"It's not a sheep, it's a tup."

I've spent most of the day working on the nativity play and many things collided - which amused me a lot.

The children playing the shepherds are a mixed bag.  One of them is a new boy who is thrilled to be a shepherd, because he is one.  He's 8 and has been working with sheep since he could toddle.  One of the other boys produced a toy sheep which Shepherd Kid looked at critically for half a second and announced it was a tup.  General nodding all around as they agreed, it was a tup.  For the uninitiated, that's a ram.  Shepherd Kid pointed to the rear end and said firmly, "Got to be a yearling tup, the balls will drop reet soon."  It's a tiny rural school - of course they know this stuff.  He wasn't being anything other than informative and will be making an appearance in Mikelmerck. 

Sheep crop up a lot teaching drama in the Dales.  I hold outdoor rehearsals during the summer if possible, but have had them interrupted by oncoming flocks of sheep. 

"They's me dad's.  They've got green bums."
"Great.  Now get back to the rehearsal."
"My dad's using blue this year."
"My dad won't use that, says it's unlucky."
"Tisn't.  Only numptys think that."
"Don't call me dad a numpty."
"ENOUGH.  Go from the start of the scene."

This never happened in London.

Also made cake for lovely gaming group friend with random ingredients.  Plan A was to bake a chocolate diner cake which has gone down well in the past, but lack of time, lack of chocolate and lack of castor sugar all conspired against me.  Instead I ended up using soft brown sugar and baking a thin sheet of sponge.  This was later split into three, sandwiched with buttercream and homemade raspberry jam and pronounced a success.  The way ahead is clear for further experimentation with this recipe.  The thin-ness of the sponge meant that the sugar dissolved properly - which was the worry as it isn't as fine as castor.  It cooked fast, but was still light and spongey.  Not flexible enough to roll I suspect, but I may try it anyway.