Black Wattle

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A lot of people would say that throwing a 3kg chunk of firewood – specifically Black Wattle (Acacia mearnsii) – at their own shin would be something that they would even consider. But that’s surely only because they’ve never done it.
That said, I did do it this morning, and actually, I can see right where they are coming from.

I wouldn’t try it either. Good call.

Black Wattle firewood because here in South Africa, it’s a nasty invasive plant, and so chopping it down and burning it is a good – and environmentally friendly – way to get rid of it. Unless you live in a dodgy area of Bristol, that is.

But in Australia, the home of Black Wattle, the tree and the wood are revered, and they are useful:

All very interesting, and very impressive. But not what we need over here. We have our own trees for that sort of thing. And so, with the greatest respect, we’re going to just keep on chopping and burning.

Especially on these cold winter days.

And when I say wet…

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It has been raining a lot. And it is still raining. And there’s more rain in the forecast.

But just how much has it been raining?

This much:

367.8mm in the last few days just down the road from us about an hour ago. And I’m only saying “about an hour ago” because it’s almost certainly more than that now.

The rain has only really been falling for the last 4 days, so we’re looking at almost 100mm a day. And our local ground really isn’t set up for that. Hence all the flooding.

We might have a couple of dry days (T&Cs apply) before the next wave(s) of rain head in.

Right now, I’m going to watch the mud-wrestling rugby from the stadium in town.

Birmingham, summed up

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United have a first round Carabao Cup tie away at Birmingham City.

And we described it on our website as:

Tip?

Interesting example. Anyway…

Look. I’m thinking that whoever did the title meant “trip”, but also that they had – at some point – visited Birmingham, and thus their subconscious took control of their typing fingers.

Hard to argue with it, though. I wouldn’t edit this at all.

Mostly Habanero

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The recipe for my homemade chilli sauce is not hugely complicated. Chillies, a bit of olive oil, a splash of vinegar and a few coriander leaves. Blitz it in the food processor. Stick it in a jar.

But I’ve run out of my homemade chilli sauce. The jar is empty.

So when I was passing the chilli section in Woolies this morning I grabbed a couple of bags of their mixed chillies, so that I could make some more.

It doesn’t really matter what chillies I put in my homemade chilli sauce, and a bit of everything is the best way forward, so the mixed chilli packs are great. Some African Birdseye, a few Jalapenos, perhaps some Serrano, and then maybe the odd Habanero. It’s worked flawlessly for years now.

It was only when I got home and turned over the packets, thus allowing me to see the actual goods instead of the label, that I realised that the mixed chilli bags contained mostly Habanero. In fact, one of the bags was almost exclusively Habanero.

It’s on me. I’m not blaming anyone else. I was in a bit of a hurry and I ignored the basic principle of due diligence. And now I have to face the consequences of my actions.

Because this batch is going to be a little hotter than my recent efforts. But that’s not going to be a problem as long as I remember each time I use it.

Although, I think that I will always remember, if I don’t remember just once.

If you see what I mean.