Not the smell of freshly baked bread in the morning

And so today we did get power to the oven, and away she goes… rising to over 300 degrees per deck for 5 hours - and the oven is cured. Whatever factory goo and sealants are involved beneath the stone plates and hearths? are giving off the least lovely smell we hope we’ll ever produce.

I’m really pleased to have this installed by today, and now tonight and in the morning we’ll connect the extraction and rebuild our warming proving cupboard, and our mixing, proving, shaping, baking room will be complete. All in good time for a quick nip to the lake district for two nights tomorrow (Emma’s first time she says) - as we have have a reservation at L’Enclume in Cartmel - for the whole 15 course tasting menu experience (something I’ve never done before). We’ll be rewatching The Trip season 1 episode 2 tonight to prepare ourselves for the high life. Along the way we hope to call in at the Courtyard Dairy to order some beautiful craft cheeses from small herd farms around the country - for the Grocery Department… although a lot of them are not vegetarian suitable.* We’ll have a surprise stay on the lakeside, and then visit Grizedale Arts I hope - who have taken over a pub for the community - called the Farmers Arms. And we may walk through Grizedale Forest and find some old decaying sculptures.

Funnily enough, I phoned Grizedale Arts to ask if they looked after the sculptures in the forest, and whether the trails were open at the moment. I had heard of Grizedale Arts as its old Director came to mima in 2014 and he then brought us in to create a Cafe/restaurant art project in the gallery in Middlesbrough 2015/16 (more of which later). But I had never been clear if this was all the same thing as the sculpture forest where the likes of David Nash, Andy Goldsworthy,* Yoko Ono have all resided/made work.

Anyway, in answer to your question Grizedale Arts have been a separate organisation from the Sculpture in The Forest since 2007. Here’s a forest video:

Nevertheless, a guy from Grizedale Arts did invite us to visit them in the Farmers Arms - and funnily enough attached a description and application for a job I would be perfect for! (if only I had the time) (this is the ‘funnily enough bit’). I will though describe this job and project though in a later post - when we have visited - because it is so close to describing much of our philosophy at The Waiting Room, and earlier project at mima.

I do know though (from its previous Director) that Grizedale Arts backed an ‘Honest’ honesty shop - as an art project based upon the country tradition of leaving out produce at the farm gate together with a money box for customers or passers by to take what they need and leave what they can. We’re currently pondering something of this model for our Grocery Department shop - although of course modern day supermarkets have adopted self-scanning systems that go some way towards this. We’ll see what we can come up with.