternoon – when a local mother, a baby, and three teenage-girls turned-up to politely traverse the what we used to refer to as an “obstacle course”! After successfully using the sliding-rope thing, and climbing up and over various rope ladders and logs – myself, Kai-Lin, and Gee walked the dogs into the centre of Duddington village so that we could “Liberate” the graveyard (on a very beautiful Summer’s evening) – something we had intended to do when not engaged in formal research – basically, the research is effectively over for now (we leave tomorrow) and we are off-duty at the moment, so-to-speak! Whatever the case – Kai-Lin has counted the cooking-apples – and has found that there are exactly “20” in number!
On the way there – we found a number of trees overflowing with ripe cooking-apples! On the way back – we decided to collect and gather these apples (hanging over – and lying on the public pavement) and placed them in my military beret – which I happened to have on my body at the time. We taught Kai-Lin how to “forage” – a skill sadly lacking in today’s world – where “culture” is being crushed by the rich who live in gated communities (isolated from the destruction they are inflicting upon the all British people) and ordering their food imported from abroad and delivered by Ocardo – or something similar. My children have never heard of “cooking-apples” – or that such traditional fruit cannot be readily or easily eaten (due to its natural bitterness and hardness) without first being properly prepared and correctly cooked in suitably sweetened and heated water (simmered – but not boiled). My older relatives often used brown-sugar – before the apples could be placed into tasty apple-pies.
Update: 5.8.2025 – The Duddington Apple Cakes Are Made in Sutton!
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 