New bits for bread machine

Over three years ago, I bought my current bread machine. And since then, it has baked a loaf for me almost every second day. That is over 500 loaves. That must show. And it does.

One thing that happened is that the anti-stick layer of the bread pan deteriorates over time. It gets harder to get the bread out. Another thing is that the bread pan is made of fairly thin aluminium, and when the machine is kneading dough, the dough is pushed strongly in one direction, which inevitably means that something is applying force the other direction. And by the looks of it, this slowly distorts the pan. Mine started out rectangular, but is now more a parallelogram. And I am sure this contributes to that it is getting increasingly difficult to get the bread out.

I didn't automatically assume you could buy them separate; I didn't even expect it. But it was worth having a little google to check. Lo and behold; you can! So I ordered a new bread pan and it soon arrived. It is a bit higher than the other one, but it does fit my machine. And it works! It is lovely and easy to get the bread out. I'll just have to adjust the settings; with identical settings, you get lighter bread with new pan.

The old and the new

Another issue is that the shaft that drives the kneading paddle is more or less the shape of a half circle. The pedal has a similarly shaped cut-out. Initially. But the shaft is clearly made of harder metal, and it is on a mission to erode the material of the paddle away until in the end, the half circle has turned into a circle. And then the whole machine doesn't work anymore.

The paddle with the hole for the shaft; the red line indicates the approximate initial bottom of said hole

I should have ordered them at the same time, but I wasn't quite switched on enough to do that. I ordered a new paddle separately. And a message it had been delivered arrived soon. But there was no sign of it! A bit like my initial cabinet door handles. What a nuisance. 

I don't know how this will pan out; I hope they will send me a replacement. But I think the paddle will last long enough to allow me to keep baking while this situation is being resolved; let's hope at least that will be the outcome. At least I have my pan!

I also hope is that the actual machine keeps functioning for a while. It would be sad if I had a new pan and a new paddle, and then the actual bread machine gives up the ghost! Let's hope not…

 

PS the paddle is found! It had been chucked through the window of the kitchen extension. I hadn't checked that. And now my bread machine is as good as new again!

Fruit and veg harvest

This year’s harvest started with beetroot. I figured they might not grow an awful lot more, and I might as well eat them. I ate the first batch. That was one meal. I think I can get another meal out of the next. That is it! Quite a lot of work for not much food. But I think the beetroot were suffering in the drought. And I didn't want to go and water them every day.

Sad beetroot plant 

The next step was: apples. I don't know if it was something to do with my untalented tree husbandry, or the blisteringly hot and dry summer, but it's not been a good apple year. There are apples, and they are tasty, but just not very many. 

With this camera angle, it actually looks quite good

It is going to end with beans! I had never grown them before. They seem quite forgiving plants. And they must be! I have beautiful beans on my plants. I look forward to eating them. And I will certainly do this again! When I eat them I will also dig out some potatoes. I have loads of potato plants, but it seemed too early to harvest them. But I think the best thing with homegrown beans is homegrown potatoes.

Look at those beans!

I am wondering if I should do another round of planting crops. Would the autumn be long enough to yield something? I suppose I don't have an awful lot to lose! 

Cake competition final (belated)

It was already a while ago! The cake competition finals, between marine biologist Craig and marine renewable energy expert Simon. (I was out in the first round). Craig had won it before. He has form. I suppose Simon was the dark horse.

They had come out with ‘ultimate éclaires’ and ‘orange and pomegranate cake’. We all figured the former was done by Craig. And that was true. I thought it was better than the pomegranate cake, and more people agreed than disagreed with me. Craig won again! 

Craig with the winning éclairs

The tradition is that the winner organises the next competition. But that tradition is shaky! When Craig won two years ago, he didn’t manage it, and Susan (the winner the year before) stepped in. Last year, the winner wasn’t employed by us anymore. Susan stepped in! But she is fed up now. I hope there will be a competition in the new year, though! 

And why am I only telling you this now? I didn’t take pictures, and the School only published the ‘official’ pictures on social media now…

Finally planting the vegetables out

I planted beans, kale and beetroot in late April. By early May, I had sizeable seedlings. And then life happened. 

The idea was to let them get so big that I figured they could survive in the garden. And then, obviously, put them in the garden. But I never found the time. And then I went to the Netherlands. Accidentally, that was during a heat wave. The catsitter did say she was watering my seedlings, but the conservatory in a heatwave is quite a hostile environment. When I got back, most of the beetroot plants were still alive, but fewer than half of the bean plants, and none of the kale. 

