SATURDAY 30 JULY     PUNGALINA

Worked 6.30am till 10pm.

I made the usual breakfast. The couple man wanted eggs and bacon as well.

It was quite a flurry to get the lunches and smokos done in time. The men’s smoko was biscuits, date loaf. I made sandwiches for the couple and O – egg and lettuce, ham, cheese and celery. Added biscuits, raspberry slices, fruit cake. Had to make sure they had a water container, and a smaller one with the wife’s water, the tea and coffee makings for smoko, fruit boxes and fruit.

Once they had set off, I tidied the tents. A cleaned the showers and toilets.

Made bread rolls, gazpacho soup for chilling, likewise cucumber soup. Cooked a carrot and ginger cake and a double batch of Cornies biscuits. Made pannacottas.

Made the survey men’s lunch – open sandwiches, using leftover cold roast beef as I had done before, with a variety of salad makings. It could be relied on to present well.

I made a batch of hedgehog. Trimmed the steaks for tonight. I had asked O to bring me some reasonably tender ones, this morning – hoped he’d managed the tender part! Did the other dinner prep.

Made the usual assortment of pre-dinner nibblies – really only for the couple, as the survey men tended to wait for dinner.

This was cold cucumber soup and little bread rolls, steak in green peppercorn and brandy sauce, with oven baked potato and green salad. Dessert was pannacottas with berry coulis – mashed tinned raspberries and strawberries.

There was no time for resting on these days. A came to help for some of the time and did cleaning and some kitchen hand work, which I really appreciated. But I really missed M’s help – she tended to show more initiative.

Again, our couple stayed up late, with him doing most of the talking. I could tell that O was itching to go back to the house, but he had to stay and do the expected host thing. I could not close up the kitchen till they had gone to bed, in case they wanted late drinks and the like.