Sharing Secret and Other Domestic Tips and Delights

A disclaimer, just in case anyone thinks I have suddenly grown my hair, affected an American accent and become a wonder housewife overnight: the heroine of this secret-revealing video is not me!

Having got that clear, here are one or two little snippets which are probably more momentous this side of the fence than yours…

The first ‘secret’, to fulfil several recent requests – and in fact this might be the best one of all – is to give you the link to our Fake Bakewell Tart recipe, which we are asked for so very very often.

Perhaps we ought to have a video of this wonder housewife/cook making the recipe? (I think not, probably!)

And now for an eBay delight, about dinner plates, no less… It can’t have escaped recent Tom’s Barn guests that there were only 5 dinner plates on the rack, six or more of everything else. Ever since the sixth and last of our supply was withdrawn from active service we have tried, absolutely in vain, to ‘source’ as they say these days, some Wedgwood Garden Maze replacements, even going to the Wedgwood factory shop in Stoke. I scoured sites that stock odd plates, and kept checking on eBay, where one could find everything possible from soup tureens to serving platters but neery a dinner plate.

Last night our daughter Ruthie rang to say she had successfully bid for SIX on eBay!! Can you believe it? So that is one problem off the list. The alternative would have to have been replacing everything. (Five Stars – everything in a set must be matching…).

The next ongoing ‘issue’ has been a debilitating and permanent difficulty we have all shared in the Orchard Farm laundry department over folding fitted sheets so they’re fit to grace a Tom’s or Douglas’s Barn bed which for a Five Star listing has to have immaculately laundered bedlinen.

Imagine my delight, then, to discover on Pinterest this YouTube video showing one how simple it really should be.