Blackberry Crumble

There's something about picking blackberries that is intensely satisfying and addictive. I think it stems from our cave man times, before Tesco's was invented, when foraging for nuts and berries was the in thing. Once I start picking the free fruit, I want to keep going until my fingers are red raw from bramble scratches and I'm covered in sticky bobs. This is a good demonstration of why communism will never work.

It's been a bumper crop of blackberries this year, and I just couldn't wait to get on my bike and start gathering. I had been waiting for the berries to be ripe for weeks, so as soon as the first of the crop turned black I set off to the cycle track with 2 plastic boxes in my bicycle basket.

When I was a kid, my Mum used to give me a margarine tub attached to a string round my neck, with a little hole in the top to post the blackberries through. This genius invention was to stop me spilling the freshly picked blackberries all over the floor.

The best of the blackberry bushes were around Blacon, so I decided to leave my bike on the grass beside the cycle path, and let the picking commence.

Predictably, the best of the blackberries were very high up and towards the back, which would have been fine if I had arms like Mr Tickle, but to really get the best fruit Blacon had to offer I had to be prepared to get submerged in the brambles. This kind of commitment really makes you feel that you have earned your crumble.

As it was a sunny day, a lot of cyclists went past, unaware that I was lurking in the bushes happily picking blackberries. It wasn't until two youths went past on a bike (one was having a seatie) that I sensed something was afoot. I watched in disbelief as the two youths walked over to my bicycle with the intention of stealing it.

Imagine the shock they got when I ran out of the bushes with stained red hands. They must have thought I was some kind of pervert/murderess, because they took off on their bike looking terrified. Let's hope this deters them from a life of crime ;)

Once I had filled my boxes, I decided it was time to go home and get baking. The dish of the day was going to be a crumble.

After I had thoroughly washed the fruit, I put it in a pan with sugar and simmered. Once the sugar was melted and the fruit had sweetened I poured into an ovenproof bowl. I then sprinkled the home made crumble mix over the top and pressed down lightly. Finally, I raked a fork over the top of the crumble in neat lines.

I like my crumble best with evaporated milk. How do you eat yours?