Action high

Woken up at around 0300 this Monday morning by what sounded like the Surrey police helicopter buzzing about. Maybe half an hour's worth before I fell asleep again. Were some young people herding marijuana in one of our parks? Probably not South Park to the west as that is locked at night, more likely Court Recreation Ground, no longer lockable, to the north east. Hard by the Blenheim, a handy jumping-off point.

And if it wasn't that what was it? What sort of offence is deemed worthy of helicopter attendance? I remember once seeing it chasing someone down the road. Or at least that was what it looked like. The someone in question was rather frightened, perhaps at the prospect of being dropped on from a great height, perhaps at the prospect of Kingston Jail.

Whatever, I slept in a little in consequence and was a few minutes late starting Batch No.582. 5lbs 11oz of fresh dough now safely in the airing cupboard for its first rise. All done by hand, no food mixer intervention. Or even dough hook. Getting towards the end of the second sack of Alto flour. Of which, I am pleased to be able to say, I have now got the hang. It did take a while.

PS: the park keeper's house at the corner of the recreation ground, with the uniformed park keeper once being a valuable addition to maintenance of public order, was sold off long ago. Now home to a vet. And park maintenance not what it used to be either.

Reference 1: https://wrightsbaking.co.uk/about/. The flour place - taken over from Waitrose's Leckford Farm Estate, who could not manage to keep up at the start of lockdown, back in March.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-wonders-of-ebay.html. The first sack.