Finely grate the zest from 1 orange, taking care not to remove any white pith, and add to the rhubarb.
Bring the rhubarb to the boil, then lower the heat and leave to simmer for 5 or 6 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the rhubarb has softened.
The other beacon of light this month is the blood orange, whose juice will startle us back to life in the morning and whose garnet-freckled flesh makes the prettiest addition to a ceviche, crisp winter salad or dessert.
To make the syrup, squeeze the juice of the lemon and orange into a small saucepan, add the sugar, then bring to the boil.
At the bottom of which, somewhere between the compost heap and the wheelbarrow, would be a patch of rhubarb; scarlet stalks hidden under vast emerald leaves and, occasionally, when everyone had enough crumble, left to sprout plumes of creamy white flowers.
