The kitchen table’s bare, other than for this old book.

Leather-bound. Green leather. Well-used, by the look of it. ‘Viner Codex. Volume III. London, 1832. Commonwealth Institute of Vinery.’ Whatever the heck that is. Or was.

Flick through it; open it at the bookmark. Page-headline is ‘Knotwork for to grow a pumpe for a single household in deep loam’. Then this:

To Beginn by Fruite of the Vine, to the Third Degree.
Return ye to the Grand Arche, and thence to the Knot of Greene.
Turn ye toward the Sunn by Two.
Raise Second over Third, Northe by Three.
Converse to the Third Starr, to raise Two and Two in the Small Beast.
Greet the Flouwere of Greye.
Open ye the Throate of Bullocke at One by Two.
Set Throate to Throate for Throate.
Close by Close.
Greet ye the Red Draggon, in the Third Parte.
Walk past the Blacke Draggon of the Hartes Hornes.
Seven by Seventh.
There finde the great Springge.
One by Halfe by One.
Extende ye the Small Beast to greet the Springge.
Bind same to the Red Draggon.
Advise to the Heade of Hydra the Number so Desired.
Amende ye the Hue of Skin of Draggon to that of the Quiet Jade.

More and more of this stuff, all in some flowery old script, except where someone’s pencilled in a ‘3’ inside a small circle, pointing to the word ‘Number’ in that line about ‘Hydra’.

No doubt it all meant something to someone once, but to me right now it just looks like some kind of crazy magic spell. No idea at all.