Playing Catch Up

 

image from Don't Eat the Paste

Okeedokee, I filled out my ballot and sent it out. I'm also down to the last twenty postcards to sign and send out to a swing state, and then I'm done! At least I'll be done with anything to do with this year's elections. 

I recently started talking about my comfort series, The Great British Baking Show, and my predictions were based on only two episodes of this year's series. Welp... I've got to update them now after Bread Week, which saw one of the stronger bakers leave for, sadly, good reason. He fumbled the ball in the signature round, and the stress got to him. I could tell from the way he commented on his performance and his hopes for the showstopper round that he was getting agitated and anxious though I really don't blame him for it. My viewing of previous seasons has convinced me that those bakers who kept their heads and stayed calm and focused had a better chance of making it all the way through.

And that also makes me side-eye Andy, who also tends to panic when things blow up in his face. I pegged him as one to watch, but I've got a sinking feeling his nerves will get the better of him. I hope not, but this scenario's painfully familiar.

That said, I'm so happy to see my top three still competitive with Dylan coming out shining in the end, and with that I'm adjusting my predictions to add Nelly into the mix with Georgie a close second. I love that Nelly brings flavors from diverse sources (Eastern Europe and Asia). But seeing as how it's only the third episode so far, it's too early to tell, and the situation can still throw a curve ball. I do have to agree with Paul Hollywood's observation, though: this group of bakers are so far some of the most talented I've seen in the competition. Everyone seems to have style and substance pretty well-balanced -- more consistently than what I've seen in previous series, anyway, because any goof-ups tend to be small.

And in other news, the early November projected completion date for The Perfect Rochester is very much real as I'm looking at two chapters being added to the usual total of 26. But no problem there. Compline continues to reshape itself as new ideas and possibilities cross my mind, and I might just throw out any and all elements that have been inspired by Belouis Some's Some People (which I discussed a while ago). The epistolary narrative is the same, but the main plot as it reflects my take on "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" is morphing and taking paths I've never even considered but are very, very promising. 

I'll be talking more about it soon. In the meantime, it's a case of "steady as she goes" in writing.