Early Risers.

[Sidecar Racer]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Where's the option for call an undertaker?

 

 Put head between knees , kiss a*se goodby .

[polybear]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Does it involve Freddie Fan-oven?

 

S'funny you should say that.....

 

Bear decided that knocking up a quick LDC might be in order (not to be confused with the TNM "Great Beary Challenge" though - which has yet to take place).

 

No, this is more of a "get my Paw in" practice run....

 

Now I'll be totally up-front and mention that I did have a little help though.....

 

 

This was purchased during a Lock-Down and has been in the cupboard ever since - hence the "BBE June 2021" date on the box.....

 

It seems I might've got the measurements confused though - I thought it was all in Kg when it should've been grams.  Oh well, a Hippo might just pass by....

 

 

It seems to have cooked ok in the middle:

 

 

It's also had a cheeky spread of Lemon Curd whilst the lid was off.  Oops.

 

And the finished result?

 

 

Now I might be slightly biased (and no doubt iD will mark me down for the box mix) but I reckon that's not toooo bad for a first attempt....

The taste test will be tonight...

 

(Incidentally, and bearing in mind I had to put three eggs in the mix, any ideas how long that'll be safe to eat for?  I can bung it in the fridge if that helps...)

[Tony_S]

9 minutes ago, polybear said:

any ideas how long that'll be safe to eat for? 

If we can’t eat a cake in a couple of days we freeze half. Not that we are currently eating cake though. If it goes a bit stale, serve it with custard. 

[jjb1970]

Mrs JJB made a nice banana loaf today, which is somewhere between bread and cake.

[Andy Hayter]

Well that has been an exciting hour or so.  We are on yellow alert for thunderstorms and as forecast one rolled quickly in.  The local geography means that often they hit the ridge to the west and then follow the valley northwards, so missing us.  Not this one.  It looks as if we have enjoyed 16 strikes in the village during that hour*.  Lecky has tripped several times at the distribution board and 5 times more at the main circuit breaker. 

 

*  I track incoming storms using www.lightningmaps.org although when they get close, I disconnect the telephone and so lose internet connection.   There are just too many exposed telephone lines high up in the mountains and if they get a strike, it's goodbye to everything connected.  Unlike the electricity supply where there are a host of breakers that can help avoid strike damage, there is nothing on the telephone system, so a strike can wipe out phones, routers and computers. 

[TheQ]

We've just had some extreme soggyness for a short time, didn't show on the weather radar though..

 

Went to the mrc, painted skirting boards, cut down metal shelving to fit in alcove.. it doesn't fit, even though I'd given the measurements an extra inch off, yep the alcove ain't square, so next Thursday we have to do it all again...

Went to big orange shed got what was needed, loaded up in light drizzle.

On the way back extreme soggyness, then it went away, but arrived again before I got here.

 

Tescos on the way here too,  needed milk, spent £104, that may have been helped by a tray of doombar, a tray of Thatcher's and a bottle of Welsh Wisgi.

 

 

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Now I might be slightly biased (and no doubt iD will mark me down for the box mix) but I reckon that's not toooo bad for a first attempt....

The taste test will be tonight...

Well Done That Bear!

You have definitely have earned a good passing mark. Everyone has to start somewhere

2 hours ago, polybear said:

(Incidentally, and bearing in mind I had to put three eggs in the mix, any ideas how long that'll be safe to eat for?  I can bung it in the fridge if that helps...)

The raw eggs have combined with the other ingredients and are now cooked, so not an issue as would be the case with shelled raw eggs. With such a cake mix as the one you used, the cake is likely to go stale before it "goes off" (but when you use butter cream or whipped cream it changes how you store it and for how long).

 

Now for some observations:

• The huge domed shape suggest that you may have used a slightly too small pan. Both ready mixes and recipes will indicate both the shape and size of the baking tin needed in order to get a good result (the size of a baking tin will affect the baking time).
• It also looks slightly underdone
• You'll need to acquire a knitting needle or (preferably) a flat metal skewer. Towards the end of the cooking time you use it to test if the cake is almost cooked or cooked. As every single oven cooks differently the baking time will vary (although usually not by much from the recipe recommendation). To test the cake you insert the knitting needle/skewer vertically through the thickest/highest part of the cake and if it doesn't come out clean then the cake needs more time in the oven.
• You'll also need enough silver foil to cover the cake: If the outside looks done, but the knitting needle/skewer doesn't come out clean, you'll need to cover the top of the cake with silver foil and continue baking until the knitting needle/skewer comes out clean.
• You also need to let it cool in the tin for about 15 - 20 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to let cool completely (otherwise your cake will flatten out like a pancake - the cake needs to cool down in order to solidify the cooked cake. A decent cake rack doesn't cost much and makes the difference to the final cake

I await further developments....

