I read somewhere that you are supposed to prick each sloe 12 times with a thorn from the bush it came from. (Now we know what the ancients did before the internet & seed catalogues were invented)!!!!
I'm still holding my nerve but the local sloes are getting more & more pickable, just worried that someone else (or some feathered critter) will get there first.
I made sloe vodka last year, don't remember too much from Boxing Day onwards . I've got some Ginger wine on the go that I hope will complement this years batch.

Nighty night, off to dream about a world where slugs will only eat lawn grass.
Compo