Every Wednesday since lockdown we’ve gone on picnics in the garden. Sometimes we even pretend to drive there in the car. You get your excitement where you can. A few cold Wednesdays ago we stayed indoors, erecting a tent in front of the fire. Over the days, this became a nest, feathered with pillows and blankets, into which I would retreat. Even chocolate correspondents need succour.
I had ordered some chocolate from Harry Specters. This is a very special chocolate company, a social enterprise, based in Cambridge, which gives employment to people on the autistic spectrum.
It sells bags, boxes and bars, many award-winning, and there are also teacher gifts (a super-worthy cause) and a subscription club starting at £12 a month. I really regret not buying a box of chocs, because some of the flavours look amazing: rose cardamom, peppery strawberry, banana caramel, lavender, lime and ginger, apple cinnamon… What fun I could have had in my tent gorging on them, but, sensibly, I bought bars instead. Each is 100g and costs £3.95 (one, the caramel and brownie slab, is a bit more special at £4.50) and the pieces are pleasingly chunky.
The surprise hit in our house – the one everyone fought over – was the dark filled orange, a 60% cocoa bar ripe with orange juice and orange zest. This left me with the milk peanut butter, a very pleasing milk of 40% with just enough soft ooze of peanut butter to convince me it’s a protein hit.
