Success! Failure! Electricity!

Taking The Last First -
     This time last week the mansion was into the second hour of a two-and-a-half hour powercut, during which time Conrad managed to creatively think his way around how to generate weather for a wargame campaign.  It was that, or rage against the dying of the light.

     Tonight we tug a forelock and bend a knee,
     To the wonders of - electricity.
     You can't use gadgets or see a thing
     If those generators aren't generating.
     Matches run out, batteries run down,
     We need ELECTRICITY to run this town!

Go away, candle!  We want electricity not wax and taper!

Failure Type 2
     I had a bash at making Mango Pancakes tonight.  The reason being that I had lots of mango pulp left over from making Kulfi.  I used gram flour instead of wheat flour - gluten-free, doncha know - and ground arrowroot instead of semolina.  I didn't have any cinnamon sugar, so I made a few ounces myself.  The yoghurt, when I opened it up, turned out to be flavoured with honey, so I only used a little and made the balance up with soured cream.
     It's supposed to be left in the fridge for 10 minutes, but I left it for an hour before making some pancakes.
     End verdict?  Very sweet, and also tricky to manipulate and flip so they cook on both sides.  Lots of batter left.  May have another go tomorrow.  No photo - Conrad does not favour failure.

Success!
     I tried a batch of brownies with gluten-free flour, and this is what they looked like:

Looking good

Apparently they taste quite nice, too.  Conrad - 1 Coeliac's Disease - 0

The Cat Sat On The Lap
     Indeed it did.  I have remarked in the past how the average cat has an unerring ability to sit where they shouldn't.  Here is Jenny - 

Yes it is a big mug close up,  not a small mug - no, hang on, that's not right -

As you can see from the angle, she is sitting on my lap - between me and my Saturday morning cup of tea!*  Ironically I was also reading "Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves", where young Bertie Wooster is but for nothing without his early morning cup of "that which cheers and not inebriates".
     Jenny obviously noticed my distress, and stop her being propelled like a furry football from my lap, she decided that a massage was in order.  Viz:

Cat masseuse at work on Conrad's right thigh

The generous intent was there, but so were the claws and only the stout nylon fabric of my Tracksuit Bottoms** prevented painful injury.  I moved her off my lap.
     She came back and sat on it again 10 minutes later ...

An Aside -
     A husband in Tel Aviv is fiddling around on the roof for hours.  Unhappy at not having a helper with the housework, his wife comes out to see what he's up to.
     "What's that bloody thing you've put up there!" she shouts***
     He looks down at her and replies -
     "It's an aerial, Sharon."

Boom, and once again, Boom.

This Is Why England Had An Empire
     I harp on about this theme on occasion.  Forget imperialism and capitalism and Marx and Weber and Rudyard Kipling, see below for the reason so many English went abroad to nick other people's real estate:

Not obvious but that's rain and snow and wind.  A trifecta of miserable

     THE BLOODY AWFUL WEATHER!
     I mentioned Charlie Brooker and his Weekly Wipe yesterday.  One clip featured a Romanian diplomat explaining a significant factor preventing hectare-wide hordes of Romanians running down the Channel Tunnel to get here: "The weather".

* OIkay, I admit, it is more like a bucket with a handle
** Yes we are formal here at BOOJUM!  None of that "trackie botties" here, thank you!
***  I know this isn't in Hebrew but the only Hebrew words I know are "Havah Nagila"

Well, I must be off.  Got that zombie novel to tackle ...