Because what better way is there to relax than a threat of impending confiscation…

The Library

No, I’m not talking about your Steam Library. Or your PlayStation catalogue. We are discussing brick-and-mortar (and sometimes chassis in the case of vans) libraries.

I have an on-again, off-again relationship with the library system. It was a convenient place to wait after school between buses, and the home to a failed early attempt to learn coding from a textbook (hint: having access to a computer helps). I dabbled briefly in archived research articles for a project in Queen’s (QUB), but rarely made good use of the McClay Library during my time there other than borrowing the odd conference room for a group project. Most of my books are purchased secondhand online which is fine if you have the space, but we are rapidly becoming overrun with books. Some are easy to get rid of, but others are in the “oh I might re-read this” category, and parts of larger series. The end result is too many books which are read too few times. The same goes for kids books. Our place is coming down with them.

Radical notion, but what if you could read a book then hand it back? You sir have discovered the library. There are books I want to re-read, but then there are some I am happy to read and be done with. Not necessarily bad ones, but books that don’t have a lot under the surface.

My main issue is not access to books, but the will to read. Yes, there is a desire there but making time to sit down and do it is another matter. In steps the library. When I am picking up a bunch of kids books (the basic ones for early readers are super high turnover) then I pick up a book or two for myself. This creates a deadline which is either flexible (when I pick up a Stephen King book) or firm (Project Hail Mary), and I have until the renewal to get through it. I know pretty quickly whether the book is working for me (although I may still stick it out if I am feeling particularly sadistic) so it is easy to know whether I need to cram it in or whether I can release it back into the library system.

Do they have everything? No, but the selection is pretty good. You can request books that are not stocked but the fee (£10) is significant when you can pick up used books for much less. The fee is also non-refundable in the event they cannot source the book in question. I can see the request system being of use for expensive non-fiction books, but not for the average paperback. There is even an urgent request option for a higher fee if you are feeling that way inclined.

All this is to say, if you read, please make the most of your local library. They often have events on and additional non-book items to borrow (boardgames, occasionally electronics such as the BBC micro:bit). They may also provide access to some e-books and audiobooks in some cases. Libraries are a fantastic resource and important community hub, but they can only exist as long as we are using them so go out and borrow a few books.

Phases

I’m not talking about solid, liquid, and gaseous pizza. No, it’s another cooking phase/fad. I found Ooni’s pizza dough recipe worked quite well for making relatively thin crust pizzas. I rarely use a preheated pizza stone but thought I’d try something different and it worked. I guess that shouldn’t be surprising given it is designed for this sort of thing, but I managed to replicate the success three further times which is an unusually high hit rate for me. One of the big improvements is using polenta/semolina on the worktop instead of flour to prevent the dough sticking. It works fantastically well and allows the peel to get in under the dough without issue, and to get off the peel again onto the stone.

I find it hard to resist taking photos of good looking food, and Rhubarb and Mustard rarely disappoints on presentation. This little coffee shop is my favourite in Plymouth, located opposite Plymouth Pavillions, and does excellent coffee and pastries. The hot sandwich offering is currently on hold as the owner (Dan) is fitting out the unit next door with the ultimate ambition of having a separate coffee shop and lunch/hot sandwich place.

One man’s trash…

While it may look like a sheep croft has collapsed into my driveway, this is the beginning of a number of garden walls. These are either going to be dry stone or mortared (depending on my ability) and will take a considerable effort to sort out. I have booked onto a dry stone walling course at Quince Honey Farm towards North Devon which I am hoping will provide me with some foundational (pun intended) skills which I can build (I’ll stop) on. Shaping the stones looks easy in YouTube videos, but there is a bit more to it for the uninitiated.

Less natural but still important, I finally got round to dealing with the bath panel. The previous owners had boxed the bath in with no access in the event that there was an issue with the plumbing (which of course there was). As a result I ended up chipping away at the tiles to gain access which was less than ideal. I vowed to make it easier for the next time, so I cut a plywood panel which I tiled and will grout centrally, but at the periphery it will be sealed with silicone allowing it to be cut away and removed in future. You know, the way it should have been done the first time? It has been a few years since I’ve done any tiling so I was slightly rusty, but it’s not a bad looking job at present. I am going to use some plastic trim to fit round the pipes and bridge the gap between the tiles and the wall.

Games

Pokémon Yellow? Yep, that’s what you end up playing when you have a five year old getting into Pocket Monsters. That isn’t the only game in the house though, as we finally finished It Takes Two which is a fantastic couch co-op game. One of the best actually, and I am looking forward to playing Split Fiction next.

Right, I better get back to my book!