Edited July 11 by iL Dottore

[Tony_S]

58 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

Mrs JJB made a nice banana loaf today, which is somewhere between bread and cake.

Banana cake appears here usually as a result of an error in ordering bananas causing too many ripe ones to eat.  Though we don’t seem likely to be getting any banana cake soon. The ordering seems very organised at the moment. 

[PupCam]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

.............................................................. If it goes a bit stale, serve it with custard. 

 

Or how about a nice bowlful of double cream  @polybear?    😉

 

Yummy! 

 

 

[DaveF]

It's not been quite the day I had planned.  A number of e mails had to be dealt with before church.  Then all went well in the service.  We talked about servers and if we ever don't have enough we could envisage a scenario a bit like the sketch "Dinner for One" in an attempt to give everyone wine.  We do have a sense of humour!

 

I called in to see Betty who is still doing well for 100 and we had a good chat.  I was able to give her a couple of addresses of specialist shoe companies as I still have details of them from when Mum used them on my phone - when I had the new phone I copied everything across.  I walked by the flat which was Mum's and was very sad to see that everything from her garden has been removed, shrubs and small conifers included.  Apparently the person there now is going to have artificial grass instead.   Fortunately I had taken some rooted bits and cuttings before I sold the flat and have them in my garden where they are doing well.

 

After lunch I was very tired and had a rest before going in my garden and doing some dead heading and tidying, just enough to half fill the wheelie bin.  Some of the bedding plants look a bit sad after the heavy rain and the greenhouse plants have not enjoyed the cold and damp.  Looking back I had been busy on most of Sunday, all Monday, all Tuesday and all yesterday doing things, I still can't quite do that, I have to have a day of doing things then a bit of the next day relaxing.  Unfortunately I am no good at that, I was brought up to be busy all day and then sit down to relax somewhere between 8 and 9 p.m..

 

On a more positive note I was able to pick the first ripe yellow tomato and enough raspberries from the new canes to make a small serving to have with my tea.

 

The neck is becoming a bit less painful.

 

David

Edited July 11 by DaveF

[PupCam]

Afternoon

 

We have quite a few giant red pigeons (aka Red Kites) around Puppershire.

 

Yesterday I was sitting in the study messing about on the PC when one decided to take a rest at the top of the conifer just outside in the garden.  They are big ol' birds!

 

 

ION

 

Wound checking & dressing and blood letting appointments today.  It's all go being retired but sadly not at all productive.

 

Never mind it's Pie & Pint night with some ex-colleague biking mates tonight.      As it is dry (if dull) and the pub is only 4 miles down the road I might even be tempted to actually turn up on a bike (just so long as I can get the crash helmet on).   That will surprise them 😀

 

TTFN

 

 

[polybear]

27 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

Or how about a nice bowlful of double cream  @polybear?    😉

 

Yummy! 

 

 

 

You been sniffiin' the Octane Booster again??

 

 

 

 

[PupCam]

19 minutes ago, polybear said:

You been sniffiin' the Octane Booster again??

 

Not saying ....

[Two_sugars]

21 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

You been sniffiin' the Octane Booster again??

 

As John Lennon sang  . . . . Whatever gets you through the night . . . . 

 

 

John

[polybear]

50 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Well Done That Bear!

 

Now for some observations:

• The huge domed shape suggest that you may have used a slightly too small pan. Both ready mixes and recipes will indicate both the shape of the baking tin needed in order to get a good result (the size of a baking tin will affect the baking time).

 

Probably; I have a secret recipe for a LDC (provided by a fellow ER'er) than needs a 1lb tin - so I've just bought one.  But then I discovered another tin I didn't realise I had, that turned out to be a bit bigger than the 1lb tin - but definitely not a 2Ib tin.  As the instructions suggested a 2lb tin I used the bigger tin - the mix didn't come anywhere near the top but it grew......

 

50 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

• It also looks slightly underdone
• You'll need to acquire a knitting needle or (preferably) a flat metal skewer. Towards the end of the cooking time you use it to test if the cake is almost cooked or cooked. As every single oven cooks differently the baking time will vary (although usually not by much from the recipe recommendation). To test the cake you insert the knitting needle/skewer vertically through the thickest/highest part of the cake and if it doesn't come out clean then the cake needs more time in the oven.

