A brief interlude

Just logging in to say that I will be going away for a spell - My cousin, Ivy Cuthbertson, has invited me to stay with her in Kuala Lumpur to help her prepare for her expedition up - Sungai Lebir - in a canoe - I must arrange for Marjorie Pritchard to water my Aquadulce Claudia while I am away - So Ta-ta for now - and I will be back with news of Ivy and her botanical research .

Allotment Soc AGM stormed by special branch!

The meeting got off to a good start with a unanimous decision about Colonel Jackson's memorial bench, a tasteful oak to be placed on the communal grassed area by the shop. Then mayhem. The meeting was stormed by special branch! They had come for Dorothy. We were all flabbergasted.

It turns out that her knowledge of the streets and the world of crime was not second hand through Irvine Welsh but in fact was all down to her experience as a master drug smuggler! The police have had her under surveillance for quite some time. Apparently she had planned to clear the section around her plot, getting rid of Colonel Jackson, Edna, Marjorie and the Smithsons in order to enlarge her own space four fold. She had thought to grow poppies there and had already started to set up a lab in her potting shed. In the past we have had problems with people trying to grow commercially. There was a young man who aroused suspicion by growing more shallots than anyone alone could possibly eat but Dorothy takes the biscuit. Of course now we need a new chair for the committee. According to the police Dorothy will be banged up for some considerable time.

You can't argue with forensics.

It seems that Dorothy has 'washed her hands of Marjorie Pritchard' and I thought they were such good friends. Dorothy is convinced of Marjorie's guilt and wants to ban her from the allotment society. Dorothy says you can't argue with forensics.

Marjorie is innocent, I think...

Poor Marjorie Pritchard has just spent the night in a police cell! - Now in the past I have had my suspicions about that lady. But I firmly believe that she it is simply that she has an unfortunate, brusque manner and actually is really not that bad. However the evidence does seem stacked against her. She has motive, both Edna and Colonel Jackson bordered onto her plot and apparently a trace of cyanide was detected on the bobble of her aaron wool hat.

I do think the allotment committee should lobby on her behalf, provide her with a character reference - I do not think she is the kind of person to poison her neighbour's - I will go and talk to Dorothy - ask her to add it as an agenda item.

I have just had a strange visit from Dorothy Fitzpatrick. I think she was implying that my macaroons had something to do with poor Edna's fate. That in short I had poisoned her. I told her that they had been tested in the police laboratory and the offices told me they were delicious and in fact the inspector asked me for the recipe. Dorothy said she would be keeping an eye on me. I did not think it wise to mention that I had given Edna some of the marzipan fruits. I will keep that to myself for now.

The hat mystery resolved

One good thing for the new year at last. Marjorie has her hat back. I emailed her the information I had received from Edna and had an almost instant response to say that actually it had been in the back of her potting shed all along - oh dear poor old Edna must have been confused, well she had had a hip replacement.

Still no news about the poisoning incident, these things take time I suppose.

Murderous Marzipan

I am in shock - Edna has died - poisoned - cyanide - of course I have given up my macaroons for testing in the laboratory - if I had known Edna was going to suffer from cyanide poisoning I would have made her something without almonds - And of course now Edna has died I am the only person who knows about the marzipan fruits, none of them remained to be tested - I can't understand how they could have been poisoned they were from Dorothy and she takes such pride in her baking.

I am beginning to think that Edna's poisoning and Colonel Jackson's Botulism, like my slip on the ice, were no accident and are possibly all related -

This week has been a terrible start to the year and with Nigel Pargetter falling from the roof too I am afraid of what the coming year may bring.

Marzipan mystery

I took Edna some of the Almond macaroons yesterday, she had mentioned to me at the Christmas bazar that she was fond of marzipan, so I thought she would like these and I knew her hips would be playing her up in this bitter cold - she would obviously need cheering up and what better than a plate of macaroons! -

But as I approached the path leading to her bungalow I saw Dorothy Fitzpatrick trying to squash a package into her letter box - Naturally I went up to Dorothy and wished her a happy new year but she jumped a mile and the box went flying and out of it spun a rainbow of marzipan fruits. Well, I said, why on earth were you trying to shove them through the letterbox? Why not just ring the bell? - Edna is in, look her light is on in the front room. I started to help pick up the little fruit shapes but Dorothy seemed very put out - I thought they could be dusted off and I was sure some had remained in the box unscathed but Dorothy declared they were all ruined and swept them all back in the box and stormed off. She is very fastidious. I did then however spy a couple nestled against the pot of the hydrangea and had them in my hand by the time Edna opened her door. Over tea I told Edna the fruits were a gift from Dorothy and refused one for myself - I am not a fan of marzipan. Edna had a nibble of one and saved the other for her supper.

Edna had a sighting of Marjorie Prtitchard's hat to report though which was useful and I will email MP about it later, although she maybe has it back by now because Edna saw Dorothy wearing it.

I do hope Dorothy is ok and that she hasn't been pushing herself too much, what with her quilts for Mongolia appeal, her work with Afghan poppies and the work she does on the streets as she calls them. I do sometimes fear she takes on too much.

Happy New Year!

The hat is still missing - Marjorie seems quite genuinely distressed so maybe it is lost after all. Dorothy Fitzpatrick has added it as an agenda item to the first agm of the allotment society in 2011, along with an item about how Colonel Jackson's plot will be re-allocated and the installation of some fitting memorial to the poor old gentleman, possibly a bench.