Amanda's Split pea soup

A family favorite throughout the ages. I think we all grew up eating pea and ham soup where mums would cook a massive pot of it and keep it on the stove in winter, it would feed us for days and tasted better with every helping. So here is my version. But note that I have a massive 6 litre crockpot and this quantity fills it to the brim, and once cooked I take out half and freeze it, then add more water to the pot to thin it a bit, though I do like my soup really thick .
what you need :
A crockpot and large pot
2x bacon bones, ( fresh from the butches}
1/2kg fresh bacon (rind removed) and chopped into pieces
2 large onions diced
4 cloves of garlic chopped in half
1 packet of split peas yellow  or green or half and half,doesn't matter which ( rinsed)
2 medium to large sized parsnips diced
2 medium to large turnips diced
2 sticks of celery, leaves as well, diced
about 4 litres of chicken stock, I just use stock cubes,about 4 or 5
3 medium carrots diced
bunch of parsley chopped
lemon juice
ground pepper
olive oil
bay leaves
salt to taste ( but I don't use it)
2 sprigs of thyme
what to do:
I hate bits of  bone in my soup so I make all the broth first
in the crockpot put the bacon bones 2 litres of water and 2 chicken stock cubes, as well as the bay leaves and sprigs of thyme, cook on high for about 4-6  hours and let cool overnight in the pot.
The next morning remove all of the bones, bay leaves and sprigs from the broth keeping all the liquid and meat off the bones and set aside in crockpot turn onto high adding another litre of water to the broth and the remaining 2 stock cubes.
In the large pot add the olive oil and all the chopped veges and bacon pieces and fry off until they soften a little then add to crockpot along with the split peas and garlic add remaining litre of water and juice of one lemon, parsley and pepper cook on high for at least 8 hours until the peas fall apart, if you like your soup really smooth hit it with the bamix or blender to make it smooth and creamy add more water if needed.
 Best served with hot buttered toast and don't forget the worcestershire sauce that is what makes pea soup special

Amanda's split pea soup