Set the refrigerator or freezer at its coldest setting.

Wash the oranges and 3 of the lemons. With a potato peeler, peel the rinds from the 3 lemons thinly, then put them into a saucepan with the water and sugar. Stir over a low heat until the "sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil. Boil for

2 minutes, without stirring, then remove from the heat, cover and

leave the syrup to stand for 1 hour.

Squeeze all the lemons and measure 450 ml (16 fl oz) juice, making up the quantity with water if necessary. Cut the top third off each orange and carefully squeeze out the juice from the bottom two-thirds, Strain both lemon and orange juices together—you should have about 1.3 litres (2 1/4 pints)

Remove all the remaining flesh from the orange cases. Put the orange cases and 'lids' on a tray and put into the freezer.

Choose a very large bowl that will fit into the freezer compartment of a refrigerator or fast-freeze compartment of a freezer.

Pour the orange and lemon juice into the bowl then strain in the sugar syrup and stir well.

Freeze the juice for about 4 hours, until it has frozen to a width of 2.5 cm (1 inch) around the edge, then remove from the freezer and stir well with a large metal spoon until evenly blended. Return to the freezer and freeze for a further 3 hours or until the water-ice is frozen to a firm mushy consistency, not completely hard. Stir with a metal spoon once every hour during this freezing process.

Fill the orange cases with the water-ice, mounding it up well on top. Replace the 'lids', pressing them in at an angle. Return the oranges to the freezer for 1 - 2 hours or until the water-ice is frozen.

When ready to serve, remove the oranges from the freezer and place on small decorative plates or saucers. Serve at once.