Jameela, I don't think bringing new faces to the forum is the primary issue (though obviously that's a good thing too).

We have / had many many active and devoted members and moderators. What we need is to get rid of the spam, and for the moderators to be returned the tools they need to moderate (like being able to delete spam posts - though hopefully so few would get through that that would not be the primary task).

I think you may have achieved perfection

Strange thing happened to me today - a woman referred to me as "black". Really really strange, because I don't look like someone of African heritage at all.... people usually think I am Latina (and even, compared to most Latinas I am pretty fair-skinned)

I wonder if this woman has never met a black person? She's lived all her life in extreme rural Yorkshire, so I suppose while it's unlikely, it could be possible (this came about directly after a comment about Meghan Markle... so maybe she thinks all people whose skin is the same shade as Meaghan Markle must be black?)

My husband and I are having a debate as to what is "normal" Christmas giving behaviour. I'd have put this as a poll, but polls aren't so easy to do on this forum anymore. So tell me, which do you think is normal:

A) your in-laws phone you a month before Christmas, asking what you want, and requesting cash for their kids (the item you request must equal the amount of cash you send to their kids, more or less exactly). They then continually harangue you until you come up with an answer ("it's okay, I don't need anything, and I'm happy to give your kids the money you have requested anyway" is not an acceptable answer)

B) you just buy things, and try to put some thought into it, and hope you pick something the other party will really like, but you want to surprise them, and don't want to put pressure on them, so you don't ask what they might want more than once (if at all)

C) you agree not to exchange gifts, because neither party really needs anything, and the purpose of Christmas is getting together and having a happy time, not presents

D) something else.

My position is that B and C and possibly D are normal, whereas A is a colossal waste of time and makes Christmas into a stressful chore. If I have to spend £30 on you, and you have to spend £30 on me, then why not just go for C and decide for ourselves whether we want stuff?

My husband's family are diehards for A. My husband says, "that's how everyone does it, don't they?". I said, "not my family" (they do B or C). So I thought I'd put it to the test: who are the raving freaks, my family, or my husband's family?

I'm still experimenting. Was hoping there'd be a whole host of sourdough experts chiming in with their tips, but I guess I'm out of luck....

I can't post a pic of mine. It came out really nicely risen, fluffy and yummy - but not sour.

Here's what I did:

On th basis that it's the acid from the yeast that weakens the gluten and makes the bread flop (as learned by googling), I made a few adjustments to my usual recipe to reduce the contact time between flour and acid.

1. I prepared the leaven just before going to bed (75g water, 75g strong white flour, 1 tbsp starter). Next morning it was super fluffy.

2. I mixed all the other ingredients (without the leaven) together (400g strong white flour, 100g string wholemeal flour, 10g salt, 300g water), and left to stand for 1 hour to let the flour hydrate (bowl covered with cling film)

3. After an hour, I kneaded for ten minutes until it was nice and springy. Then I left it fir an hour to let the gluten relax.

4. After an hour, I worked the leaven into the rest of the dough. The difference in texture is very noticeable - the dough seems much less sticky than it normally would at this point - I guess because the acid from the wild yeast hasn't had a chance to attack most of the gluten yet. I left it for 30 minutes, then stretch and fold. Then left for an hour, and stretched, folded and shaped.

5. At this point, I didn't have the volume I'd like, so I put it in a warm (c 40c) oven for 30 minutes. I know a lot of sites say a slow rising in a fridge is best to develop flavour, but if it's contact with the acid that weakens the gluten, I thought a quicker rise might be advisable. Always left to rest with cling film over, to prevent it drying.

6. 30-40 minutes, I folded it twice, tucking the seams under, and put it back in the oven to rise a bit more. It flattened a little, but didn't completely lose its shape.

7. 30 minutes later, took it out of the oven, and preheat oven to 220C. Tucked the edges under the dough ball again to plump it up a little.

8. Popped into a hot oven for I think about 45 mins to an hour (lost track of time, I just kept checking til it looked nicely browned)

9. Hey presto, nicely risen loaf that kept its shape.

Are they truly lazy Sunday mornings?

I read from the title that there might be more of an air of expectation? Like watching a reality game of thrones, and rooting for Arya or Jon Snow over (name your evil character)

I don't know... I think perceptions adapt. If you write solid stuff, "Mindy" could become the new (name of a serious writer)