It is the second Saturday of the month so it is time for another drive over to New Ferry and Wirral Farmer’s Market. There are a number of different ways to get there. this morning we went via Birkenhead and up Whetstone lane past the new St Catherine’s Hospital. As I drove I kept looking over my left shoulder for the view through broken down houses over to Liverpool, the two cathedrals rising up over the City and the river and all the new development that runs along side it. Although Tranmere is only a mile or so away it feels and looks like another country.

We got to the market and bumped into friends who were leaving and said that they had got there late and some of the stalls were running out. I bought myself my usual free range chicken. They only had small ones. Apparently the cold weather over the last few weeks has slowed down their growth.

Then it was off to buy some tongue. I had seen some last month but put it to one side and bought myself an ox-heart instead. This time I was determined on tongue. The same butchers had them. Great hefty things over a foot long and six inches wide. Rather than buy it there and then and have to carry it round I put it back whilst I finished the rest of the shopping. We bought bread, small pastries stuffed with feta cheese, spinach and potato and a big bag of potatoes to last us the month. Walking round there was another stall selling buffalo meat. He had tongue as well which looked smaller and more manageable.

‘Good pet food,’ he reassured me when I ask how much.

‘I thought I might cook it instead.’

‘Boil and skin it,’ a lady standing next to me advised.

It cost 50p.

Back home I made up stock with the bone from the ham we had last night and the giblets from the chicken. The tongue has been cooking in that for a couple of hours and is now cooling down. Eldest daughter is complaining about it being disgusting and she has now been put of food forever.

Lucky I didn’t get the pigs ears I spotted – also 50p each.