Young's Modulus

BB finished building the truss yesterday which will be a supporting beam for the floor (and roof) above. I can't get my head around how so much heavy oak timber can sit on such a thin piece of steel without touching the ground, nor how it will be able to support all that weight above. (A truss was necessary because the builders didn't make the concrete slab strong enough to take the beam.) BB demonstrated with a paper model and showed me his deflection calculations. I appreciate he has a first class honours degree in civil engineering, but by his own admission, he skipped a lot of classes, so I think I'd like someone to check his homework - just in case he missed the one on Young's Modulus.

We invited Mr and Mrs K. Bear for Easter lunch and I made Jamie Oliver's pot-roasted guinea fowl with sage, celery and blood orange. It's important to retain moisture when cooking guinea fowl (apparently) to prevent it from drying out and this recipe is ideal.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

2 x 2-2½ lb/900-1100 g guinea fowl

8 blood oranges

1 bulb celery

handful of fresh thyme

sea salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled

3 oz/85 g butter

10 sage leaves

12 fl oz/350 ml fruity dry white wine

1. Wash the birds, pat dry and rub the cavities with a little salt. Cut the ends off the oranges, remove the skin and slice into five or six rounds. Remove the tough outer sticks of celery and slice the bulb thinly. Put in a bowl with the thyme and salt and pepper and stuff the cavity of each bird with the filling.

2. Rub the skin with salt and pepper and seal in a thick-bottomed pan in the olive oil until lightly golden on all sides, then add the garlic, butter and sage and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Add a little wine and place in the oven at 225°C/425°F/gas 7 for 45 minutes. Keep adding wine at intervals (check every 10-15 minutes) to keep the pan slightly moist at all times.

Look - no feet!