10am
Dear Cathy
What a fiasco! I have just returned from the Village Hall where I have been setting up for the Show. I feel quite deflated. It all began yesterday...
My friend Stevie and her three children came over for lunch. I made Lasagne with a fresh salad followed by Eton Mess for pudding. After lunch the children frolicked in the paddling pool while Stevie and I spent a happy afternoon sitting in the warm sun and chatting over a lovely bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.
Our friends left late afternoon and we set to work on the children's Rock Cakes, getting them into the oven without much trouble. I then told the little Lattes it was 'mummy's time now', and they toddled off to play. I had already made the pastry base for my Bakewell Tart and had lined my newly acquired flan tin. The shop it came from had several sizes of tin. The recipe asked for 22cms but they only had 20 or 23cms, so I opted for the larger one. There was also a choice between shallow and deep. I opted for deep, as a shallow tart is always a disappointment in my opinion. Anyway, I spread the jam on the base and made up the topping quite easily. When I put the topping into the case it wasn't easy to spread as it was quite thick, and there didn't seem to be much of it - I was not optimistic. It looked alright when it came out of the oven, but the filling was inadequate. 'No matter' I thought. 'Onward and Upward'.
Next was the Lemon Drizzle Cake which I had made many times and had off to a fine art, as I think even Margo, who has sampled some, will agree. I casually threw the mixture together, chucked it in the oven and half an hour later I had a burnt cake. By this time, Mr Latte was home from work, the children were glued to 'Horrible Histories' and I'd opened the second 'bouteille de vin'. 'Sod it' I thought, 'I'll get up early tomorrow and make another one'.
By 7.15 this morning, slightly shaky and sick of the sight of cake mix, I had Lemon Drizzle Mark II in the oven, and thirty minutes later I had another burnt cake - DISASTER! I had two choices - turn up to the Village Hall without an entry in this category or support the show by entering anyway. After all, there can be no winners without losers, and that Cathy, is exactly what I did. I popped some icing on it and brazened it out!
I was up at the Hall by 8.30 and put my Lemon Drizzle Cake with the others (which were all loaves - oh dear, that will be another point deducted). Placing all my hopes in the Bakewell, I went to place my entry with the others, which all looked rather puny. I then realised to my dismay that the Schedule had actually specified a 7 inch tart, so mine was over size - more points lost!
Sorry there are no pictures yet, I will take some later when the show open to the public this afternoon.
Yours, Lucy x
Oh how I do like a good laugh..especially at someone else's expense..my advise dear is to read and then re read the spec before entering any of these quaint little village fete affairs. Bottoms up, Margo.
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