pumpkinstrokemarrow

Second, the brit-bashing fest. in the US has taken a new twist, with BP not only being asked to foot the bill for the oil that they are spilling but also that arising from the consequent suspension of various kinds of oily activity by other companies. This seems to me to be unfair. It may well be that there are various oily industry wide practises which will now be deemed to be unacceptable and which will be stopped. But it does not seem fair at all that BP should have to pay, just because it was its accident which brought these unacceptable practises to light. That is more properly a charge on the industry, or perhaps the country, as a whole. This is the reward we get we get for sticking our neck out in Iraq and other far flung places in their support? Long live the special relationship!

On the domestic front, another successful DIY venture. The tyre of our wheelbarrow became flat. Got around to pumping it up again, an operation which required needle tipped pliers to extract the valve from the interior of the wheel, after which it became flat again. Clearly something wrong so removed wheel from barrow. Removed tyre from wheel with my cycle tyre levers. Inflate inner tube and immerse in bucket of water to locate the leak. Which turned out to be right next to a whole lot of ridges of the sort which would make patching with a cycle tyre patch tiresome. Feel around the inside of the tyre to locate the offending spike, if still present. Which it was. What looked like a bit of thorn. Removed thorn from tyre.

Cycle down to the number 2 tyre shop in East Street, what I had thought to be an independent operation but is actually a branch of http://www.setyres.com/. They seem to be cheaper and quicker than their neighbour http://www.kwik-fit.com/. Premises a lot less flashy so perhaps the overheads are lower. Can you help with this sezzaye, proffering inner tube to the man behind the counter. Yessir sezzee, neatly chucking the thing in the bin. I am hoist and look suitably shocked. Having had his fun, he goes on to explain that he charges £5 for a repair of such a thing - for which he presumably has a sander to tackle the ridges. I have used a razor blade in the past but it is slow work - and £6 for a new one. Settle for £6 for a new one.

Start to sweat and swear a bit putting it all back together again. The tyre levers don't seem to be any help at all. Tyre whanging about all over the shop. Eventually I discover that you just push the whole thing down on the rim and on it pops. No need to use the levers at all. Just need to take care that the valve is in the valve hole. Wheelbarrow now up and running again.

Success on this front clearly called for celebration on the culinary front.

Started off modestly that evening with some chicken, pork and barley soup. The consumption of which caused me to wonder for the umpteenth time about the co-existence of zillions of foodie books, foodies, and rubbish loaves of bread. What is it about our arrangements which makes the vast majority of the population of this green and pleasant land content with the sort of stuff slung out by the supermarkets? When they could be savouring the pleasures of fresh white bread, English style. French and Italian bread can be fine. Complicated brown bread with or without lumps can be fine. But for regular consumption you can't beat good quality English white.

Moved into a higher gear the following lunch time with around 6lb of Scottish fore rib. Took a pint of Spitfire by way of aperitif. Served the beef, as usual, with white rice and summer cabbage. Washed it down with a cheeky little 2007 cotes du ventoux. Meal rounded off with a Spanish cherry clafoutis. BH judged it well, omitting all the cream and using semi-skimmed milk rather than full-fat, serving the thing warm but not fresh out of the oven. Just right, not being weighed down by all the fat suggested by the recipe. Just the sugar.