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Hi the fee fairy. Sorry it took so long, my sons hog the computer now school has finished! Here is the recipe. I find the cold cure effect is greatly enhanced for adults if it is added to a large glass of chilled champagne or white wine and sipped slowly in a hot bath.

1 Put about 2 quarts of berries (no stalks) in a covered casserole in a cool oven.

2 Pour off the juice as it forms.

3 Strain berries through muslin and strainer.

4 To each quart of juice add 1lb of sugar and 12 cloves.

5 Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins.

6 Swill brandy or vodka round in the clean bottles to disinfect before bottling.

7 Strain bottle and cork. I use old screw top wine bottles or very well washed olive oil bottles. Seal well.

Once you have opened a bottle keep it in the fridge. I give one teaspoon to the kids with the right dose of echinacea drops in it 3 x a day. They really like it. It is supposed to enhance immune function, so with the echinacea it should be pretty good. They are all still alive anyway....

spot wrote: I find the cold cure effect is greatly enhanced for adults if it is added to a large glass of chilled champagne or white wine and sipped slowly in a hot bath.

I'm sold!!!!!! Reckon it might work for hayfever?? Got to be worth a try

Aberlemno wrote: so if you want the recipe, just shout out. (It even gets rid of those deep painful cracks in fingertips.)

Yes please hun~

Dead easy - just melt 1 lb Lard (or you can use Vaseline if you'd rather) in a pan, very slowly. Add as many heads of elderflower as you can immerse in the lard and keep "cooking" on the lowest heat for about half an hour or so. Remove the flower heads and compost, and add a few drops of your favourite essential oil (I use Lavender) or else it smells like the Sunday roast. Pour into shallow pots and cover. This will keep for quite a while - I put it in the back of a dark cool cupboard, but some folks prefer to put in bottom of fridge - not sure why as it doesn't really go "off" if kept coolish. The thing about the lard is that it's an animal fat, so it is readily absorbed by the skin. Mind you, my late m-in-law would never use this handcream in case it was fattening!!!

My old dad used to make elderberry wine: it was fantastic

My old mum used to make elderberry tarts and pies: they were delicious

The smell of elderflower gives me a very serious (off work for several days serious) headache, so I ruthlessly grub out every sign of elder.

Elder trees are a moderately serious weed here in East Anglia. They make rubbish hedges. Although they can be trimmed back with a flail they re-grow faster then anything else in the hedge.

The birds love the berries.
They then roost on the washing line, or above the car, and the purple-black stain is impossible to clean.

My old dad (bit of an expert) used to say that there were two kinds of elder.
If it smells good, make it into wine.
If it smells like cat's wee, dig it out and burn it.