BOOKBROODER

If I ask you, “It’s naughty weather outside.”. What will you advise me to do? Will you say in a dull tone, ” Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing,” in Oscar Wilde’s style, or will you give me an offer to swim tonight on the line of Shakespeare’ King Lear, ” tis a naughty night to swim in.”
I neither know how to swim nor have any plans to talk about the weather. Let’s talk about the ‘beast from the east’ then. What? What did you say? You don’t like beasts! And you have chionophobia. Cryophobia too. Oh my god, how many phobias do you have? I pray you do not have iridophobia. Who on this planet can have iridophobia? Oh! I see that it is raining outside in your area. It is nice to know that, but what is happening exactly? Is it just a ‘fiss’? or ‘daggle’? or is it a ‘gosling blast’? Ok, tell me, what will happen if a ‘cat’s nose’ hits you on your head? How much harm will it incur? Nothing. It will just tickle. Are you saying this? No, you are wrong. Give me a penny as a punishment for the wrong answer.
What is all this nonsense? Ok. Give me some time. Just hold on. Stay mum for a while. Let me explain. ‘Beast from the East’ was when an anticyclone brought plenty of snow and stiff wind from the eastern landmass to Britain. ‘Chionophobia’ is fear of snow, ‘Cryophobia’ is fear of cold, ‘Iridophobia’ is fear of rainbows. ‘fiss’ is drizzle, ‘daggle’ is torrential rain, and ‘gossling blast’ is sudden rain. ‘Cat’s nose’ is a powerful cool, dry wind from the north west. It can take you to your doctor’s place if you expose your head to it too much. It will not just tickle.

I learned all this from this book. How was it? Am I not a bit smarter now ?

The book talks about the British weather—about the wind, rain, snow, hailstorms, and anything about the weather. The interesting thing about the book is that it not only provides the information and meaning of the words, like a lexicon, rather, it mentions so many literary pieces with colourful illustrations of novels and classic works where such weather related settings in the plot were present. In 14 chapters, it deals with everything around British weather.

A book for students, researchers, weather or science enthusiasts, and a logophile, the book is a small treasure. For a general reader, it was no less than a refreshing experience, as it evokes the memory of school days spent learning new things. I recommend this book, and I thank NetGalley and publishers for an advanced copy.

There is folklore in Ireland that the pig can see the wind, There is a mention of the poem Don Juan in the book, and here it is

“Medals, rank, ribands, lace, embroidery, scarlet,

Are things immortal to immortal man,

As purple to the Babylonian harlot:

An uniform to boys is like a fan

To women; there is scarce a crimson varlet

But deems himself the first in Glory’s van.

But Glory’s glory; and if you would find

What that is — ask the pig who sees the wind!”

Ok, a few more words from the book: Petrichor‘ is the smell of the rain, especially when it falls on dry ground. Once, a skelf fell on my shoulder when I was 10; next year, one day, I twirled my head in that feefle. ‘skelf’ is a large snowflake; ‘feefle’ is swirling snow. Thank you.

What makes a cake a cake? If you are tired of reading books, why not try some cakes this afternoon. Let’s take a mouth watering recess. To make a real cake, a book on cake will help. A well-written book in simple and comprehending language that will teach us step-by-step how to do it. Here is the book. It says the word ‘cake’ comes from ‘Kaka’.

‘The favourite cake of early Roman times seems to have been a dense barley-meal dough favoured with pine nuts, raisins, and sweet wine.‘

In the 14th century, yeasted fruit cakes were being sweetened with honey; by the mid-17th century, treacle and sugar had replaced honey. The invention of baking powder in the 1840s’ helped the cake makers a lot.
The book is not about the history of the cakes or their ingredients. The ‘book of cakes’ is a cookbook. It consists of a recipe for 55 different cakes, which are categorised as loaf cakes, fruit cakes, and sponge cakes. Those sponge cakes are lighter ones, made by the whisking and beating of eggs. Rubbed-in cake mixtures are made with the help of just your hands and a mixing bowl. Rock cake and Welsch cake are such cakes. Have you consumed the classic Swiss roll? It is a type of whisked sponge that is raised entirely by air bubbles.

You wish to make irresistible cakes, for any occasion. The book is a great asset. For people who have a sweet tooth, its a tempting book. I highly recommend this book for cake lovers, people in the food and sweet making industry, and anyone who is interested in making cakes. The author has made this book very presentable. I thank NetGalley and publishers for providing me with an advanced copy.

Let’s enjoy the book and these cakes with a poem by MOTHER GOOSE

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man,

Bake me a cake, as fast as you can;

Pat it, prick it, and mark it with B,

Put it in the oven for baby and me.

What do you know about the British weather?

Let’s make a cake!