Paradise Regained

As promised, today we were “in paradise” – Paradise Wood, that is.

The venue – Earth Trust’s research woodland, planted in 1994 on the site of former Paradise Field – was new to most of us.  The task, however, was familiar: to cut back overhanging vegetation and scrub which were threatening to make some of the rides impassable.  We just had to be careful at this site not to touch any of the trees which are part of a scientific trial.

The site warden had said he would meet us in the car-park and lead us to the right bit of woodland.  I think it would be fair comment to say there was some scepticism expressed about the idea that he (or C) would lead them into paradise.

Nevertheless, here we were, come to a gate which is not open to all:

If any volunteers were thinking, “If this is paradise, what’s hell like?” they were far too polite to say so.  We were not quite sure what kind of paradise it is when those select folks who are admitted, are locked inside:

Some of the work was, perhaps, not awfully glamorous:

Nor could one say it was ‘paradise’ on account of the return to normal fare at tea-break, following the previous week’s experiment with alternative snacks.  I am assured the cake(s) this week were “wonderful”: every bit as good as they looked.  But so were the healthy treats last week.  Moreover, one kind soul (bless!) had even brought along specially some healthy-alternative brownies (far left, behind the conventional cake):

Healthier because made with maple syrup: GI index 54 compared with 65 for table sugar, thus raising blood-sugar levels more slowly; plus at least 24 different antioxidants.  (Data from: Glycemic Index Research Service, Human Nutrition Unit, University of Sydney, Australia, unpubl observations, 1995-2007; Abou-Zaid, Nozzolillo, Tonon, Coppens, and Lombardo – ‘High-performance liquid chromatography characterization and identification of antioxidant polyphenols in maple syrup’, Pharmaceutical Biology 46 (2008): 117-125.)

This in turn led to a discussion about how unripe fruit tastes sweeter after it has been cooked, even if one has not added sugar.  One of us had experimented with a mango, which had refused to ripen: peeled and chopped it up, and turned it into an improvised pilaff with Camargue rice, a little left-over cooked sausage, a splash of lime, and coconut + cinnamon added to take the edge off any tartness.  Another had found that hard plums had tasted delicious simply for having been boiled.  Ditto for baked bananas.  There must be some interesting chemistry going on there …

So how did we know we were in paradise rather than The Other Place?  Different Green-Gymmers would give different answers.  However, I’d say it was because of the teamwork:

Now, when he returns, do we tell our absent colleague, who really has flown to a Caribbean island, for a party, that there was no need to jet off to the tropics to experience paradise?  Or would that be unkind?