Our leader announced her “circuit-breaking!” rules this afternoon. All pubs and restaurants in the central belt – that’s Glasgow & Edinburgh & points between – to be closed from Friday for a fortnight. Nothing about travel, therefore nothing to interfere with our cruise. I profoundly and passionately don’t like the idea of Scottish independence, and I don’t much like Miss Sturgeon, but I think this was a sensible choice, if circuit-breaking is to be done. Throughout all this, she has been an impressively steady and sensible counter to Boris.

 

Our happy lunch was last Thursday, therefore six days and some hours ago, and we’re all well. So we probably got away with it.

 

I’ve been making sourdough today, to give to Rachel and Ed to take south with them. They’re still at Burnside, but I think I’ll see them briefly on Friday. Sourdough, with me, takes three days: one to rev up the starter, two (that’s today) to do the work, three for the actual baking. There’s a delicious moment in “I Malavoglia” when a woman goes to beg some lieveto from a neighbour. We’re talking about illiterate, but very shrewd, Sicilian peasants in the 19^th century. She could hardly have been asking for a packet of yeast from the supermarket. She must have been in search of sourdough starter.

 

I got rather carried away today, probably as a result of knitting peacefully while half-listening to Arne and Carlos. (Sourdough-making doesn’t actually take much time, but you have to be around and attentive.)  I have ordered “Scandinavian Sweaters” by Kristin Ovegard. Meg says it’s only the second book she has ever recommended sight-unseen. I ordered it, I’m afraid, from Amazon, and having done so I pressed on a bit and ordered “Cable Knits from Nordic Lands” which will arrive tomorrow. Unlike the Scandinavian Sweaters.

 

And then pressed on a bit further and ordered “Afterknit Rebellion” – and then “Afterknit Stitch Dictionary”. All I can say is, Oh, dear. The Afterknit books sound a lot like a Penguin Scandinavian knitting book translation I have from the 70’s, or some such decade. I’ll try to find it for you, for tomorrow. Will it be missing from the shelf, like so many?

 

Knitting progressed peacefully, and I think the ribbing is nearly done.