Creme de Cassis

Benedict Ambrose and I came home to a screaming flat.

"That will be the duck," said B.A., meaning that the fire alarm had been set off by the oven roasting our supper.

I swiftly scanned the roof and, not perceiving there leaping flames, gathered some kale from the veg trug.

Then I went in and opened the windows B.A. had not already opened, stood on a chair, and poked at the wailing alarms.

B.A. showed me the duck legs, which are pleasantly crisp, not charred. But clearly we need to clean the oven.

For some reason, this put me in mind of strong drink, so I tried a little of our half-litre of homemade creme de cassis. I poured off the vodka from last July's blackcurrants and added simple syrup to it on Tuesday morning, much to early in the day to taste it. My feeling is that it could use a little more simple syrup. It certainly packs a wallop.

Today was a busy day, for all that I did not get up until actual nine. My language-study-on-the-stationary-bicycle time was sacrificed to an editing favour for a Polish friend, who returned the favour when I wrote a Polish email. But I didn't write the email until after I actually made a phone call to Poland, and the fact that I did that is glory to my Italian tutor.

Speaking foreign languages on the phone is psychologically difficult to many, but after sixteen or so Covid-era Italian tutorials over the phone, I though I could handle a Polish receptionist. As it was, I had only to say my name, business and telephone number to an answering machine. Fortunately, I said numer (number) not liczba (also number) even though I had an awful sensation that was actually German. As a matter of fact, "number" in German is "Nummer", so I was not entirely wrong although Google tells me that for phones it is really Telefonnummer.

Anyway, it was a busy day, and having to think in, speak to a machine in, and write in Polish for work was an excellent substitute for my usual language study. In fact, at the end of the day, it is what the language study is for.  Now I probably know better than any other anglophone journalist what Poland's leading pro-lifer thinks of both Poland's leading party and one of its more conservative   opposition parties. Yay, as they say, me.

I have thought more about what I want to do during my Polish holiday, and my top picks are impractical. At the very top of the list is to sit on a beach at Sopot between bouts of swimming in the Baltic. This is impractical because A) we are going to be staying almost 300 miles away from Sopot and B)  Covid-19 or no Covid-19, Sopot is going to be heaving with people. Probably the best time to go to Sopot is early June or early September after B.A. and I have won the lottery put away a special Sopot fund.

A much more practical idea is not to look at a computer for a solid week. It will be a challenge, I think, especially if I want to look at a map. However, I can lessen the temptation by looking things up ahead of time and buying a very detailed paper map.