Ace

My sister, Cres, Dixie, Chris, Nick and friend peel out of the Ace after a fun afternoon sat drinking pop watching bikes come and go in the blistering sunshine. What could be better? Well, I could have been on a bike following them to their next stop. You can't have it all. Nice to catch up with Mark as well.

Gary

Meet Gary.
He made me jealous.
Storming down the motorway in the glorious sunshine packed for a weekend away. He looked like he was grinning as we yo-yo'd each other for about 50 miles- although he could have been squinting. I'm looking forward to slinging a bedroll on the 45 and doing some mileage of the more sedate vintage variety.

Nuts

I like the thick and uncooperative ink of a black ballpoint pen as it picks one of many lines from a heavy pencil sketch on a piece of paper that has grown grubby from being overworked. Sometimes erasing the crazy cobwebs of pencil reveals a gem, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever the out-come it furthers the process, refines it, shows you paths you want to develop and ones you don't. This is how i've designed my tattoos; tattoos that might not be particularly cool for the current scene but they were powerful images at the time, enough to put them into my skin. They mean as much now as they did when they were first drawn and that was the point in the first place. This isn't going to be a tattoo but it might eventually be a sticker if I don't take too long about it and miss the sticker fad.

Tea?

... erm... just milk please.

Success

There is not a single cloud in the sky which is the exact opposite of my head right now after yet another full capacity audience at the gig last night. Bouyed by our success I had an extra beer or two at the unofficial after show party- great idea considering all the stuff I should be doing today. So seeing as how its still technically the morning it's probably not such a great idea to fire up a burro (von francos word for a stogie) this early and to be honest I'm struggling with it a bit. I should be firing up a bike and heading out somewhere but instead I decide to press on with a variation of my original plan... today I'd walk up to the van by the back way through fields, under the motorway and finally to the college and the see if she'll fire up to get to the garage for an mot. Early indications are that she should pass even in the ramshackle state she is in.
The van said "yes" immediately when in fact she meant "no". She started on the button and sounded really healthy but two feet forwards in first gear made me aware the brakes were bound almost solid. The first thing I did on getting to the mot garage was head straight off. I thought a little back road blast would shake a rock loose and sure enough by a couple of miles she was rolling free as a stone and got up to a mighty 60mph. I got back home to try fix the indicator warning lamp only to find, after a stogie induced whitey forced me to lie down for 10 minutes, she had no electrics at all. 20 minutes later I found and fixed the fuse. By now I was running out of time and still hadn't fixed the indicator lamp so I thought I'd throw myself at the mercy of the fellas at the garage and dump the van there as is. Just as I set off I ran out of petrol. I nipped to see the guys, explained my predicament, borrowed a gas can, filled the van and then flattened the battery trying to start. I was about to have a sense of humour failure when I remembered the crank handle... Old shit always seems to work best and I got there just as the shutters were coming down. The lads at my local garage are now my heroes not least because they gave me an mot

Getting my loaf on...

... for the lads (wwnww), see you Sunday- and bring your own damn fish.

Bread-o

Such a thing of beauty coming out of the oven has prompted me to post another bread-based blog offering.

I am developing quite a specific set of requirements in the bread-making process... Relative density in time and space; how very Dr Who.

Density- mixing the sour-dough starter with flour into a dough with just enough water so it's not too sloppy and wet and not too dry and tight. The dough can then be kneaded til it is firm and springy.

Time and space- leaving the springy dough for just the right amount of time so that it proves to a nice tight dome in the baking tray. Too small a tray will make the loaf very dense, too large will make it flat so selecting the right tray for the dough quantity is vital. Too much time will let the dough over-proove and go sludgy.

Once these factors are within tolerance you then have to get the temperature and baking time right. I normally set the oven at about 200 and go play on the Internet until I get the faintest whiff of cooking. Tapping the bottom of the loaf should give a pleasing thud or it could do with another few minutes. Burning is never a good smell so avoid that.

All of this is done by feel as I'm not the sort of cook that likes to measure or time anything.