Preparing a picnic for our village Great Get Together party, here are the very first little mangetout and sugar snap peas, calabrese and baby courgettes (varieties alba, soleil and romanesco) – delicious crudités with aioli made with the early wet garlic. And more gooseberries, this time destined to become gloopy yummy fool in pretty old teacups.

I did smile when checking dear Nigel Slater’s gooseberry recipes; on the subject of gooseberry & elderflower fool he says, “…the amount (of sugar) you will need depends on how sharp the gooseberries are, but take care not to take the sharpness out. I like a tart fool…”

So do I :0)