Having Your Cake And Photographing It

After yesterday's case of MAMOMS (Middle Aged Miserable Old Man Syndrome) I was determined to be more upbeat today and seize the day.
So after dropping my brother off at the station, and fortifying myself with a couple of cups of strong coffee whilst avoiding my usual early morning doomscrolling on the internet, it was straight out to our state of the art gym (actually an untidy, unheated garage packed with way too much junk) for some exercise. I like exercising when it's cold as it really seems to give me a jolt of energy as the endorphins kick in with the added benefit that you feel instantly warm when you get back inside.
After a healthy breakfast of fruit, yoghurt, honey and nuts I could really feel my mood lightening. Whenever I'm in a good mood I always feel like baking for some reason so I looked out one of my favourite cake recipes - a raspberry and almond madeira cake - and made a list of the ingredients I would need to get later.
After that initial burst of fairly frenetic activity I felt a little respite was required so I settled down with my new book for half an hour - Undercurrent by Natasha Carthew. It's a memoir about growing up in rural poverty in Cornwall and how she was born into a world that sat alongside picture postcard scenery but one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people's lives, and wealth contrasted with poverty right next to the sandy beaches and how she found solace, hope and resilience in the beauty of the landscape and the natural world. An important and wonderfully lyrical read.
It was then off to the shops to get the ingredients for my cake. Once I got back I measured out all the elements separately, warmed up the oven and prepared my tin. I really enjoy this part of baking as I find it so calming. Once everything was mixed, beaten and folded together it was just a case of putting it in the oven and waiting for the hopefully positive outcome.
Whilst my cake was baking I decided to listen to another episode of my latest podcast - The Missing Madonna on BBC Sounds. It reveals the twisting tale behind the return of a stolen Da Vinci masterpiece and marks the 20th anniversary of an audacious art heist that set the record for the most valuable painting ever to be stolen in Britain.
The Madonna of the Yarnwinder was spectacularly taken from Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway in 2003. The story of its eventual recovery has all the classic ingredients of a thriller - plot twists, intrigue, jeopardy, double-crosses and larger-than-life characters. A fascinating and wonderfully enthralling listen.
It was then time to check on the cake. Hurrah - it came out perfectly (he said with all due modesty)!
The day had flown past before I realised that it was time to pick my brother up from the station. He's managed to get tomorrow off so to celebrate we stopped off at The Red Bull for a quick pint.
Today's blip image had to be a case of making the cake the star so I've given it the full moody production number! :-)