On Saturday, I had a wonderful day out with the ladies of Southdean Rural (the Scottish version of the WI). I used to be a member, and they very kindly invited me to join them on their annual day out.We were picked up by bus at the village hall, and headed for Northumberland, to visit the Chainbridge Honey Farm - you can read more here. As we didn't leave until eleven, we arrived just in time to have lunch! They have a very unusual tearoom - an old double decker bus ......
They had reserved the upstairs seating for us, and I was able to nip up the stairs ahead of the others to take a couple of photos
We were all so busy chatting when the food arrived, that I forgot to take a photo of my delicious cheese savoury baguette (but don't worry, there will be cake later!). After lunch, we were given a guided tour by Heather, one of the daughters of the farm owners, who took us through the whole process from hive to the finished products that they sell (if you click on the link above, you can see the wide range of goodies, which you buy online!)
After seeing the large pieces of gleaming machinery where the combs are processed, we moved on to the workshop where all sorts of things are made with the beeswax
After seeing the working side of the business, we headed for the visitor centre and shop. First stop was a taste of the honey .......
...... then some shopping! For me, soap, handcream and a block of wax to run my thread through for handsewing
For Malcolm, a tub of heather comb honey and a beeswax owl candle (which is beside the owl I bought for him in Majorca for his collection)
In the visitor centre, when I saw this wasps' nest, I was very glad that we spotted the small ones in the summerhouse - this one is about two feet long!
The last stop of our visit was back in the bus, where we enjoyed a cuppa and cake - I had an exceedingly delicious piece of border tart
It's Monday, so that means the knitting update. Because I decided to knit a second cushion cover, I only finished knitting last night, so I haven't made up the covers (I also need to get foam pads). So for the photo, I put them over our footstools
This week's project won't take long - a string bag, the main part of which is knitted on 9mm needles!