Of Bread And Circuses

Simon Jenkins had an interesting piece in the Guardian this week about the Jubilee weekend. He said…

Putting on bread and circuses in the depths of a recession is a risk, especially with not much bread on offer…

All peoples have their national days, from socialist May days to US inaugurals. All crave their collective rituals, their consolidating tribal ceremonies. However ersatz, the [Jubilee]ceremonies were a good news relief from horror, tragedy and recession. During the jubilee, people smiled at each other, a habit rare among the British. These are transient phenomena.

Like the buzz of a school sports day or an afternoon's football victory, real life must resume thereafter. But the enjoyment is real. From time to time, there is no harm in sensing communion with one's country.

But now the clearing up is almost done, real life has resumed. The plastic bunting hung outside the church all week [I was too tired last Sunday night to remove it, and when we got back from Norfolk it was damp and clammy] But now it is drying in the sun on my whirligig in the back garden and later on I shall wind it carefully round pieces of card for its next outing.  ‘Whirligig’ is a much more satisfying name than ‘rotary dryer’ don’t you think?

The other items left over from last Sunday included a load of cheap Asda bread rolls, and a bag of sausages [not quite as many hotdogs required as we’d thought]. The latter are in the church freezer, awaiting the Holiday Club BBQ – but I did not think the rolls [some rather sadly squashed] would freeze well.

I decided to ‘refresh’ some – by sprinkling them with water and putting them in the oven for a few minutes [it was already hot and cooking something else]

But I forgot them! When I remembered twenty minutes later, I discovered that they had gone wonderfully dry and crispy. They tasted very like these…

…except mine are white rolls not fullkorn [ie wholemeal]

But like this they keep well in a tin and will not be wasted. A good snack with paté or cheese and a few pickles. Or to accompany a bowl of chicken soup this evening after church.

A serendipitous discovery which pleases my thrifty nature.

From now on, I think I shall refer to this product as “Jubilee Rolls”