The Stealth Elf Strikes Again!

So I snuck out for a jolly and the Stealth Elf snuck out on a secret mission. Not only has he morphed into a Ninja decorator this Christmas but, now I find he has paid real GBT groats for some new ones.

Yes the Stealth Elf now has a Stealth Shelf with his very own Elf....not easy to say after you've glugged down a Snowball or three I find! He has made me smile these past few days!

Arilx

Dropped Cake Tip

Now I've heard of a drop scone, but until yesterday I'd never heard of dropping your Victoria sandwich in the tin as soon as it's come out of the oven. This apparently stops the middle from sinking as it breaks the walls of the bubbles and allows the air to get back in. The outer edge of the cake gets to a hotter temperature and therefore is cooked more than the centre. I have certainly dropped cakes in my time....on the floor. Now I get to drop them intentionally on the work surface!

So now you know- there was a fuller explanation on Nigel Slater's Icing on the Cake programme.

Arilx

Dressing Up and Dressing Down

The teenogre was telling me how he'd spent last Saturday dressed up as an elf at work. We have good friends coming over for the SCD final tomorrow and this has reminded me of a fancy dress story which happened to D back in the day when we were both Bright Young Things.

When I still lived at home with my parents [in a time before Mr GBT] D would quite often pop round for a cuppa and a catchup [due to a tricky homelife he sort of adopted our whole family and would drop in whenever he felt the need]. On one occasion he came in sporting a mighty fine pair of blue tights dressed as one of these:

[image from Pixabay]
He and a couple of mates were heading out to a fancy dress evening at a night club. All togged up, he arrived to find that only the three of them were wearing costumes. Shortly after his "mates" disappeared to use the facilities only to reappear minutes later in mufti....wicked monkeys had spun him a complete yarn. Fortunately he saw the funny side and forgave them.....he certainly stood out that night as the only smurf on the dancefloor, but not perhaps for quite the reasons he'd have liked!!

Arilx

If you're feeling deprived

I like this time of year...the bonhomie, the lights, people helping out others. What I can't stand is the greed and pointless commercialism which fuels a whole host of negative fears and emotions. If you feel in need of a bit of balance this website might just give you what you need http://www.globalrichlist.net/

Arilx

How many shades of grey?

Not 50 according to the programme QI. No, there are apparently 104....after this week though I would beg to differ. There's one and one only for I have seen it day after day this week. It doesn't trouble me unduly for it makes the blood red skies of the sunsets and sunrises of this time of year all the more spectacular. I stopped the car to take a photo of this on Sunday....so magnificent was it. I do hereby solemnly swear that I may have cropped out the passing car, but I have not tinkered with the colours in any way.

Until recently I never understood the science behind why we see the colours we do at this time of day. All fascinating stuff. Rather than regurgitate the article and brown off the author into the bargain there's a link here for anyone who's interested http://news.wisc.edu/curiosities-what-determines-the-colors-of-the-sky-at-sunrise-and-sunset/ These natural wonders keep me going when it's grim out there.

Arilx

Advertising Space

There is little more for me to add about my jolly to the Geffrye museum on Saturday because my blogging chum Lovely Grey has already covered all the bases rather marvellously here http://lovelygreyday.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/days-out-in-london-geffrye-museum.html

However, I did take a couple of shots of things which caught my eye as I made my way there. Having had a son visit Pompeii earlier this year and talk about the Roman wall paintings advertising various services [including ahem the ones at the brothel] it struck me that here we are more than a couple of thousand years later still doing exactly the same thing!

This example is next to the museum. I really feel we should be listing these nowadays as they become rarer rather than just letting them disappear.

Then this one which I guess is its modern equivalent. This is the signage for a garage near Hoxton station. Certainly eyecatching!

Arilx

"A Mad Wall"

" A Mad Wall"....a phrase made famous by Lovely Grey when showing us pictures of her home. Only this time it wasn't at her house, but seen at the Geffrye Museum in London....thankfully she was with me to fully appreciate it!

This is the handiwork of Jonathan Early and at first glance, it looks to be a fairly sensible depiction of a typical 18th century landscaped garden. Closer inspection proves it is anything but....instead it's a rather marvellous flight of fancy. Think Beatrix Potter meets Punch with wonderful detailing.... why there are even ants for those who take the time to look closely. Just fab!

Arilx