Five broken bones for a bowl of raspberries

Soft fruit needs lots and lots of rain and this year we’ve got it. The rain has already given us bumper crops of black currants and gooseberries- now its the turn of the raspberries. But we’ve had difficulty harvesting the crop because it’s no good trying to pick raspberries when it’s wet and there have been precious few dry spells. Margaret has borne the brunt of the picking because I tend to be out at work. ​

Today the weather cleared just before lunch and Margaret ventured into the raspberry patch with her basket. Although the rain had stopped it was wet underfoot. There are four rows of raspberries in the fruit cage, each row separated by stone flags, which were put down to keep off the weeds. Because they are on a slope the paths can be treacherous in the wet. And so it proved- Margaret lost her footing, falling heavily and hurting her wrist. At first, it didn’t seem so bad and she carried on picking, but before long the pain hit home and she realised that something was seriously wrong. Ten hours and two hospitals later she returned home with her arm in plaster. She had broken three bones in her hand and two in her wrist. She said that the pain was the worst she had ever experienced, which is something coming from someone who has given birth to 6 children.

The day wasn’t entirely wasted- she managed not to spill the raspberries when she fell.