Plain flour

It turned out there is indeed some pancetta in the freezer.

Meanwhile my pie today has had a transformation. I was intending to top the pie with some shop-bought puff pastry the Fox had managed to find on his supermarket hunt. I have been out of plain flour for weeks but the Fox has found just bare shelves. I’ve had some self-raising flour which I’ve used to thicken sauces & make suet dumplings but isn’t much use for shortcrust pastry, pancakes etc.

Last night we went out for the community clap in appreciation of the NHS. Afterwards various neighbours stopped to have a long distance chat. I mentioned our shortage of flour, asked if anyone had seen some anywhere. Instantly one neighbour popped back into her house & returned with a bag of plain flour. She has a stock of it. Both she & her grandson are professional chefs & able to easily access flour from the wholesalers. When we finally are able to buy some flour we are to get a bag for her then. So now pies, flans, savoury pancakes, all are on the menu again. Three cheers.

We also all went to admire the artistic endeavours of one of our neighbours. He’s been painting his garage door. As it’s the anniversary of VE Day today, he’s painted a huge red poppy on a white background, in celebration of those who fought, many wounded or dying, in the world wars. It’s quite a sight.

Thursday evenings are becoming the highlight of our week. It’s a rare chance to talk face to face, even if at a distance, with our neighbours. We’re thinking of having a community barbecue to celebrate when all this is over, have a big get together. I think we will all have earned it by then.