The Restory Retreat Centre

I am fascinated by the incredible design of the passion fruit flower which epitomizes the word "exotic" for me. On the farm in White River an abundance of flowers and fruit grow in solid walls of green, their beautiful fragrance all around as I capture it on camera in the late afternoon sun. I marvel at the times we live in, which allow the fruit to be air shipped all over the world in a mere day or two after picking. To be enjoyed by someone living thousands of miles from here. But I am concerned about the many challenges farmers have to face. We should spare more than a thought for the farmers who put food on our tables. In South Africa it is becoming an uphill battle and I feel anxious for what the future holds for my son with the farmer's heart. In Great Brittain there is an initiative called "Keep Brittain farming". Maybe it should be a global one. Matilda

Bounty from the farm: Two crates of  freshly picked, plump passion fruit Irresistible insides!  Passion preserved. In South Africa we call them granadillas. But I prefer the name passion fruit, like they are also known widely. This name is derived from an analogy drawn centuries ago by Spanish Missionaries to South America between the flower's anatomy and Christ's Crucifixion. They called it Flor de las cinco lagas (flower of the five wounds) .  Hence the name passion fruit.  But for me it has more to do with a sensation bordering on bliss when I take a mouthful of fragrant pulp. It is near impossible to describe the taste: a tantalizing tartness combined with something like a flowery perfume fills your mouth and overwhelms your tastebuds before it slips down your throat with a silky coolness. I can never get enough of passion fruit. So it felt like Christmas when Leon gifted me with two huge crates filled with passion fruit that didn't make the ...