Hope in the dark

I’ve been a bit bereft since The Traitors here in the UK ended, although the result is exactly what I’d hoped for, with the two remaining traitors going off like Bonnie & Clyde and clutching their prizes of nearly £48,000 each. Stephen wound up being the noble sort and split the prize rather than throwing Rachel under a bus to take it all at the last minute, as he could have. Now, what to watch in these dark and stormy nights?

Believe it or not, there is much to look forward to in these long winter evenings. I’ve gone through my seed box and have compiled a list of items to plant for 2026. This is an exercise in optimism over experience, but the photos look so nice and I may get at least one or two of the magical cucumbers or stripey tomatoes in my basket by the summer’s end. I had a lovely pumpkin sitting on my kitchen table for months, until I finally made it into a vast batch of soup.

Gardening is an optimists’ game, as is farming. If dairy farmers didn’t believe in the product and the cows, we’d all be out of business. It also means the processors are buying into the supply chain, with Arla Foods in the UK expanding its central distribution centre, Milky Mist investing heavily in India, and the European Commission approving an investment package for the South Tyrol region of Italy to expand its output, to name three deals that have occurred as of last week.

At the end of the day, people want dairy and the need to provide it is greater than trends might suggest. Dairy is a cheap source of nutritious food for many people, no matter where they are on the planet. Long may it continue.