Thanks mate 
Joking aside, the young girl in Floās class was still coming into school despite three of her household having symptoms. 
All four subsequently tested positiveā¦ 
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Hope sheās OK Jim.
The kid should have been in isolation as soon as anyone in her household showed symptoms, especially so if anyone had tested +ve.
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We had something similar at school with a kid in my youngestās class. The mother had the stupidity to moan about the inconvenience of isolation after the fact. Iām not sure exactly what the response of the other parent was, but Jackie wasnāt impressed with her at all. I hope they gave her a faceful
As I said, I hope Flo is ok. There really are some very thick and very feckinā inconsiderate cunts out there.
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Thanks Olan. Sheās very careful with masks, distancing etc, so fingers crossed sheāll be ok.
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The kids should be taken into care more like.
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Hereās hoping Floās OK, Bruv.
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Best wishes for Flo Jim.
On a happier subject I have a sort-of-technical question from Mrs VB. Sheās been making up her own mincemeat for years, partly to keep the sucrose/glucose levels down for my benefit. It tastes lovely but itās not nearly as sticky/jammy/homogenised in consistency as the store-bought stuff. This makes it a bit lumpy to handle when sheās filling the pies. Then she heard Somebody Archer (donāt ask me) on, er The Archers, say that they boil their home made mincemeat up for a while before using it. This, apparently, jamifies it. So she asked me to ask anyone here who makes their own whether they do this, and whether it works. I think sheās going to try it on a small sample of this yearās batch. But she was surprised to find next to no mention of this technique either in cookbooks or on the interweb. So is it really a good idea ?
VB
Sounds unusual, wouldnāt boiling rob the flavor and spicing?
merry berry warms hers, without the booze
warming (not boiling) will release the oils in the spices. In the same way as toasting does when you grind your own for a curry
Warming is very different to what is being suggested here. (Of course the mince meat is also āwarmedā when the pie is cooked)
Mrs VB says it was definitely bubbling (on the wireless).
I remember my great aunt making jam when I was a child. Spectacular quantity of sugar. That was boiling too. Very, very dangerous stuff ā¦
VB
I remember my Nan trying out her new microwave by āwarmingā a jam doughnut. - It burned my mouth and chin badly - Trust levels hit the floor. Of course I was rewarded with the āItās come from a hot place you ejitā consolation.
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Add Pectin to get it jammy-er.
Maybe just boil a quarter of it to provide the gloopiness
We speculated that the un-gloopiness, if you like, was caused by the suet not being melted and spread through the rest of the mix. I think weād have to heat all of it, otherwise weād still be left with three-quarters of the suet in concentrated lumps.
VB
Just got back after strolling round to the village church. They are having a charity home-made bake sale. Of course, I wouldnāt normally eat any of these things, but you have to support the local community, donāt you, so Iāll force a few of them down 
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Glad you got something to tide you over until Tiffin Time is allowed again.
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Proper parenting. Never did us any harm etc etcā¦
Ours gets baked gently for 3 hours at 225F / 125C with foil over the bowl to stop it from drying out; it comes out quite gloopy, with the spices and suet (Atora, beef or veggie) fully amalgamated but still has some bite to the apple. 
If you donāt cook it at all, the apple will ferment 