Reading - May 2024

Teacher, Teacher! by Jack Sheffield (2007)

I found this on the shelves of the book exchange at work and have been reading a chapter at a time, a couple of lunchtimes a week. It's quite an episodic style, described on the cover as "Heartbeat for teachers" - although personally I'd say it was basically All Creatures Great and Small set in a school, but perhaps that's not a current enough reference. Anyway, it bears all the signs of a first-time writer (too many adjectives and unnecessarily detailed background information) but is nevertheless amusing, sweet and nostalgic. Apparently there are another nine books in this series!

Not The End Of The World by Christopher Brookmyre (1998)

A brilliant, tightly-plotted, righteous takedown of organised religion and in particular US fundamentalist Christians. Spot on in every respect of course. Hugely entertaining and deserves to be much better known - I keep recommending Brookmyre's earlier output since no-one I speak to appears to have heard of him!

Bright Lights, Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm (2008)

Originally published in 2002, so a couple of years after the initial success of Mamma Mia! on stage, and well before the film, this was apparently the first serious book about Abba. It's comprehensive without being trainspotter-y or boring, and really brings out the unique nature of not just their music but their history, and why they sounded like they did and achieved what they did. Really interesting - although I'd love to read a more recent edition to see if it's been updated in the light of Voyage, since Palm confidently predicts in the book that they will never reunite!

The Wichita Lineman by Dylan Jones (2019)

One of the wonderful things about Jimmy Webb's classic song "Wichita Lineman", and in particular Glen Campbell's original and definitive recording, is that it manages to say so much about love and heartache in so few words. You might now be able to guess where I'm going with this review! At its core, this book strikes me as a decent, in-depth magazine article for something like Mojo, but with a lot of padding inserted to make it into a short book. As a result, it kind of misses the point, because there's far too much here that's not about the song itself - probably because, once you've quoted Webb and Campbell themselves, there's not that much to say (unless you want to get into the technical aspects of the song and recording itself, which Jones doesn't and in fairness would be a different book). Ultimately, this failed the main criterion I set any book about music: it didn't make me want to go and listen again, even though I love the song.

Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey (1996)

I picked this up at the book exchange at work while looking for something to read during lunch, primarily because I vaguely recognised the author's name. I hadn't read any of his books before, but I will look for more, as this is a very good murder mystery. I think the twist at the end is somewhat implausible, but the story is well told and the central character - detective Peter Diamond - an appealing character who I am pleased to find features in at least a dozen more of Lovesey's books. Off to the library I go!

Watching - May 2024

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (season 2, 2014-2015)

It's a bit too easy to just carry on watching these conveniently bite-sized episodes (20 minutes each) rather than get on with something worthwhile, but it's still good quality. I thought the first few episodes were a little flat but the season soon picked up. Of course I love the Jake/Amy story arc, but I'm less keen on the sudden twist at the very end, which seemed a little unnecessary.

Groundhog Day (1993)

Felt like watching this again for some reason. Of course it's a classic, but the final redemption scenes are ludicrously improbable when you actually think about the timeline involved, even in the context of a universe that has a time loop in it.

From Russia With Love (1963)

Dated - or is "of its time" a better phrase? Disjointed and slow by modern standards, it nevertheless entertained me enough to keep me watching. I can't remember why I chose it though!

Eurovision Song Contest 2024 - Grand Final (2024)

I've watched this every year for as long as I can remember, and not in an ironic, "so bad it's good way", or in a kitsch, "let's all have a Eurovision party" way either, just because I'm interested and it's entertaining. Every year there's something to laugh with, marvel at, possibly even learn from. All the kids watch with us when they're around too (and which they were this year), which is nice . Unfortunately, it's a rare year when there's a song I'd listen to again, but hey, we can't have everything! 2024 gave us some great staging (Portugal and Switzerland stick in the memory), inexplicable voting results (Switzerland again, I can't understand why it was so universally rated by the juries), passable music (I quite enjoyed the UK entry) and, yes, utterly bonkers moments (thank you, Finland) - basically, business as usual. And, as usual, it ended with something of an anti-climax: the winner clear from quite early on, but it was not clear why. Oh well. Back next year!

