“Just a little bit longer , darling”
My mother flutes from the iPad.
We’re in Covid isolation, 180 miles apart
It’s stir up Sunday
And i have had a craving for creativity,
A rebellion against this imposed restriction.
Zoom enables her to be propped high
On top of three biscuit tins and Mrs Beeton
Inspecting the setting point of the rolling boiling blackberry jam.
I dip the metal spoon into the bubbling mass
And tip the drops onto the cold plate.
The smell intoxicates.
The books say you ‘blow ‘ to see if the surface ruffles…
We decided that was much too serious so I whistle –
Tunes from my childhood
Which gets us laughing and remembering
And I don’t know how she can really judge the setting point from the ipad,
I can’t from direct vision,
But it doesn’t really matter.
What’s been so glorious as I tidy up the filled jars and wash up
Is the company and chatter!
Jo Hansen 