Now I finally have found the time put them outside! That's four bean plants and quite a lot of beetroot. I hope they will do well. There are many enemies; drought, a cat who thinks this vegetable patch is a cat toilet, and a squirrel who thinks it is a squirrel larder. And potentially slugs and caterpillars. I never had problems with these before when I grew beetroot, nor when I grew peas (and I assume that for a slug, pea plants and bean plants are quite similar). But you never know.

Finally outside! 

Veg enemy #1

I have planted a few more beans now. I don't think it's too late for that yet. And I think I have enough beetroot plants for a while. I might plant some potatoes.

So far the vegetable year has not been very productive, but it might still improve!

Start of 2026 vegetables growing

I've been struggling a bit finding time for all sorts of things. I surprised myself a bit with at some point reserving some time for planting vegetable seeds. Fairly soon, some seedlings started to appear. I had planted beans, beetroot and kale. Quite quickly, small bean plants appeared. And tiny, tiny beetroot seedlings. The kale was largely unresponsive.

The idea is that they will move to the garden. I have a whole vegetable bed ready (well, in theory) for them, and for potatoes. I figured they needed to get a bit bigger and stronger before I could put them there. But they would need something more substantial than the little tray they were in to grow big enough to be able to survive outside.

In the early May bank holiday weekend I found some more time. I took all the bean and beetroot seedlings and gave them individual little flower pots. I hope they will cope with that. And that they will grow big enough to go into the garden. And I hope for nice crop! 

Beans

I have never grown beans before, but I suspect it is not fundamentally different from peas. With those I have had modest success in the past. And I have had a tiny little bit of success with beetroot before. And quite some with potatoes. I don't know how this year will turn out, but so far it is actually going quite well!

Date

The dates Neil and I have been on were generally hikes or explorations of industrial landscapes. Outdoor clothing, packed lunch, that kind of stuff. Sometimes we have been biking or running or doing chores. We’ve not done much in the line of classic dates, with flowers and restaurants and fancy clothes. And I thought it was about time! Given that we had been meeting up since July, and had been officially together since September. And Neil was up for it.

After a day of tackling a tree with a saw I had a shower, put on a dress, and not much later opened the door to a gentleman in a shirt who was carrying a bunch of flowers. And not much later we headed to Bangor to eat in the Italian restaurant by the pier. 

Looking smart!

It was a proper date with all the accoutrements! We both enjoyed it. We should make sure we don’t leave it another eight months before we do it again! 

New fridge, out of nowhere

I bought my fridge when I arrived in the country. It was second-hand. It has served me well! A few years ago, I had to change the door from right-hinged to left-hinged,  as the hinges on the right collapsed from sheer old age. I had started to wonder if I should replace it. It probably wasn’t very energy efficient. The little freezer compartment didn’t freeze very well but frosted over all the time. But some googling suggested the most efficient thing to do was just keep it going until it would break. 

Then I talked with the neighbour. He asked if I happened to want a fridge. I sort of did! I verified it was newer than mine. And it was a bit bigger! And had no freezer compartment. That would save energy. And time. 

Together with Neil we brought it in. It fit like a glove. Better than the old one! I had to clean it, but that wasn’t a big job. And then I could bring it into use. 

The cat took the opportunity to explore some new terrain

I am actually quite chuffed with this arrangement. I have a lot more space, and I don't have to worry about unnecessary freezing going on. And because it fits better inside the slot, even looks tidier. The light doesn't work, but I don't mind that very much. Altogether I I am happy how this all came about!

Dinner at Chris’

Chris has been my colleague for four years, and a fellow Eryri Harrier since I joined the club. He used to be a regular on the Thursday night, and he still is a regular on the Tuesday night. And it's not unusual for us to share transport if we are going to a meeting or a race, such as the ones in Bethel and Holyhead. That way I even got introduced to his girlfriend's mother and her cat. It turned out the former and I had already met; she works at the blood bank, so she sees my face appear several times a year.

Chris and his girlfriend also have a cat. And he lives nearby. So if one of us travels, the other often comes to feed the cat. They have a rather young black cat called Stwnsh. She is quite feisty!

