Ah, the rain: spattering outside the open window while I drink tea from my massive bank-holiday teacup. It's glorious.
We're off on a walk in a minute - wellies and rain macs at the ready, we'll be rambling round the lake, followed by a warm fire and some tasty food at the Fox & Hounds. Best of all of course for the Intrepids and I, we're not stuck in traffic, there's no tricky DIY to be done and no-one has suggested taking anything at all to The Tip. Shudder.
In fact, the most contentious thing that's happened so far today is a question about boiled eggs. I was astounded when someone said it takes four minutes to soft-boil an egg.
"What's happened to physics?" I said, incredulously, "...that it takes a whole minute longer to boil an egg these days?"
"What do you mean? It's always been four minutes!" said my Dad.
"No it hasn't! Three minutes. Egg-timers, they're three minutes; they're always three minutes, aren't they?"
"Well what about the one in the shower?" asked my Mum.
"Four minutes," exclaimed my Dad, calmly, from behind his Sudoku book. He's right.
"Has air pressure suddenly increased? Have eggs got bigger?" I was bewildered. And rightly so, if physics is going to start changing without telling anybody.
In the end, we figured out what you've probably already realised - that it does take longer on an electric hob (I learned how to boil eggs on a gas stove) - and if truth be told, I always leave my eggs to cool off before cracking the shells open, which probably means they're cooking for an extra minute or so anyway. They're remarkably well-insulated, eggs - they stay hot for ages! In fact I once had the idea that you could use them as mini hot-water bottles.*
Anyway, if a conversation about how long it takes to boil an egg is the most difficult thing about today, it'll probably turn out to be a pretty good one.
*I wouldn't recommend it.
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