Hello, World!

A brisk 3 mile ParkRun or a 30 mile jog in the mud, I'm happy out there in the rain, sun or snow. And, at 100 calories a mile, the guilt-free burgers and beer are a nice bonus. I count myself lucky to have the Ashdown Forest on my doorstep, especially through 2020.

During the summer I discovered the simple pleasure of dipping in a river to cool off after a run. Then, while leisure centres were closed during lockdown, I started to visit an outdoor, fresh water lido until November when it closed for the Winter. Swimming in water where the temperature is in single figures is addictive and absolutely rejuvenating, it's a full-body reboot. Rapid breathing, 90 seconds of adrenaline rush and sensory overload is quickly controlled with slow, deep breathing and a warm blanket of dopamine and endorphins to enjoy 20 minutes of lazy swimming. My only regret is it took decades to discover it.

This is the king of fidget toys. Completing the cube is almost meditative in its process and only takes a couple of minutes with practice. Whenever I need to focus, this little device offers a quick reset.

I'm reading The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel and loving it. Without a doubt, my future will find me managing a few acres of British woodland, hopefully before I'm too old. Getting away from sanitised, 21st century urban living and really living. Working with nature, re-learning what, for millennia, was regarded as common knowledge and has now been all but lost in just four generations. Hard work is its own reward.

In an attempt to stay relevant to my kids, I've discovered an unexpected joy in riding a 27" D Street polyprop board. I'm no Tony Hawk but there's a lot of fun in cruising for miles with Thomas & Amber along a windswept, coastal promenade. Pleased to have no broken bones, yet.

As a child of the 1970's, I grew up with everyday objects which have quickly become museum pieces. Replaced with infinitely superior digital equivalents but ones which rarely match the original in terms of style and longevity. Granted, for speed and function I'd use Microsoft Word in a heartbeat, but it can never compare to the raw sound and sensation of producing a physical document by literally hammering letters into a sheet of paper using my fingers.

A few of the items I'll keep for a lifetime;

1950's typewriter (Imperial The Good Companion)

Brilliant engineering. What's an exclamation mark if not an apostrophe, back-space then a full-stop? Who needs a number one when there's a perfectly good lowercase L?

Pocket watch (Jean Pierre)

Double-hunter with exposed mechanism and still enjoy wearing it attached to jeans, that's what that small pocket is for.

East German, 35mm SLR camera (Practika)

My first proper camera, bought by my parents as a Christmas gift in the late 80's. Mechanical aperture, focus, zoom, shutter speed, wind-on and a satisfyingly Soviet shutter release. Kerchunk.

1950's upright piano (Niemeyer & Sohn)

Bought this on impulse for my, then 8 year old, son who's got a natural flare for music. Went out to buy an electric keyboard and came back with an upright. I'm a salesman's dream.

1940's 312L telephone (GPO)

Made from heavy, black, polished bakelite with chrome dial and braided, fabric cord this looks stunning. Unfortunately, on the occasions it's been allowed to ring it's caused a power-drain on the phone network and triggered broadband failure for days afterwards. So, it's silent for now...

1960's style, vintage record player.

Hiss and crackle adds a unique quality to any album. I'm slowly building a collection of vinyl and remembering the experience which is so different to today's streaming of curated playlists. Listening to music used to be an event in of itself from saving my pocket money to buy an album, taking the bus to the local town and browsing the aisles of Our Price for hours. Then, returning home to put the vinyl on the player and sit listening to the album from start to finish while reading inset information, enclosed lyrics, posters and appreciating the cover artwork and, often, styled vinyl. So different.

Another lockdown discovery... baking bread. Love it! It's now a weekend staple of baguettes, naans, rolls or a loaf. The house smells amazing.

Simple... even I can do it.

In large mixing bowl, mix 270ml hot water with 7g yeast and 1tsp sugar. Leave for 10 mins til bubbly.

In small mixing bowl, sieve 450g flour and 1tsp salt. Mix well.

Sieve in 270g of the flour/salt mix into yeast/sugar mix.

Stir well.

Prove under teatowel in mixing dish 2.5 hours in warm room.

Sieve in remaining flour/salt mix.

Mix with spoon until all bound and remove.

Light dusting of flour on surface and knead well for 15 mins.

Use scales to spilt dough into 3 x 230g.

Make rectangular shapes, knead, fold once.

Seal and round ends.

Roll to 30cm keeping seal along length of base.

Place in baguette tray, seal down.

Second prove for 1 hour under teatowel in warm room.

After 50 mins of proving, put top oven on 180 with tray of water in the bottom.

Remove teatowel only immediately before putting in oven.

Mist them with water til damp.

Slice tops.

Put in the oven and set timer for 15min.

Mist on the alarm, rotate baguette tray but shut door quickly.

Set timer for 20 mins.

Done. Remove and place on rack to cool.

Eat with real butter. Nom nom nom.

Purely as the result of luck, my life has played-out as an average, middle-class, healthy, employed person in the UK meaning that, comparatively, I'm one of the wealthiest people on Earth.

https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org

The odds against this happening for me are enormous so I'm eternally grateful to the cards I've been dealt and feel it's only fair to help those who weren't given such a good hand.

I pledge to give a few percent of my income to charity every month for the rest of my life. Currently donations go to Trussell Trust Foodbank