The color of infinity inside an empty glass

This week's bread: the Collister/Blake My Favourite Loaf, strong white/wholemeal/wholemeal spelt, splosh of pumpkin seed oil, nice.

Friday night supper: ven pongal (South Indian khichchari). cashew perhaps a bit burnt, still pretty good.

Saturday breakfast rolls: basic buttermilk, 3:1 strong white/mix of coarse and fine cornmeal, turned out v well.

Today's lunch: salmon fillets baked in foil with slices of lime, butter, dill and salt and pepper, served with La Ratte potatoes roasted in goose fat, Boston beans roasted in walnut oil with fennel seeds and splashed with gooseberry vinegar, and steamed asparagus with melted butter.

These people are AWFUL: Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world

(And I can't believe that there aren't women who didn't survive, particularly given the whole 'germs aren't a thing' ideology that's mixed up with it. Or at least pretty badly damaged.)

I've always been somewhat side-eyeing Grantly Dick Read and his gospel of 'natural childbirth' without fear and pain, because it was a bit vibes based on anecdotal stuff of his, but at least he was a trained medical professional, and he advocated antenatal classes teaching women what to expect when they went into labour, and giving them breathing exercises so that they could breathe through the contractions and so on and he did not suggest women giving birth alone without support.

This is also - like being anti-vaccine - coming from a very short period of historical time: in this case one in which maternal and infant mortality had plummeted and was no longer something people were more or less used to, or had at least heard cases of within their general circles.

These people are delusional.

Okay, there can be a lot wrong with modern obstetric practice - ?particularly in the USA, for reasons - but nature is so not your friend in this matter.

Meet-up with visiting person from US institution of renown which I have visited in the past, and BBL (who I realise I have known for getting on for 40 years as we first met when I gave the first paper on my PhD research), whom I have not seen in person for yonks though we have talked on the phone.

While the reason for this was rather sad as it involves scholar we both knew and liked a lot who died unexpectedly last year, and left various projects unfinished but in a fairly advanced state, it was also a very lively and stimulating and enjoyable meeting with lots of mutual appreciation.

Also it looks like there may be a very interesting project coming out of this to finish off one of the projects which is bang in my wheelhouse/ballpark/whatever.

However, though not surprised or shocked, saddened to hear that things are, indeed, and fairly predictably, not well with the institution in question.