Mourn, Ganterpies, Mourn!

Let Me Explain That -
"Ganterpies" is one of those words that Conrad has made out of whole cloth, to describe both the behaviour and appearance of the cake-craving colleagues at work.  It's not especially flattering, so I hope none of them are reading this ...
     "Gan" is derived from "Gannet", a seabird of notoriously greedy habits.  "Ter" comes from "Termagant", another name for a bit a lot of a nag.  "Pies" refers not to the baked product with a filling, but is the last part of "Harpies", legendarily malicious femmes from Greek mythology.

A Harpy.  Bizarre, eh?
(A SFW version is hard to find)

     Having thus rendered myself liable to a bit of crit tomorrow morning, I shall reveal why the ganterpies might be in a funereal mood on Friday: I'm not baking anything tonight.
     This is because I have the Pub Quiz at 9:00, I've only just started the blog at 7:30 and it'll take a good 60 minutes to write, illustrate, post and promote it, leaving only 30 minutes, which is insufficient time to bake anything.  Getting home late after the bus didn't turn up was another factor, So!  Ganterpies, blame First Bus as much as anyone else.

Harper, Bazaar.  Quite SFW

19 Hours Into Octsober And All Is Well
We'll see how this pans out in about an hour and a half, as Conrad delicately sips a delicious pint of limeade in the Halfway House.

Conrad, the sober-sided smug-faced git.
Also, pens.

     I do have a fondness for pop, and can down pints of the stuff no problem, so I anticipate going to the bathroom just as often.  Tea I cannot drink late at night as it leads to weird sonic hallucinations whilst trying to go to sleep; might try that tomorrow night as I can have a lie-in on Saturday morning.

The Great British Bake Off!  Week 9
More of baking and time management, eh?  Those who are left: Tamal (poor time-management skills), Ian over-precise), Flora (over-elaborate) and Nadiya (poor at Technicals).  Tonight* the theme was "Chocolate".  Now, we are in the semi-finals and that means what they present has to look brilliant.  Not just good, brilliant.
     NO pressure then!  Conrad's not baked stuff like this as i) He's not big on chocolate and ii) Souffles are treacherously difficult things

Nadiya in her default setting: Stressed

     Signature:  A Chocolate Tart, in 2 1/2 hours.  The pastry had to be flavoured with cocoa powder, which means care taken in binding it as the cocoa makes the end product brittle.  And Paul emphasises again that these tarts have to be Near Perfect.
     I see Ian is using more of his Dog Buns! homegrown herbs, although what herb you'd put in a chocolate tart is beyond me.  Nadiya is making her own peanut butter, bless her.
     Tamal got a "Well Done" and a handshake, a rare distinction.  Ian apparently "missed a trick", although his tart cut well.  Flora got a faintly-critical "Good", but Nadiya got a "Fantastic"**.

Sue Perkins biting her smutty tongue

     Technical: A chocolate souffle, of all things.  Mary Berry sadistically chose this because it's very hard to do well.  The bakers had only 75 minutes to manage their souffle, and we the audience were told that the consistency of the creme pat was crucial - undermixed, it would leave little spots of meringue; overmixed, it wouldn't rise.
     In order of worst first: Nadiya (meringue-spotted!), Ian, Tamal, Flora.
     Showstopper: A 3D Chocolate Centrepiece, done in 4 hours, using white chocolate and biscuit, with tempered chocolate.  What chocolate?  Glossy, shiny, reflective chocolate.
     Tamal's Bell Tower looked okay at a distance but was clumsily put-together close up.  Ian's Well was a working design but lacked decoration.  Flora's Cocoa Carousel was a bit Meh.  Nadiya's Peacock, however, delighted both judges in terms of taste and style.
     I should confess that I sat eating Twinkie bars whilst GBBO was on, which Wonder Wifey citrically called "ironic", and I can only agree.  Whilst still eating Twinkies.





SPOILER WARNING!

Ian's well.
 - and here's his centrepiece***!

REALLY, SPOILERS!



Okay, you probably guessed this already, Star Baker was Nadiya.  Going Home?  Flora.

Floor.  Close enough.

Pub Quiz Questions
Only Phil and I tonight, so we will do rubbish in the Music round.  I am lucky if I get one right.  However, I did get correct "Which Fifth century battle stopped for good the westward invasion of Atilla the Hun"?
     Chalons-sur-Marne!
     Last week I got: "Name the sea bounded by the Eastern Russian seaboard, Japan and the Kurile Islands"
     The Sea of Okhotsk!
     NO! You slanderous swine, I did not Google the answer.  It features a little in "The Kraken Wakes", that John Wyndham novel I deconstructed for a screenplay.
     We'll see what wilfully obscure questions come up tonight.

O Noes!
I've just seen off "From The Earth To The Moon" and then happened to notice that "Daredevil" and "The Flash" are both scoring consistently high on IMDB.
     Damn it!  Another potential drain on my time.  Don't these programme makers realise I need to have a social life?

Matt Murdoch.  For a lawyer, he looks a bit of a scruff.

Well Well -
Well over the word limit and I've only been typing for 30 minutes.  Of course now I have to go back and put pictures in, which takes a while, especially if you get side-tracked thanks to your curiosity and

The Trifid Nebula.  Not quite "Triffid" but nearly.
Triffid?  John Wyndham?  Do keep up!

* I know it was last night but that's what poetic licence is for.
** No, I didn't pun it with mention of a "flan".  I could have.  I chose not to.
*** Do you see what - O you do.