Potty talk

The new earth closet, based on the Seperett system, is a huge success. After a month's use there is only a small amount of entirely inoffensive dry matter, already very like soil, to move to the main compost area, where, mixed with fresh earth (to boost the number of microbes) it will continue to break down into loam. No smell, no fluids, no need to handle anything unpleasant, all wrapped up in bio-degradable packaging. I am very impressed. Bear in mind that this is the most basic of the Seperett systems; no ventilation fan, no turning chamber, just a portable seat which separates solids from the rest. The entire kit cost less than £80, and I am now strongly inclined to invest in one of the more deluxe versions next year, which will make the cottage much more attractive to the less hardy visitor.

Had a visit this morning from a contractor with a solution to the running water problem. At present water is collected at a spring 200 yards above the cottage and runs downwards in a 4 inch salt glazed pipe, cracked at several points, to a settling tank just above the kitchen. This then feeds a tap in the kitchen, which is frequently blocked, on account of a) the peat and leaves collected on the 200 yard journey, and b.) the lack of pressure in the syphon between tank and tap, which are almost level. As a result I rely on water collected in jerry cans from the settling tank itself, and the tap is unused.

The proposed solution is a new lightweight tank at the spring itself, and a 1 inch pipe leading directly to the kitchen. Any overflow at the tank would be diverted back into the old pipe to feed the trough. The resulting pressure - 50 feet of head - would be strong enough to keep the tap running – and even, in the longer term, to feed a shower and/or drive a small turbine to provide electricity.

But let's not get too excited – it's three days work with the small digger, and a large capital investment. I may be walking to and from the outflow with a jerry can for some time to come.

Cooking: Sloe gin. Found about 20 lbs of sloes (wild plums) in the hedgerows; I started picking on my own but the landlord got intrigued, then enthusiastic, and my two pounds turned into a vast haul in several sacks. They are all in the freezer at the bottom of hill, waiting for bottling. (Freezing breaks down the tough skins, which otherwise need pricking. 1 Lb of sloes, 4 oz of sugar, 1 pt of gin (or vodka – gin was traditionally the only clear spirit available in this country until the 2nd half of the 20th C) Bottle and shake every other day.

After 3 months the liquor is a rich purple, and the dry bitter sloes have worked an extraordinary alchemy to produce the richest, most flavoursome drink imaginable. It can be drunk at once, although it improves still further with keeping.

Reading: Ball of Fire by Antony Brett-James: rats, my copy is damaged, with pages missing just as the partisan leader, Ras Seyoum – a key figure in the film – is launching a wild attack on the Italian fortifications. I shall have to hike to the library and order another copy and hope that it arrives in good time. If not it will have to wait until I can get to the British Library in November.

Watching: The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Lovely storytelling.