 

I used a wide, very sharp flat bladed knife at various points (including the deepest) at the suggested cooking time (50 minutes @ 160C) and it did indeed come out clean each time.

 

50 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

• You also need to let it cool in the tin for about 15 - 20 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to let cool completely (otherwise your cake will flatten out like a pancake - the cake needs to cool down in order to solidify the cooked cake. A decent cake rack doesn't cost much and makes the difference to the final cake

 

The instructions suggested waiting just a couple of minutes or so; I lifted it out gently using the greaseproof paper lining and put it on a cake rack (yep, got one of those 🙂). 

 

Now for the taste test......😁.....I may be some time.....

 

BG

[Tony_S]

56 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

You been sniffiin' the Octane Booster again??

 

 

 

 

One of the first substances suggested as an anti knock octane booster made the people working with it smell of garlic. It didn’t catch on, the lead compound did.

[Ian Abel]

Well, a bit late, but better late than never.

 

Yesterday was suitably quiet/boring/uneventful.

Jemma stopped by to drop off Whitney as she had to leave at 4am today to get her commuter flight to JFK. Headed to Munich for a simple out-and-back, returning Saturday.

Nothing else to add.

 

Today the tree guys are over at the rental tending to several trees that need to be removed and a couple need trimming, and I'm working. That's it 😉

 

Overcast and 18c first thing, got more smkoe in the air from Alberta fires apparently, I can feel it in my lungs when outside <grrr> heading for a 29c high.

 

Onward

[BoD]

Dear group.

I have a confession to make.

I have never, ever, had LDC.

There, I’ve said it.

I can rest easy in my bed on a night once more.

[DaveF]

I've just turned my central heating on as I am fed up with feeling cold.  It was 18C in the living room, these days I feel the cold, a few years ago it wouldn't have bothered me.

 

Juding by his comments I think even the local weather presenter on Tyne Tees TV is fed up with the weather.  In the film clips on the local news today almost everyone was wearing sweaters and coats, as they were when I went to church this morning.

 

It might improve a bit over the weekend so that temperatures should start to approach normal on the coast.

 

David

[jamie92208]

7 hours ago, roundhouse said:

Will do.

I've just remembered that I met Andrew at one of the Brains Trust meetings, so where down in Docklands.  If it's not too late please pass on my condolences. 

 

Here the petrol chain saw started first time so the dead Laburnum is now a slightly ragged stump. The chain was blunt so trimming the stump can wait.  Beth and I then went down to a neighbours for me to use his chain sharpener.  While we were there a thunderstorm rolled across so we had to sit and drink a glass of wine.  Such hardship. 

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

13 minutes ago, DaveF said:

It might improve a bit over the weekend so that temperatures should start to approach normal on the coast.

Next week we will just left the last “warm” place on our cruise. That will be Kirkwall.After that, it depends on what weather forecast you choose. Aditi chooses the optimistic ones, I wind her up, suggesting the single digit Celsius forecasts. Aditi’s California resident uncle  is currently in Svalbard, so we have been sent photos of him observing walrus family groups from a RIB. He won’t get eaten by a bear as he and the other tourists return to the small cruise ship to sleep and eat. 

[Hroth]

41 minutes ago, BoD said:

Dear group.

I have a confession to make.

I have never, ever, had LDC.

There, I’ve said it.

I can rest easy in my bed on a night once more.

 

I think thats very brave of you....

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, BoD said:

have never, ever, had LDC.

We may possibly never have another traditional one due to the amount of sugar, unless it is of course a tiny tiny slice. However, Aditi made one with very little sugar, it was very lemony.  Interesting, but hasn’t been repeated. Gooseberry or rhubarb crumbles with very much reduced sugar have been repeated though. They taste of fruit rather than sugar. 

Edited July 11 by Tony_S

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just been watching the test cricket highlights. Quite an interesting game and England are so far ahead they are likely to win by an innings despite the captain being clean bowled. West Indies are 179 runs behind with only four wickets remaining. 

[New Haven Neil]

Well the day improved markedly, with a pleasant sunny afternoon enticing me out on the bike for an hour to a coffee stop on Laxey prom.

 

I am currently reading Bill Bryson's 'The Road to Little Dribbling', and wonder if he is in fact an ER.  I'm sure he reads here anyway, given his humour and observations, it has provided a good laugh and much entertainment. Highly recommended as an 'easy' read.