Peas

Not something to get excited about I hear you say! No, the little green pea doesn't get much praise. Lots of children hate them, they are not easy to eat - they roll off a fork or jump off your plate if you try to stab them with fork prongs causing you much embarrassment when eating with guests or out in a posh restaraunt. Amateur gardener that I am, I decided to grow some vegetables this year and have already picked a substantial amount of peas having watched them grow, flower and produce pods.

My vegetable patch!

I am weighing them to see how much I produce. But having stood and shelled them memories of bygone days flooded my mind and I wondered if kiddies today even know this is where their frozen peas come from. My mind went back to a sunny day sat on the concrete step in the back garden with my mother. She had a cullender, bowl and heaps of pea pods she was holding up in her waist-tied apron. She told me to pop the pods open (showing me) and scoop out the peas; put the shells in the bowl and the peas in the cullender to be washed. They didn't look dirty to me but we spent some time together doing this job. I can't remember if it was weekly or just a one off occasion, perhaps she did it when I was at school. We didn't have a fridge or freezer back then (late 1950's) but we had a visiting greengrocer van to our cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Birmingham driven and served by Mr Arkle (what wonders of information we retain).

I'm sure somewhere along my married life I have bought and shelled peas but, like the majority of us I suspect, we find frozen peas so much more convenient. In fact a Twitter poll shows 64% preferred frozen peas. Mother let me taste the sweetness of those freshly podded, raw peas and I think there is not a match to that taste in the cooked or frozen variety. It has been known that I ate a few pod skins too!

                                                                Sweet fresh peas 

Did you know the humble pea is not actually a vegetable but a small, edible legume? They are in a family of lentils, chickpeas, beans and peanuts. They are a rich source of plant-based protein, fibre, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium and vitamins. They help manage cholesterol levels, have high antioxidant levels and protect against some forms of cancer. I particularly like petit pois and mange tout but like the majority of the population I always have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. (I did a Twitter poll and 64% preferred frozen to fresh, tinned or mushy.) How about you? Which type of peas do you eat or grow?

Water calls me

 Wild swimming is calling me, my kit is ready but...

Wet suit, water shoes & gloves, float, dry robe.

my younger, cold water partners are not! Dosthill Quarry, Tamworth, Staffordshire, is 11 degrees at present. Our last swim of 2021 was at 16 degrees and we thought that was too cold to continue through the late Autumn/Winter.

However, I'm ready to take the plunge, it's June after all! But as I've not been swimming for a good while (although I do Aqua aerobics) I feel it would be foolish and no fun to go it alone. I've joined a Facebook group called the West Midlands Bluetits and see they occasionally go to the quarry, so may join them sometime but I attend my keep fit class and this week stayed for a swim. The pool water feels so thick, is that even possible? I am yearning for the thin, fresh, clear waters of the quarry.

I have reflected on my relationship with water - I learnt to swim at Woodcock Street swimming baths in Birmingham with my dad and brother and later enjoyed trips to Stetchford baths by taking the number 11 Birmingham Corporation bus with friends. I love the sea but live too far away to use it. The smell of seaweed, sand and salt is a pleasure for the senses. Sea swimming is gritty though healing for skin and other ailments. I don't like seaweed wrapping itself around my legs and getting out, especially if stony underfoot, is sometimes challenging. Swimming pools are lovely, especially abroad lounging around hotel grounds, sun bathing your skin and warming you so much that dipping in the pool is so lovely and cooling . 

My first experience of a wild swim was with an elderly friend in the river Wray, Lancaster about 20 years ago and thought it was thrilling. But it wasn't until last year I tried the great outdoors locally in fresh water and found it the most wonderful of experiences. Swimming surrounded by rock, trees, a heron, fish and clear mineral-rich water made me at one with nature. It's a freedom, a focus, exhilaration, an achievement.

In a hired suit, ready to try wild swimming!

Wild swimming is even dominating my reading. This book is an amazing account of 3 brothers wild swimming in the most dangerous of locations and the length of a river, for adventure and for raising awareness of how incredible our natural world is and how we need to preserve the seas, rivers etc and all that live in and on them. A thoroughly gripping real life story.

Highly recommended read

And now I'm reading The Ladies Midnight Swimming Club by Faith Hogan. 

Enjoying this novel

Wild swimming is not age-limited, in fact it would seem that more women than men in later life take up this pursuit. The health benefits are well known - it's good for bones, muscles, the brain and good mental health. Dosthill Quarry hire out wetsuits and floats if you want to try it out. They 'man' the site and offer diving lessons for those even more brave than I. There is a rescue boat if anyone gets into difficulty.

A circular swim is approximately a quarter of a mile.  You need to book a time slot first - here's the link https://dosthillquarry.com/. Do say 'hi' if you see me there, I'll be the slowest swimmer, just taking in each moment of delight and making the most of my surroundings.