With all these connections I was starting to regret never met outside either work or running club business. I asked Neil if he I would like it if I invited them over for dinner. He was fine with that! But then Chris beat me to it and invited me over to theirs. That was nice.

It was lovely to finally meet Chris's girlfriend, Angharad, as I somehow never had. And I already knew from my cat feeding sessions that their house is very snug. This time, the fire was on. That's even better! We had a drink and a nice chat, and the cat came down to say hello. Or rather, maybe mainly for ignoring us and enjoying the heat of the fire. That's fine too. And then Chris served curry. It was a good night! We accidentally stayed until after bedtime. But sometimes that's ok. I look forward to inviting them back in the not too distant future!

Slightly confused social dinner

Marjan had contacted me to ask if we could have dinner together before the end of the year. It would have to be in the week before my birthday. That would be tricky; it was very busy with work, and I also had that birthday thing to prepare for. But it was then or not at all. So I said yes. And the previous time they had hosted, so I had to think of something to cook. And I remembered something really nice and quite fast that I had before made for both the usual suspects, and also for Neil. 

It got to 6pm, the agreed time. Quite often they are a bit early! Not this time. And it got to a bit beyond 6.  That’s unusual. And then the phone went. It was Marjan. Hadn’t we agreed on today? At 6? I said yes, but wasn’t it at mine? They thought it was at theirs. Oh dear! Now what? I suggested I just jump in my car, and they agreed. And by half past six I was there. We could have our dinner after all! 

Ready for non-existent guests

We had dinner, and then Jaco improvised a dessert, as neither of us had made one. All was well! And then I went home at a reasonable time as I still had a lot to sort the day after…

Cake competition 2025/26

A new academic year means a new cake competition! And I have been a faithful participant since 2016. I registered again this year. And in the third week of first rounds, it was my turn. And earlier in the year I had baked a pear cake, which I liked, so I had decided to enter that. 

I baked the night before. Neil came over and helped by peeling the pears. It was a bit hectic! But together we got it done at such a time we could still go to bed at a reasonable time. 

Done! Mini tart for Neil. 

Delivered at work

I was up against a chocolate cake. And I hadn't tried my own cake yet. It was nice to try them both! I thought mine was quite successful. And  so was the chocolate cake, but these are traditionally not very successful in this competition. But a faithful email would let me know about the outcome had been.

I had lost! And my opponent had been a chap I sometimes have lunch with. He isn't actually officially in our School, but we have a lab that can accommodate him, while his own School can't. So he's based in one of our buildings now. He is a nice chap!

I always feel a bit two minds about winning a round in the cake competition. It's always nice to win something, but in general, I do prefer to do my baking when it's convenient, and not in the middle of a week that is probably quite busy anyway. So I'm happy like this! And I'll just do my duty judging in the competition for the rest of the year. And then try again next year…

Local shop closed

I start sounding like the local newspaper! But this matters to me. I do most of my shopping in the local Londis. It is not a big shop, so it has a limited range, but it normally sorts me out. If I want something they don't have there, I generally buy that in either Bangor or Menai Bridge when I'm there for work anyway.

What I like about the shop is that it sells a lot of local produce, and sells most of it fruit and vegetables without plastic. I also quite like the people working in it. I know that ultimately, they are owned by Tesco, so your money goes into the exact same pocket if you go to the actual Tesco up the street. But I like that shop a lot less, as it doesn't have the advantages of Londis. 

At some point I heard the rumour that they would close for two weeks, in order to be refurbished, and re-emerge as a Spar. So I asked in the shop, and heard it from the horse’s mouth. Indeed it would. They would close the Saturday before our fieldwork, and it should only take two weeks. And they said the range wouldn't change, nor the employees. I hoped that was indeed true.

They indeed closed when they were supposed to. And the entire building was gutted! I knew it was an old garage, but the Londis branding came off the facade, and then that became obvious again. And you could look through the window; everything was ripped out. How would they manage to sort this place out in only two weeks?

I don't know if they manage to stay within their own deadline. But I miss them a bit! So I hope they will. And then I can get back into my old routine. Buying leeks in plastic from the Tesco on the other side of the village is not my cup of tea!

