That’s not really true. I’m not excited at all, so there is no question of my hiding it. Excitement would be exciting if it hadn’t been devalued by the legion of radio and TV commentators who are so excited for a living. Very little doesn’t excite them because not being so excited could well cost them their exciting job. Etched into my memory is a moment in the recent sodden Jubilee celebrations. On a pleasure boat on the Thames, with so much rain falling that the difference between being in the river or out of it was minimal, a renowned chef was balefully cutting slices of sodden cake in the biblical downpour whilst a seemingly hysterical commentator, hair plastered to her head and as wild eyed as any Bronte heroine, madly and repeatedly demanded to know precisely how excited the forlorn cake cutter was because wasn’t it all so exciting and she herself was about to lose control and she thought she’d like that. As song writers have mentioned before, cake left out in the rain is not a good idea and these images confirmed the song writer knew what he or she was talking about when it came to wet cake. Outside, the summer rain that had recently extinguished blazing June continued to do the business on July, whilst on the inside cake came to mind. Claire Ptak, former pastry chef for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, now runs the celebrated “Violet” cake shop in London’s East End. She makes the most wonderful cakes. I was excited by the experience of making, photographing and eating these lemon bars. 
Roger Stowell Photography
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It had to have been Floyd in the pouring rain…that was the sort of thing he did! Lovely shot of a lovely sounding cake Roger.
I can reveal that it was Angela Hartnett on a river boat during the farcical Jubilee river procession:)
Aha – I missed that…shame as I think it would have been very funny 🙂 unintentionally of course!
Roger – one of my favourite posts from you. I was intrigued why you ‘weren’t’ excited 😉 Re Chica Andaluza’s comment – I grew up watching Floyd on France! My dad wished he could have such a job so we sat through video after video, watching Floyd gulp wine while making something or other in a provincial french kitchen! Pity my dad cannot cook even though we got him one of Floyd’s cookbooks. We’re all still waiting for my dad’s first dish.
I loved Floyd and his “little slurps”…a great inspiration!
absolutely!
Many thanks, Marina. I think Floyd was amongst the first movers to put the joy into cooking.
I have a terrible problem with that song, it is one of my inner soundtrack songs, you know the ones .. the ones that take WEEKS to go quiet in your head. Your foot taps to it as you cringe. I HAD gotton rid of it, It had replaced itself with The Car Wash song.. (shudder) so I am not going to thank you for reintroducing it to my brain again! I don’t think I like it! c
You are very definitely not excited which, in the sense of my post, is probably a good thing:)
Why did you mention Car Wash? Weren’t the Pointer Sisters enough 😉
Blame Celi. The heat of the Prairies has got her singing “Car Wash”:)
There’s so much insincerity that I find it hard to watch documentaries and factual programmes at all. Even a lot of Radio 4 is completely insipid these days. Hooray for some genuine chefs – it might be a good idea if they stayed off TV 😉
Great picture and very nice wood!
Always good to have “wood” compliments:)
Especially when playing golf 😉
Who put you up to this? Tell me!
For the past 6 years, I’ve sent out a musical selection every Monday to a group of friends, Music Monday. I consider it a success if that song happens to be an “ear worm” that stays with my recipients the entire day, if not more. I come here and, lo and behold, I get 2 such songs thrown my way. Worse yet, if I close my eyes, I see the Pointer Sisters driving a car through a car wash. How ever will I be able to perform my Music Monday duites today with these 2 songs competing for my attention?
I know you’ll be up to the challenge, John:)
I made lemon bars a few weeks ago and my friends went absolutely crazy!! I bet these bars made you excited!! xo Smidge
ps.. you’ll be sad to know “said song” brought back vivid neon hue memories of aerobic dancing for me…
I have to admit that in my youth I did aerobic classes in the gym ……oh, for shame:)
Well, here is my pick for a musical ‘ear worm:’
http://dai.ly/c9DzTy
By the way, what are you having with those lemon bars? Coffee or tea???
Fantastic – never seen it before. It’ll certainly be coffee or tea, or ice cold white wine (a viognier) maybe:)
Roger, you? Aerobic dancing? Did you wear leg warmers?
The lemon bars look great, but I shall be playing either Mozart or Portishead very very loud as I make them, to drown out the earworm.
You can be very mean spirited, Kate:)
Our lemon bars are so decadent we hardly make them. These look just as great. Such a great dessert. As for the song, well… it’s a classic in a different way.
I make them rarely because they are so delicious and rich:)
Hmm…I’d be excited about eating the bars but definitely not at the thought of doing anything in a downpour to get them. Great Pointer Sisters song!
Unlike many bars, these are better when dry:)
I am very sad you still get rain in the Vendée. Here in Rome we are literally melting!!! By the way, whoever worked for Alice Waters must be a superb cook or chef!!! She is one of my favorite chefs! I went to Chez Panise while I was in Berkeley and it was one of the best dining experiences I have ever had! I bet those cakes must taste like heaven!!!
Next time you’re in London, go to her shop “Violet”. The cakes are amazing.
You bet I will!!!!
🙂
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what a lovely photograph of a favorite dessert! (such a sucker for the pucker!) You’ve really set a mood here and I’m in no hurry to leave it.
Stay and enjoy. Thanks for the good words:)
Oh, I love lemon bars. For some reason, my mother only made them at Christmastime. Seems strange to me now.
Hoping the earworm doesn’t take hold. . . .:)
I’ve only just discovered them – lemon bars, that is, not earworms:)