a touch of spice

The Sunstreaker is a Jet34 Hamilton Jet. She’s a bit slow these days and the reverse doesn’t work but she’s still a lovely boat to drive. There have been a few good trout caught off the old girl.

We couldn’t have picked a better day to be out on the lake – not a breath of wind and that crisp freshness of early autumn.

The poplars were just starting to turn. Autumn is so spectacular in this part of the world – in a few weeks the landscape turns to fiery reds and golds with the poplars looking like torches of fire.

Director Ross prepares for the next shot. What a divine day to be here in the great outdoors – it’s easy to forget the cold rainy days when it’s like this.

My friend Grant is a great hunter-gatherer, and I’m so pleased I managed to persuade him to take a few hours out from his busy job to bring me up to this amazing old walnut tree.

Here we go gathering nuts in May. There’s a real squirrelling instinct that comes to the fore when the days of autumn start to close in, and it feels good to be filling my bag with these gorgeous walnuts to tide us over the winter.

Walnuts grow inside thick green husks that spilt when the nuts are ripe. As they rot down they turn black and are incredibly staining – they make a potent dye that was often used for wool.

When walnuts are fresh like this they have a milky taste, and the skins are very soft and quite tannic.

Once you get your nuts home it's important to get the outer green husk off and spread them out to dry for a couple of weeks. Then they can be stored in a cool, dry spot. They will keep for up to a year, as long as you can keep them away from vermin – rats just love nuts!

And now for my favourite part – dinner! The fire is roaring, the candles are lit and the table is laid – the stage is set for people to relax and feel welcome. We used thin slices of pine for placemats, and set them on top of a lovely linen cloth designed by my clever friend Birgitta Watz. May the feasting begin!