A day at the studio

Well, one of this week's trials is over! A few months ago I responded to a request on a poster in the Conservatoire for a performer to be recorded by Rebecca, a final-year Sound Engineering student. I offered my Schubert sonata in A minor (op. 143), and the Recital Hall was booked - a good thing, seeing as my end-of-year recital will take place there. It has been long in coming, and today I have played piano for four to five hours: at least one and a half practising beforehand, then about three and a half recording. I realise now we may have done things in the wrong order: least difficult (the second) movement first, most difficult (the third) last. I was having difficulty getting a proper run through at all, and was getting more and more frustrated. Still, Rebecca and the dude (sorry, dude, brainpower all gone) were good fun, and really helpful when I was getting angsty.

Rebecca and 'cool dude' allowed me to take a picture of them with my new camera

I spent quite a lot of hours yesterday, on the other hand, making bread for the first time in ages. I have found it quite challenging getting hold of active dried yeast, and I finally went to a big enough store where they had some Allinsons, which is good stuff. I got two cans. I was really pleased with the result: as a result of the dough not having risen properly for the first hour, I decided to deflate the dough and give it another hour. When I had gone through the curfuffle (I had to go and look that word up to check, and found it's actually Scottish!) of shaping my six rolls and two loaves and covering them in sesame seeds, and had FINALLY baked them, I found I had amazingly soft bread that sprang back when compressed. In other words, like supermarket bread, but so much better! I will make bread again soon, and maybe - *gasp* - try three risings to see what happens. I'm gonna have to work on my sizings though as my rolls had plenty of space whereas my loaves were cuddling up together. I'm going away now to take a picture of them.... be back in SECONDS What I actually did was go away, eat some bread, wash the dishes, then spend far too many hours on my computer.

Now it is way past my bedtime; tomorrow is essay-writing day! Oh joy.

Wanted: Mr. Mo, and his Lasses

A serious crime has been perpetrated! A renegade baker, known only as 'Mo', raided a bank today, assisted by some well-known and also some less-known sidekicks. The old standby 'Mrs. Breadflour' was there, of course, only just having finished a conviction for creating counterfeit crusts. Her partner in crime, Friar Yeast, was also present. Unusually for Mo, he made use of the skills of 'Carroway and Fennel', a duo known for their use of carefully wafted odours to take out unsuspecting guards. Breadflour's daughter, Ryeflour, has no previous convictions, but has obviously been drawn into his family's tradition of nefarious deeds. A 'Ms Cocoa' is being questioned regarding reports that she instructed a co-defendant, Nikel, to use his shotgun on the people insided the bank, shouting "pump her, Nikel!"

Some of the stash of dangerous-smelling goods

About 30 people were knocked out with a new concoction created specifically for the event. What's more, when they came around, the ammunition had taken effect! Police are investigating possible use of narcotics designed to stimulate craving, as the victims of this merciless gang took to devouring them as fast as they could. In a statement made after recovering from burns to the inside of the mouth, one victim complained that "it lies rather heavily on the stomach."

One of the pieces of ammunition, rescued halfway through being devoured

A set of documents codenamed "bake it" is said to have been leaked from Murdoch Books, which supposedly contains plans for such an outrageous weapon. There are several possible authors, but any convictions are likely to be overturned as the content is widely available to the general public.