Big news.

As regular readers will know (and how are you both?) I have been suffering with a shoulder injury since last September. It has meant that I can’t climb pilot ladders and has kept me off work. I had surgery in Feb and am making slow progress.

I went to see the Occupational Health Dr at work in March and she said that I should come back and work in the office until I was fully fit.

I also saw my boss and he asked me what I was going to do, I said jokingly “make me an offer.”

Well they have and I have now handed in my notice, I’m taking my pension and giving up all the driving, the broken sleep and the irregular hours that I have worked for the last 40 years.

It’s a new start for me, here in glorious Devon, I will miss being a pilot and ships generally but I can still laugh at the inaccuracy of the media whenever ships are mentioned.

Brixham harbour is 10 minutes walk away and every now and again I hear three short blasts on a whistle and instinctively know that someone is going astern.

I can listen to the wind howl at 3am and turn over, secure in the knowledge that I haven’t got to get up and wrestle 220 metres of ship into an opening 1 metre wider than it is. I can hear the muted rumble of the Pilot boat and wish them happy landings.

And I can be a Baker, or an Author, or whatever else I want to be.

Talking of which, I have got my White Sourdough starter to behave, just look at it this morning,

Looks pretty active to me, so I've refreshed it and put it in the fridge. Yesterday I started croissants with it, and left them overnight to rise.

I folded the butter into the dough and got about 30 layers into it before shaping, 

The little nicks are to help in shaping.

As you will see they rose alright overnight and after an egg wash baked in 20 minutes.

They tasted pretty good as well.