Part garage, part local supermarket, but currently mostly building site

Pic taken through the window 

Social in the back garden

With the Teaching and Scholarship team, we have lots of meetings. And it's a really nice team, so that is okay. But that does mean that towards the end of the second term, you start wanting to see these people in a less formal setting, to celebrate we've made it through another year. But by the time you get to the end of term, the meeting stop and you are not in a position anymore to propose it. But this year I was on the ball. I propose it, and then started a Doodle poll, and pick the date. I was hoping that my colleague Dei would host, because he never does, but it ended up in my back garden after all. That was not the first time.

I was busy in my head with academic integrity matters that week, I didn't do much other than tell everybody to bring some barbecue food. I said I would provide the fire bowl and the coal. And I did. I managed to buy charcoal made in Parc y Moch! I was chuffed with that.

Quite a lot of the team was actually on holiday at the chosen date, but that was unavoidable; it did have the most people who said they were available. In the end we were with six people. A nice number! I made sure to have a fire ready. And the table by the river.

Fire ready for when the guests come! 

I had a good time! We had a nice wokerati bbq with hardly any meat (literally 2 hamburger patties) and loads of halloumi and vegetarian sausages. And lots of nice socialising. Two of the ladies met the cat and were impressed by her charms (of course). Mollie had brought a homemade cheesecake. And there were lots of alcohol-free beverages. 

Mollie’s cake

I’m glad we had a social evening! Soon enough we’ll have to be back with all hands on deck when term starts again…

Late harvest

I suppose it was all the running. I just didn't spend much time in the garden this spring and summer. Normally, I would have announced the fruit season a lot earlier than this. But this year I did notice at some point that my berries were ripe, but they were almost beyond that point by the time I finally got around to harvesting them. But now I finally have! In one fell swoop I harvested the black currents. And decided to turn them into cake.

The harvest

I think I overdid it a bit in the berries over cake batter ratio. It wasn't a particularly good cake! But it will do.

I also have gooseberries. I will see if I have time to harvest these as well, and turn them as well into cake. And the next thing will normally be plums, but this year the plum tree is seriously not feeling it. So then the waiting is for the apple tree. And that has a stronger appeal. I suppose this year my garden fruit will end up feeling a bit underappreciated!

Bread update

I never found out why my bread machine started only making disappointing bread for months on the end. But as seemingly spontaneously as things deteriorated, they have now ameliorated again. It is really strange. I'm glad I never stopped trying! At some point I was mainly using my old bread machine, but once in a while I would use the new one to see what the situation was. And one day it made a good loaf again. And then it seemed to be back on a streak of consistently good loaves. 

Nice bread! 

I had contacted the manufacturer to ask them for help. They asked me for the original receipt, which I sent them. Then they sent me a message saying "we haven't heard from you for a while, do you still need our assistance?" That was not very useful. I said yes, I still did, and then they fell silent again. If you get a message it is quite polite, but I haven't got any useful information out of them. The bread machine might start doing it again, whatever it was it was doing. And then I still don't know what to do, other than keep trying for months, which is not very satisfying.

Altogether a bit confusing and unsatisfactory, but at least I have good bread again! And that is important to me!

Taking a break from bread baking

My battle with my bread machine has not seen any progress. The bread still comes out too flat. And I was a bit tired of it now. I decided to take a break and buy a commercial loaf. If it would have been a working day I would've bought it from Dylan’s; they sell good stuff. But I'm not in Menai Bridge during the weekend, so I decided to go to Moel y Ci instead. I seemed to remember they sell good loaves as well.

Moel y Ci

When I got there on an overly wet Saturday morning I saw the only bread they had was from Becws Môn, who also stock my corner shop. But I think these choose different products to sell. I got a seeded sourdough, and I don't think my Londis sells that. So, still worth biking through the heavy rain for that.

It’s a big loaf so it will keep me going for days. And then I’ll be back at it. I will resume my baking and my battle. My next plan of action is to contact the manufacturer. I am also considering seeing if I can just buy another secondhand one. Clearly not all bread machines make bread to my liking, but if they don’t, I can sell them on. I might also bake another loaf in the old machine as a short term fix. This is not over! But at least I now had a weekend off normal-sized sandwiches…

Farmhand

When I saw that a Joy Division tribute band was going to play in Neuadd Ogwen, my interest was piqued. Joy Division! I have never been in the position to see the real deal. And tribute bands can be quite good. I don't think I've ever seen one, but when a Linkin Park tribute band played next door before the soundproof doors were installed, I could hear that they were quite convincing. It was well worth the try.

