Country diary: The allotment is flying at full mast

Hove, East Sussex: I’m greeting friends with juice and jam and taking plums to the pub, although, there is still some mystery surrounding ‘mast’ yearsIt’s a mast year on the allotment. Branches heave with apples, plums and pears, while sloes, hips, hazelnuts and haws ripen in the hedge. I greet friends with berries, juice and jam; I’ve taken plums to the pub.Such abundance is welcome. The wildlife has feasted too, and I’ve saved apples in case of waxwings