Today was an important day for me. For the first time I got to taste an apple that features in my forthcoming novel, At the Edge of the Orchard. The Pitmaston Pineapple is an old and rare English variety, and hard to find. While writing it I had to describe the apple's taste by basing it on other people's descriptions. Today, at last, a bowlful of Pitmaston Pineapples arrived, courtesy of Matthew Thomas and Nick Dunn at Frank P Matthews Trees for Life in Worcestershire. Thanks, guys!

Here I am, worshipping my apples:

And then, at last, crunch!

It was lovely - perfect combination of tart and sweet. But I need to wait a couple of weeks for the pineapple finish to develop.