I initially had a companion for this, but they later realised they couldn’t attend. Now what? When I was talking to Jenny, my Welsh tutor, about music, I had an idea. She likes her 70s and 80s classics! Would she be interested? And she was. There was a complication, though; she said that in May, the smallholding she lives on requires all of her time. She can't just go and spend the evening away just like that. She mentioned she might get her grandson to give her a hand during the day, as that would probably result in so much progress she could take the evening off. But then I said I could just show up. I might very well be keener on that sort of chores than her grandson is! 

She thought it was a good idea. And had an additional good idea: she suggested I could bike to where she lives, and then we could do what needs doing, and then she could put my bike into the back of her van, and we could drive back to Bethesda. Excellent idea! And so it happened.

It was a hot day, like the previous time I had biked in that area, but it was ok biking to Llanbedrgoch. It took some 75 minutes. And then I reported for duty! She first offered me a drink, and then we decided on what to do first. And we chose some ivy bashing. Her ivy is also threatening the gutters, and also the solar panels, so it had to be cut back. And we also repotted tomato plants, and gathered firewood, and improved rabbit-proofing a fence (I have a little hope that that will work, but that's a different matter), cut weeds in the field where her alpacas graze (they are picky), and raise some chicken wire so that the plants underneath it had a bit more space to grow. This interspersed with a few more drinks and some toilet visits.

She did wonder if I shouldn't have a day of rest before a race, but I just shrugged. That was just not how it was working out!

We made such good progress we by then had done everything she wanted to do that day, except the things that she wanted to wait with until the weather would turn a bit less dry. Success!

I had had a good time. I know my own garden needs some attention too, but it was nice to help out a friend. I know she is my Welsh tutor, but I think she can be both these things at the same time.

It was also great to see where she lives. It is right up my street! Although her vegetable garden is something I can, for now, only dream of. My limited talent would require me to quit my job in order to achieve what she has there. And I met her husband, and the chickens and the alpacas. I had hoped to meet her pig, but it had got very old and had died in winter! So no pig. The alpacas crack me up. They seem to be very nosy, and if a new person shows up they want to stare at them at any given opportunity. And they also make incredibly cute sounds. 

When we were done she served some kind of pea soup with bread. She encouraged me to have seconds, as she knew I had a race the next day! Apparently, she is familiar with carb loading. And then we were ready to go back to the mainland. Neuadd Ogwen, here we come!

(Most of) the alpacas

Entertaining new friends

When things were a bit quiet during the Easter break I saw an opportunity invite some new friends over. We have a whole bunch of lecturers from the latest hiring round, and I had already been on a walk with one of them, but I was hoping to create ties with more of them. So when it turned out that my Italian colleague Marianna was going to be around, my British colleague Winnie as well, I invited them over for dinner. And I suggested a walk beforehand, because it is very beautiful in my area, and I figured they might not be familiar with it yet.

I decided to make my take on Indonesian fried rice. And I figured we could go do a Moel Faban loop before dinner. And that worked out! 

Marianna, her husband Severin, and Winnie all travelled up together. And it was lovely weather. I showed them the cat, the house and the garden (priorities), and then we went on our walk. It was lovely! It wasn’t fast, and I knew that route like the back of my hand, but it stays beautiful, and I was glad to show my friends. 

I didn’t take any pictures of us! But I did take one of a pretty horse

When we were done we were peckish, so we quickly sat down for dinner. I’m glad they liked it! And Marianna had made a lovely strawberry pie for dessert. 

I really enjoyed it! And Winnie was already talking about doing it again but then from her house. Count me in! 

Bread issues

I was so happy to get me a bread machine! Fresh bread all the time. And when the old one got very old (I bought it second hand) I managed, after some trial and error, to buy another one that makes equally good bread. And it had better; it was top of the range. I was quite happy for several years. 

Then my bread became flatter. It’s supposed to be bread height! But the loaves came out only about half that. I wondered if the problem was my flour. I replaced it. I wondered if the problem was the yeast. I replaced it. I extended rising time. I didn’t know if the bread maybe rose too much, and then collapsed, rather than never rose much in the first place, so I reduced the amount of yeast. 

Not high enough

Nothing helped. I have not at all exhausted all possibilities! I can customise everything with this machine. But why was it producing disappointing bread when, given the same ingredients and the same settings, it had produced lovely bread before? 

