Hot.

Another hot day. A check of the web cams shows even more people down at the beach. Things have been buzzing here too. One of the families has been celebrating the birthday of their little girl with lots of visitors for a gathering out on the grass. Speedy spent his afternoon supervising from my study window. It was lovely to hear the happy hum of adult and children's voices. It seemed like a real crowd though in reality it was probably no more than a dozen adults plus assorted children. I think the current guideline is up to thirty people outside but I've given up trying to keep up with the guidance/restrictions especially since a govt. crony advisor claimed a 30 mile drive to a beauty spot with his family was to 'check that his eye sight was okay' after a bout of covid. No condemnation by our PM even though we were being told to 'Keep the NHS safe and stay home' and travel was forbidden.

Prompted by pictures of family baking endevours I thought I'd give an on-line recipe for Magic Lemon Cake a go. Not a complete success but not a flop either. Firstly something was possibly out with the quantities as the 400mls of milk made the final amount far too much to fit into a 20cms baking tin. Instead I used a cake tin almost double that volume. I have a feeling that using silicone cake 'tins' doesn't transmit the heat as efficiently so I wasn't suprised that it took a lot longer to bake than the time given. The 'magic' bit worked in that the mixture separated into a light sponge layer at the top and an egg custard type of base. The recipe called for a dusting of icing sugar which I didn't have but we found the whole thing over sweet with just a hint of lemon. Nice but not worth making again.

With the weather set to change again we spent longer sitting outside in the afternoon discussing plans for Red Roofs. Even though we could hear the sounds of the party drifting over the house it was quite peaceful with no radios blaring.