Ivy Lane: Spring: (11 page)

She took a deep breath to deliver her pièce de résistance, but I had already guessed what was coming. I shrank down in my seat and prepared for my summer, and possibly my entire life, to be changed beyond recognition.

‘Tilly, you’re going to be a TV star!’

The applause resumed, this time even louder, and everyone stared. I felt like an escapee caught in a searchlight.

‘But . . .’ I gawped at Gemma for help.

She looked at me and grinned. ‘Told you she was tricksy.’

I smiled weakly at her as a new version of the summer flashed in front of me, followed swiftly by a cold wave of fear that sent shivers down my spine.

A TV crew at Ivy Lane. Filming me. Journalists had a way of wheedling secrets out of people. It was their job. One sniff of a story and they were like dogs after bones, the more sensational the better.

And right now keeping my secret was possibly more precious than life itself.

So what lies ahead for the Tilly and the residents of Ivy Lane?

What secrets is she hiding?

And will her tentative friendships with this new community survive when the truth comes out?

Continue the story in Summer – Part 2.

Romance ripens as summer rolls in . . .

Tilly Parker is feeling happier than she has done since her life completely changed a year ago, though she’s still keeping some secrets to herself. As she flourishes under the summer sun, she attracts the attention of not one, but two suitors. Excitement reaches fever pitch at Ivy Lane as a TV crew descends to capture life inside a modern-day allotment, bringing out the best (new wellies and lipstick) and the worst (parsnip rivalry) in them all.

The Annual Show marks the end of summer and the end of filming, but is Tilly ready for romance – and if so, who will be the pick of the bunch?

You can enjoy the second part in the Ivy Lane story – an uplifting novel you can devour in bite-size pieces, wholesome and heart-warming to the core.

• Leek and Potato Soup
  
• Peanut Flapjacks
  
• Chocolate Easter Nests
  

This is an allotment staple! Early in Spring before the growing season is under way, there are always leeks, potatoes and onions to be found. And what could be more warming after a morning on the allotment than returning home to a delicious bowl of homemade soup?

You will need . . .

Fry leeks and onions in the butter in a large pan very gently for five minutes. Add the potato and cook for a further ten minutes until the potato is soft. Add the stock and simmer for twenty minutes. If you are using milk, add it in the last five minutes. Grind in some black pepper and taste. It shouldn’t need any extra salt. Skim the top of the soup if necessary. Allow to cool slightly and blitz in a liquidiser. Re-heat and then serve in warmed bowls with a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of chopped chives. A hunk of soda bread would be the perfect accompaniment.

In this recipe I use smooth peanut butter AND peanuts. Logic would dictate that if you used crunchy peanut butter, you wouldn’t need the peanuts. I’ve never made it that way, so I can’t comment. However, I love finding a whole peanut in my flapjack!

You will need . . .

Pre-heat the oven to 150°C, fan oven 130°C, gas mark 2. Grease a square baking tin (around 20–23cm). Put the golden syrup, butter, sugar and peanut butter in a small saucepan and heat gently until it has all melted. Take off the heat and add the oats and the peanuts. Tip the mixture into the baking tin. Don’t worry too much about trying to spread it evenly, it will sort itself out in the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Leave it for 3 minutes before marking it into squares and remove from the tin when completely cool. It’s quite floppy when it’s warm!

A perfect recipe to make with children, as long as you supervise all the hot bits of course. These nests are so simple to make yet they look very sweet and apart from the melting, don’t require any cooking.

You will need . . .

Arrange ten cake cases in a muffin tray. Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a large pan over a gentle heat. Stir thoroughly and remove from the heat. Add the Cornflakes very carefully so that you don’t crush them. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases and decorate with two or three mini eggs per nest. Make sure that you add the eggs before the chocolate sets or your eggs will roll out of their nest! Place the whole muffin tray in the fridge for one hour. After an hour, remove the cakes from the tray, place them into an airtight box and put the box back in the fridge.

After four years of flinging herself round the dancefloors of Nottingham’s nightspots, Cathy somehow managed to get an honours degree in business. She then plunged herself into the corporate world of marketing, working on high-powered projects such as testing the firing range of SuperSoaker water guns and perfecting the weeing action of Tiny Tears. After making it onto Timmy Mallet’s Christmas card list, she realised it was time to move on and so in 1995 set up her own marketing agency.

She now lives in a Nottinghamshire village with her husband, two daughters and a dog called Pearl.

Random Facts about Cathy Bramley:

Lucky charm: pottery frog out of a Christmas cracker
Favourite tipple: Polish cherry vodka
Best ever Christmas present: potter’s wheel (toy version)
Hates the expression: ‘Compliments to the chef’

You can get in touch with Cathy via her website
www.CathyBramleyAuthor.com
, her Facebook page
www.Facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor
or on Twitter:
@CathyBramley
.

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IVY LANE: SPRING PART 1
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473509689

First published in Great Britain
in 2014 by Transworld Digital
an imprint of Transworld Publishers

Copyright © Cathy Bramley 2014

Cathy Bramley has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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