INSET days used to be called Baker Days, because they were invented so children could stay at home and learn how to bake. OK, I made that last bit up, but CFG Sprog 3 and I have spent the day baking anyway.

We made: mince pies, sausage rolls, sausage dragon (like sausage rolls, but you turn the roll into a dragon rather than cutting it into individual rolls), truffles, Christmas cake, and more truffles. All food,apart from the cake, has been tested by the resident food critics and passed with flying colours.

One Week Later:

Well, the sausage rolls lasted to Saturday, the mince pies to Sunday, and the second cake I made (Saturday evening) had been devoured by Monday. Looks like I will be doing some more baking this weekend.

The second cake was possibly the world's easiest fruit cake. Put 1 kg of mixed dried fruit in a bowl with just enough ginger beer to cover (should take about 1 litre - obviously). Leave overnight. Add 3 US cups flour (yes I know I'm mixing metric and US measures here, but that's the recipe I've been given. I think a cup may be 8 oz., but 24 oz. flour seems more than I added, so maybe it is 6 oz.). Mix. Bake. Eat.

I went to the ballet last night because I am cultured. It was one of those "live broadcast to a cinema" events from the Royal Ballet. It was quite enjoyable, though this may have been because I knew the story (Alice in Wonderland) so could work out what was going on.

It is a good (and much cheaper) way of seeing the Royal Ballet. And you benefit from pre-show and inter-interval information from Darcy Bustle (is that her real name?) so you can be all cultured like and say "Oh, did you notice how that scene with the Queen of Hearts and courtiers was a parody of the one from Sleeping Beauty?"

And I learned that Eastleigh hosts a Royal Ballet School for Sprogs. It sounded a bit odd: the interviewee said "we have centres around the county, in places such as London, Manchester and Eastleigh". CGF and I looked at each other and said "did she just say 'Eastleigh'?". I checked on tinternet, and she did. Apparently, Darcy Bustle (still can't believe that's her real name) comes from Eastleigh, so that could be why it got the name check.

There was also the obligatory "tweet us your comments during the interval" invitation, which irked me slightly. Is the Royal Ballet so lacking in self-confidence that it needs these reassuring compliments?