pumpkinstrokemarrow

Public service probably running a bit slow here in Epsom today and there are people with flags on the roundabout connecting Horton Lane with Christchurch Road, people presumably who ought to be at work.

Despite being a lefty former public servant and without having read the small print, I do not approve of this strike. We are all in a bit of bother and we are all going to have to tighten our belts a bit - which in our own case means that our hard earned savings are not earning very much interest. And in their case means that, looking forward, final salary pensions are going to have to be cut back a bit. It would help if there was less greed at the top of the heap, but that is a matter of presentation rather than substance - except in so far as some top heap public servants have done rather well for themselves in recent years. So if I was still at work, I would have to black leg today. I might add that for most of the time I thought I was reasonably paid for what I did, although that did not stop one sometimes being a bit cross about the amount of money that government spent on contractors (some being more fancily described as consultants. So these days, Watson would be a contracting detective, while Holmes would still be a consulting detective) and the amount that some of them actually got paid. But I never tried very hard to actually be one so I can't really complain.

Back in the real world we are having a fibre fest - which means that I was down at Waitrose at the crack of dawn buying wholemeal spelt - a sort of pre-historic wheat much favoured by the beards on Time Team. Went the whole hog and bought an organic brand from a Welsh water mill which claims to have been operating since the reign of the first Elizabeth. Pictures at http://www.bacheldremill.co.uk/ suggest that the mill really is an artisan affair, which must severely limit the amount of stuff they can push out through Waitrose, assuming, that is, that they do not buy the stuff in in bulk from unnamed neighbours. Which would not be very Waitrose. But it was certainly very organic looking, coming in a stout brown paper bag, rather than the stout white paper offered by other brands, and sealed by stitching across the top with thin white string, rather than the glue offered by other brands. I shall report on how the bread (batch 88) turned out in due course.

Yesterday back to the King William in Ewell village, the first time in a while, probably since around March 19th. Amongst other things I had a Neopolitan pasty, very like a large version of its Cornish cousin in general appearance but filled with pizzery stuff - rather than mince and tatties. Very good it was too, if not quite as spectacular as the rolled up pizza we once came across in Florence. Followed up with expresso, almond biscuits and a couple of small glasses of Vino Santo. Picture from Wikipedia article on same spot on on the biscuits, but the wine we had was more yellow than brown. A strong & sweet pudding wine.