大象传媒

From the Reverend Richard Coles:

听

The Beast from the East, a cold front so dreadful it gets its own name, plunges the nation into unequalled chaos; well not really, but it reminded me of the last time we had a proper cold spell, a few years ago.听

It was just after New Year and we were staying with friends in an isolated farmhouse on Dartmoor. It began to snow as we arrived, and we woke up the next day to deep drifts and a thermometer showing minus fifteen. Provisions we had aplenty, logs for the fire, dogs for the bed, which was just as well, because we weren鈥檛 going anywhere.听Apart from for a walk, scrambling up snow covered slopes in puffer jackets holding our phones aloft in a pathetic attempt to find a signal. We didn鈥檛, but it was fine, for it was incredibly beautiful on the moor, clear and sunny, but sub zero, so everything sparkled, and we were all elated, apart from our sausage dogs, not really built for snow drifts (well, you try hauling your undercarriage through four inches of frost).听

But our elation turned to deflation as the weather showed no sign of a thaw and by day three we were looking at our dwindling pile of supplies with growing anxiety. And then the sound of an engine straining and we rushed outside to see a 4X4 battling through the snow towards us. It was the local vet. 鈥淎re you OK鈥�, he asked? 鈥淚鈥檓 going to try to get through to Moretonhampstead, is there anything essential you need?鈥� 鈥淵es!鈥�, I shouted, almost sobbing with relief, 鈥渇lat leaf parsley.鈥澨�

It鈥檚 funny what we think essential when disruption to routine occurs. Part of the reason for giving up things in Lent, I think, is to discover how illusory desires may be. And how surprisingly easy it is to go without. And if you do, how quickly those desires begin to look ridiculous, our sense of entitlement embarrassing, our affluence shaming. Try it?

I never discovered, by the way, if flat leaf parsley was obtainable in Moretonhampstead, our rescuer felt it not so urgent a priority as I did. But I did discover - John, you鈥檒l be proud of me - that wild chervil, which you can find on Dartmoor even under snowdrifts, makes a very acceptable substitute. Let鈥檚 COOK!