This morning, I was awoken by a cat falling in the bucket of wine.

That might sound familiar to some who know me, since no indeed - this is not the first time it's happened, nor will it be the last, I am sure. This most amiable and least intelligent of my cats has never learnt that a cloth placed over a bucket is not a stable surface for leaping onto. True, the cloth is there to keep foreign bodies from falling into the fermenting brew. But cats - it lets through.

Fortunately, there is still enough elderflower left on the trees hereabouts for me to dash out (once I'd mopped up the bewildered wet cat and the kitchen floor) to collect a bagful for a fresh batch (whether I pretend not to have noticed a cat was dipped in the wine and simply carry on with it *, or start again, depends on how much of the cat went in....).

So far so good - Alco-Cat is carefully walking around the bucket instead of attempting to perch on it at the moment. I can guarantee he'll have forgotten by tomorrow though....


* This is known in the trade as a full-bodied wine