The King's Speech (2010)

A classy, well-made, simple but moving drama about a friendship. Of course some aspects are simplified or, well, just made up for the sake of a story arc but it doesn't spoil the story for me at all. Lovely stuff and rightly rewarded in the Oscars.

Big Hero 6 (2015)

Z was watching this the other day so I thought I would like to see it again. Nothing complicated but a decent story and fun to watch. Nice cameo from Stan Lee in the end credits scene, which I'm not sure I'd seen before!

Baymax! (2022)

The end credits of Big Hero 6 seem to be leading to a sequel, but so far this series of six shorts is the only one. Entertaining but, well, short!

Crusty white rolls

Fresh, crusty white rolls are one of my favourite things but homemade ones can taste a little bland - but I'm not sure what shop-bought ones add in and I probably don't want to know. I've found that with a little extra work, I can get something that tastes good but doesn't have anything unwanted in it.

The day before baking

The day before you make the rolls, ideally in the morning but in the evening if you forget, make a simple starter. The idea of this is to give the rolls a bit more taste and texture that you won't get otherwise, but without the effort of maintaining a sourdough starter.

Ingredients

• 125g strong white flour
• ¼ tsp (approx 1g) dried yeast
• 150g lukewarm water

Method

1. Mix the flour and yeast together.
2. Add the water and mix well to a smooth batter.
3. Cover and leave until Friday morning. If you want to have a peek a few hours later, you'll see it bubbling nicely.
4. Optional: give it another good mix on Thursday evening.

Baking day

On Friday morning, make the rolls:

Ingredients

• 375g strong white flour (plus a little more for the work surface)
• 7g dried yeast
• 5g caster sugar (about 1 tsp)
• 10g salt
• 180g lukewarm water (plus a little more if needed)
• olive oil for kneading and lining the bowl

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle of ingredients and pour in the starter from yesterday.
3. Gently combine the starter with the flour, keeping it in the well in middle, to make a sponge. Leave the sponge for about half an hour.
• You're trying to get the batter a little thicker but still leave dry ingredients round the edge. 
4. Mix the salt and water together in a jug and add to the sponge, and mix it all together into a dough. It should be firm but not too dry, so add a little more water if needed.
5. Kneading: either take the traditional route:
1. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on an oiled surface.
2. Shape the dough into a ball.
3. Clean the bowl, add a little oil to it and put the dough into the bowl.
6. Or the lazy person's way:
1. Mix the dough into a rough ball in the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
2. Knead the dough for about 30 seconds on an oiled surface, then make it into a ball; clean the bowl and oil it and put the dough back in and leave for 10 minutes.
3. Knead again for 30 seconds, make into a ball and leave in the bowl for 10 minutes.
4. Knead again for 30 seconds, make into a ball and leave in the bowl for 30 minutes.
5. Knead for 30 seconds one last time, make into a ball and place back in the bowl.
7. Leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hours, depending on conditions.
• The usual suggestion is "until doubled in size" but this step is not particularly time-sensitive, so it can be left longer if necessary.
8. Optional: knock the dough back and place back in the bowl for another hour or so.
• In theory this enhances the flavour and texture, although it will probably make the final rise slower. It also depends on how long you left it in the previous step!
9. Line a baking tray or two with greaseproof paper.
10. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, make each into a little ball and dust with flour, then place on the baking trays. Leave enough space between them so they won't touch when they rise. Leave to rise for about 1-2 hours.
• When they're ready, they should bounce back a little if you poke them gently with a finger.
• The rolls will rise quite a bit in the oven, so don't worry too much if they look a bit small right now.
11. Bake for about 25-30 minutes in the oven at 210 C (fan).
12. Take out when they're a light golden brown and well-baked on the outside. Leave to cool on a rack.