The gleaners

A big cricket drowned in a bucket of water I’d carelessly left out. I thought by some strange chance it might revive. Two hours later the big ants on the cracked and cracking up terracotta patio were busy dismembering it.

I made spaghetti alle vongole with prosecco (having no white wine). Sounds like a Waitrose joke.

‘Jocasta, you run and get the Adriatic sustainably sourced sweet clams while I ferret out a decent Valdobbiadene prosecco.’

But it came out alright with our garlic, parsley and deseeded Calabrese Little Devil chili peppers from garden. With the seeds they’d blow your head off.

Trying in extra to capture the interior light when shutters and windows closed against the afternoon heat.