We baked our sourdough. I wasn’t satisfied with the “oven spring”. Did we over-proof it yesterday? It was very lively. Or did we put it in the oven before it was hot enough this morning ? I forgot that Wafa turns the Aga down at night. She says that the bread tastes fine. I am eager to try again.
The weather was bright — sunny and cold. C. came.
And I knit onwards a bit. I am beginning seriously to wonder whether I have lost the knack.
We are watching — Wafa is watching — a film about samurai. It’s a Japanese film, rather well-made. Everybody mounts and dismounts his horse on its right side.In Britain and the US at least, horses are mounted and dismounted from the left, invariably. Wafa says, doubtfully, that she thinks it’s from the right in the middle east. What an interesting and unexpected difference!
It’s not that the film is being shewn the wrong way around — everybody is conducting sword fights with their right hands.
Wordle: Wafa solved ours, again. My starters gave me one green and three browns. I refused to allow myself a Jean-word but much thought failed to produce an answer. Any answer. Wafa looked over my shoulder and got it quickly. So we scored three.
Three also for Mark and Alexander. Four for Ketki and Rachel and Thomas. Theo was another three, and Roger an outlier with five.
I think sourdough needs to be baked in a hot oven, to allow steam to add volume, but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteGoogle produced the tale that westerners mount from the left because military men wearing swords - usually on their left - would knock the scabbard against the horse if mounting from the right. Otherwise it is personal preference. Currently mounting is said to strain the horse's back, and training the horse to allow use of both sides helps balance the strain. Native Americans are said to mount from the right, but I tend to take any statements about them with a grain of salt as there is so much myth-making.
The main horsed weapon use in the Eastern Mediterranean area used to be bow and arrow, and mounting by jumping or vaulting on was common, so they probably used whichever side was convenient.
I was taught to vary the way you mount in case you need to mount from the right. That way, it won't seen strange to the horse. Now, it depends which shoulder is sore...
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