Maddie’s World
In her weekly column, Maddie Grigg shares tales from her life in rural Dorset . . .
ITHINK I’ve probably mentioned this before, but my garden is the proverbial postage stamp. It comprises a square of paving slabs with pots all around it. At this time of year it’s in need of a tidy up. I really ought to think about putting it to bed as autumn gathers up its overcoat, in readiness for winter.
Lately, there has been a new addition to the garden. It’s taking its time, but it’s emerging slowly, like some sort of folly next to the fish pond.
You see, earlier this year Mr Grigg went on a “build and bake” day at River Cottage HQ, the place made famous by television chef and writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It’s just over the county border in Devon and not far from us.
As you know, Mr Grigg loves to bake. And, after spending a year in Corfu a few years ago, he’s really been bitten by the alfresco cooking and dining bug perfected by our Greek neighbour, Spiros.
So the River Cottage course was the perfect birthday present. He could enjoy a day out and, at the same time, equip himself with the skills to make his own oven.
The upshot of all of this is that we now have a halffinished pizza oven in our back yard.
It’s truly been a labour of love, with the base constructed from old railway sleepers, rubble obtained from anyone who had any to fill it in, a layer of broken glass to retain the heat, then old fire bricks from the inside of night storage heaters taken out of various houses by my electrician son-in-law.
Mr Grigg put together this base some months ago, and it stayed like that – just a base – until Mrs Champagne Charlie mentioned she could see from her bedroom window that we appeared to have rather a grand plant stand in our garden, as I’d covered it up with even more pots.
Well, that spurred my husband on to get on with it.
This involved getting the clay to make the actual oven and this turned out to be something of a protracted process.
Buying it from a building supplier worked out far too expensive, and potters don’t have enough of it lying around.
So it was down to a friendly farmer who took Mr Grigg across fields in his tractor to find some.
Then rain stopped play on numerous occasions. Mr Grigg and his faithful assistant, Mr Champagne Charlie, needed a clear run of weather to get on with “puddling” the clay and moulding it into a dome to go on top of the base. And, once started, if the clay was left for too long, it was in danger of drying out.
There were frequent discussions about how best to do it, with the two of them going off into a huddle to work out tactics.
It’s a work in progress as we speak, but that hasn’t stopped Mr Grigg dreaming about all the wonderful things he’ll be able to cook in the oven, as well as some yummy pizza.
He’s even suggested we could have tables and chairs outside our house and sell pizzas to the public, but I’m going to put my foot down.
As soon as our pizza oven looks a bit like how it’s meant to be, I’ll let you see a picture. But we could be waiting until Christmas to launch the thing officially, so he will have to make sure the door is big enough to get a turkey in and out of the oven.
We certainly won’t be laying up the street outside for a mass Christmas dinner. That would be taking community spirit a little too far, even in my book. n