I want to keep trying for a bit. Must be worth it. But I’m miffed! And maybe I’ll bring my old machine out of retirement for the occasional loaf. Or buy something in the shops. I like good bread! And I should be able to make it in my own machine! But if I at least temporarily can’t, then I’ll try to get it some other way…

Pre-dissertation conference guest

My conservatory is full of Martin’s plants. Martin has now moved away from the area, and it will be after Easter that he can move back up. But that also means that if he has to come into the office, he has a very long commute.

He had to be there for the dissertation presentations. And it is not feasible for him to travel in on the day, so I had told him he can spend the night at my place if he wants. And he took me up on that.

There was one complication with this arrangement! It basically meant I had to be ready with all preparations by the time he would show up. I wanted to be able to just put my feet up with a beer once he got there. But I managed it! And that did involve me, other staff, and students finding mistakes in my preparatory work, but so be it. All the work I was doing was not about making the dissertation presentations possible; that was already done. What I was doing now was make them run smoothly. And well, the occasional small bump is acceptable. 

I was knackered when I left the office. On the way home I popped by the shop for emergency Martin supplies. I live on instant coffee and oat milk, and he sure doesn’t! The real products were required. And when I got home I had time for a shower. And only minutes later he appeared. 

His suggestion had been that he would just get us a curry. I figured he saw it coming that I wasn't going to be home early, and that I would be tired, so that not having to cook would be a blessing. And he appeared with beer and snacks. So we first ordered some takeaway on his laptop, and then retreated into the garden with the beer and the snacks. And then we went to get the food.

It's actually really nice to round off a lot of hectic work with sitting in the garden with a beer and a friend, and have lovely food afterwards. And we made it even better still. Martin had basically spent all day sitting on his bum; initially, in trains that would get him from the Southeast to Blaenau Ffestiniog (don't ask), and then in his car, his office, and his car again, respectively. So he was really keen on stretching his legs. We did a nice Moel Faban loop, the latter part thereof in moonlight. Lovely! 

Watching the sunset from the flanks of Pen-y-Gaer

 

After the stroll I needed tea, of course. But then it was bedtime. And it was also time for an experiment. I had noticed that my cat really likes him. She rather insultingly sat on his lap before she ever sat on mine. So I figured if she would ever have the opportunity of sleeping with him, she totally would. So I suggest he leave the bedroom door open so we would find out. He was willing to do that.

When I went to bed there was no cat to be seen. She later showed up, but I noticed she was coming from inside the house; not through the cat flap. Suspicious!

The next morning I got up before Martin, and made sure I got ready for everything: make my packed lunch, get my running kit ready, buy breakfast from the cornershop (a guest merits fancy breakfast). It was nice to have an opportunity to have a fancy breakfast! And I found out that indeed, as soon as he had gone to bed, the cat had been with him. But she has strong opinions of what behaviour is acceptable at night, and he had moved too much; hence that she had decamped to me. She has trained me better!

After breakfast we headed for the office. There were presentations to attend…

Dinner with friends before big changes

I was hoping we could do another dinner with the usual suspects again! I had had a lot of teaching around noon time, so I hadn't had lunch with Martin and Susan very much. And Martin was busy with all the things that that come with moving house, so even if I was having lunch, he often wasn't there. So I had the feeling I hadn't seen my friends much recently. And then it turned out they were all available the very next weekend. Excellent!

It became clear that this was not a minute too soon. Martin has sold his house, and was getting ready to move out. But their new house was not available yet for them to move into. So he will temporarily move south. Now at least we would have an evening or we could talk before he would vanish off the radar for a bit.

With everybody being available it did mean I would have to fit seven people in my house. I had never done that before! And it's not a small house, but the rooms are small. I had already found five a bit of a challenge. And I’m not even sure I’d ever done six. Let's see if we could make seven happen.

The others did offered to help out, and that resulted in Susan bringing dessert and Martin bringing salad. I was making a big tray bake, and garlic bread with tapenade. I had made sure to put the bread machine in the conservatory for the garlic bread, as otherwise my whole house would be filled with an impenetrable cloud of garlic smell.

It worked out! We all managed to fit both in the living room and in the kitchen. And it was a lovely night. The cat also gave acre de présence. She even walked around on Tom's lap! I consider it a success. Let’s hope we can soon do a version in Martin and Sarah’s new place!