"Guardian " writer John Wright describes it as " a potent compound . . . It tasted like the perfume counter at Boots . " He suggests a homemade version containing rose petals in a base of white rum or eau de vie, with the addition of syrups made from raspberry juice and rosehips.
22.
Lady's bedstraw _ makes good bedding and can be used as a rennet plant for curdling milk; squinancy wort _ useful if I ever get an attack of quinsy; carline thistle _ preserve the buds with honey and sugar for a tasty sweetmeat; Burnet rose _ I'll drink a syrup made from the rosehips if I'm coughing, spitting blood or stricken with scurvy.