Blacka’s ... they’re the berries

WE’RE well into the blackberry season and the warm weather has helped the growth and ripening of this popular fruit all around the country — one of the best years in recent times.

It’s a long time since we’ve seen many pickers, young and old, joined by yours truly in accordance with a time-honoured autumn ritual. Blackberries are there by the bucket-load waiting to be picked from the thorny brambles along ditches and hedgerows.

And they should be there for some weeks, as many of the berries are still not fully ripe. People are buying imported and frozen berries in supermarkets, but this abundant crop is out there under their noses waiting to be harvested — fresh and for free.