The last few days have been quite full, which is why I haven’t posted anything. The MOH returned from a trip to England, bringing back with him a whole car full of non-perishable food, as a way of combatting the ever-declining power of Sterling vis-à-vis the Euro. We spent half a day unpacking and squirrelling away all the tins, jars and packets, but they should do us well for a few weeks at least.

The following day, Thursday, was his birthday, and Saturday was mine, so we invited some friends round for a meal. I faffed around for a few days trying to decide what to make for a main course, and came up with oven roasted vegetables and a gratin dauphinois. Peeling and chopping sufficient vegetables for eleven people is something I won’t do again in a hurry. The kitchen surface overflowed with chopped veggies, and of course they wouldn’t all fit in one roasting dish, nor two, nor three. It took six dishes in all, and I spent several hours rotating them into the available oven space and trying to get all the damned things cooked to the same consistency. Not the cleverest idea I have ever had. Still, I scored heavily on the dessert, serving a sticky lemon syrup cake which vanished almost before I’d put it on the table, accompanied by a champagne jelly with strawberries, which is the easiest pud I’ve ever made and which was enthusiastically received by everybody.

Most of Sunday involved clearing up, washing up and tidying up. When I managed to creep from my bed at just after mid-day, I was most delighted to see that MOH had attended to everything, and there was nothing for me to do except finish the last little bit of champagne jelly, and play with the new toy, about which I shall write later.

Having had little time to deal with emails for the last few days, I have spent the entire morning and half the afternoon doing so, and moderating comments, for which thanks to all those who have posted.