I’ve never counted myself as some sort of genius, but likewise, I also don’t count myself as the dumbest of the bunch. However, at times, my own stupidity astounds me.

Here’s a recent example:

I had picked the last of the red tomatoes and they’d been sitting a while. The problem I have is I really enjoy growing them but I’m not that mad for eating them unless they’re mixed in with other stuff. So I was delighted when I found a recipe for ‘tomato and chilli jam’ in one of the books on my bookcase.

I had about half the quantity of tomatoes needed so I thought, “well, that’s ok, I’ll just half everything else”. Sounds straightforward enough doesn’t it? Well it would be if my head wasn’t full of cotton wool – another gift from my friend: ‘Ageing’.

I put in the tomatoes and remembered to put in half of the sugar – so far so good. On I went, throwing things in my big pot like a very happy camper. A while later, I realised I’d been standing there and stirring for a long time – longer than it should have been. The pennies dropped with a heavy clunk – I forgot to put in half the quantity of the water…….and the vinegar. It should probably be quite quick to make but I was there considerably longer, trying to reduce the amount of liquid.

Eventually, I had something that looked like the right consistency so I carefully spooned the red, gelatinous substance into my jars, while appreciating the aroma which now permeated every nook of the house, (apparently I was alone in my appreciation).

As luck would have it, a little bit spilled onto the counter as I was filling the jars, so as I was cleaning everything away, I thought, “I’ll have a wee taste”.

That’s when it dawned on me……..I’d also forgotten to halve the amount of chilli flakes!