Good decision Gromit

The Camembert remains in the cheese fridge for a bit longer. I made a new Wensleydale at the weekend and if I realised if didn’t take an older one out now there’d be no room for it in the fridge. Pragmatism won out.

The Wensleydale was cut in time for taste-testing at lunch. It was up to scratch: a mild flavour with a hint of sweetness; a smooth texture; not dry but not entirely creamy. Very very more-ish.

It fascinates me that the smallest of differences in the temperature at which curds are created and then ‘cooked’, as well as slight differences in the weight and time of subsequent pressing, combine to make significant flavour and texture differences in the final outcome.

It is alchemy with a dollop of magic chucked in for good measure.

Much of the afternoon was derailed by cattle mooing constantly at my neighbours’ place. Last time they’d been so noisy their water trough was dry, so I nipped over the road - and discovered the same problem again.

A phone call to neighbour W resulted in me taking a bunch of tools over there to undo water pipe joints and mess about seeing if there was a blockage. No blockage, but no water running.

I eventually tracked the problem down to another trough up the hill from which the pipe cattle trough feeder pipe runs: the end was loose and had fallen out of the water. I tried to fix but didn’t have a joint the right size.

The cattle were getting louder, so (under Bean’s supervision) I ran home, collected my longest garden hose and filled the cattle trough from W’s domestic supply as a temporary solution. Happy boys (see extra).

Then I had time to phone friendly local farmer C who had a suitable second hand replacement T-joint, which he fitted and water is now flowing down to the cattle as it was supposed to.

Silence reigns this evening.

Several things on today’s to-do list have been shunted onto tomorrow.