Good afternoon everybody,
It wasn't supposed to be like this. We thought the days of writing the email on a Sunday morning were a thing of the past. In a bid to tackle my chronic last-minute-itis, I submitted to the stricture of a weekly plan - in the shop on these days, admin on these, a nursery pick up here, a drop off there. There it was on a Tuesday morning, after the flour delivery and the pastry meeting and the Covered Market meeting and the Front of House meeting: DO NEWSLETTER.
However, given the fickle mood of the muse, not to mention my endlessly distractible nature, it has not always turned out as intended. Having said that, I did manage to carve out some time on Friday morning, took myself off to Green Routes (where I am now, incidentally, and yes, in case you were in any doubt it is Sunday morning, and the caffeine is coursing through my veins), plonked myself down, fired up the old laptop and hoped for, if not inspiration, then at least a vague idea. I was just starting to pick up a little momentum, a couple of rangy sentences in, heroically avoiding the impulse to trawl through the promotions tab on my gmail, when totally out of the blue my computer screen was reduced to a flashing, jittery, migraine inducing pattern of black and white stripes. A right click was swiftly followed by a left click, to no avail. I shut the thing and opened it again but the silent, cackling static remained. Two undergrads on the next table eyed me with a mixture of sympathy and scorn. They suggested turning the computer on and off again. I was reluctant to do so, given my general policy of never powering down and always having at least ten tabs on the go, not to mention innumerable files of various types open and lurking behind the browser window, but more so because, in truth, this glitch had not come out of the blue, it had been sitting on my shoulder for months. Not only was my computer nine years old it had also been grievously mistreated (see above). In an apparent act of protest it had taken to powering itself down whenever it damn well felt like it and often took its sweet time coming on again. In the end I took the advice of the students and turned it off. The prospect of getting the newsletter done in one sitting had been remote to begin with. Now it was out of sight, over the hills and far, far away.
Talk with the students turned to the procurement of a replacement device, taking in the ethics of buying new versus reconditioned, the necessity of avoiding conflict metals, the epidemic in Glasgow of conflagrations caused by discarded vapes, and other adjacent issues. Eventually I thanked them for taking pity on me and allowed them to resume their conversation which seemed to consist mainly of savage and highly articulate take downs of various acquaintances. Feeling that the world was in good hands I pressed the on button and was delighted when my recalcitrant Mac back spluttered to life. Perhaps all was not lost. Barely had I bent to resume my task when two dear friends and bakery customers took the vacant table on the other side of me. What was I up to? I was writing the newsletter. Oh well, we should leave you to it. But I spied the opportunity for further procrastination, and eagerly seized it, launching into a highly enjoyable and stimulating chat, encompassing tales from Bangkok, family constellations workshops, and my story of one of the worst mornings ever in the life of the bakery, which will now have to wait until next week, as the word limit approaches. When I got home later Kate asked me how my morning had been. Not that productive, I replied. One of those days. Looks like it'll have to be Sunday morning.
Here are Harriet's highlights for the week ahead.
A recent delivery of Warborough honey from Steve Ash has topped up the retail shelves but will also find itself in a couple of bakes this week:
- Oat & white chocolate cookies – organic oats, Steve’s runny honey and Ecuadorian white chocolate from Pump Street
- Fig & Hazelnut Pavlovas – weekend special; hazelnut meringue, fig compote, softly whipped Ivy House Dairy cream, a slice of fresh fig and a drizzle of honey
Also on the counter this week:
- Chocolate & Almond bun – a Pump Street chocolate filling, a spoonful of almond frangipane, Food & Forest flaked almonds and a cocoa husk syrup
- Bags of mini lemon & vanilla shortbread and slabs of vanilla fudge
- Following a protracted courtship we are excited to introduce Heist Chocolate, who describe themselves as follows:
Heist is a micro bean-to-bar chocolate factory based in Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in small batches of stone-ground chocolate made with simple, recognisable ingredients and single-origin cacao beans harvested by the Piaroa Tribe, Venezuela. Each batch is hand-sorted, roasted, ground, tempered, wrapped, and stitched by us in our small factory in the centre of the city.
This is incredibly good chocolate, packaged sumptuously, and obviously made with a degree of care and attention, not to say love. We currently have dark, dark with clementine, milk, and milky coffee.
Cheese picks for the week are as follows:
- Stichelton – a traditional English blue made with raw milk on the edge of Sherwood Forest. It has crisp apple acidity and toasty, biscuity notes and is delicious served alongside a hoppy ale.
- St Jude – light and airy, St Jude is a lactic set cow’s milk cheese. This week’s batch has gooiness under the rind, with notes of fresh cream and a zippy lemon finish.
That's all for this week. We thank you sincerely for reading and wish you the perfect autumnal Sunday afternoon,
Hugo and Kate