Eat humble pie.,and bring back the land army?

Humble pie

3rd April 2020: Dear diary:As the onward attempted immobilisation of the virus continues I dont even know what day of the week it is anymore.One day blends into the next. Like many thousands around the world,many of us latched on to extra mural activities.These are activities that we have perhaps denied ourselves due to our normally busy daily lives.Doing our best to avoid social interaction while we wait around for the current pandemic to run its course can bring back creative streaks that we just might have forgotten we once had.Call them what you will, "secret talents" or "covert skills".
I myself am lucky enough to have this blog to occupy my spare time.
For me to be able to share some of my innermost thoughts,memories and passions with you, no matter how ridiculous some of them maybe, is a huge bonus.Writing this blog for the last ten years has helped me to free up my self-conscious mind to a certain degree by writing and putting my thoughts down on paper. I am present in some part of every one of those posts I put out.Thats just me,what about you guys?
Fed up with keeping fit with Hailey Bailey? Instead of binge watching Netflix or getting RSI by tapping 1,000 Whatsapp or facetime messages on your phone,Gwynneth Paltrow suggests taking up an "instrument" that perhaps you might have abandoned,nice one Gwynneth.Learning or improving your language skills?
People appear to have been watching pandemic related movies.In the last week Danny Boyles "28 days later" was one of the 27 most watched movies about a virus.No Zombies here mother. Roma?,best foreign language or not, two and a half hours of a film in Spanish with subtitles is not what I need right now.I have just put down an award winning biography in the first chapter when I read "A devastating case of childhood polio left Anne without use of her legs".I most certainly need to be distanced from the vaccinations I remember of a childhood in the 50´s.
 Enough is enough I want froth and silliness.My binge clock seeks solace in rerunning every episode of “Glee” (5 days,13 hours and 34 minutes running time,without commercials opening and closing credits? )The great thing about “Glee” is that every episode comes with a life lesson gift-wrapped inside. From self-esteem to friendship, “Glee” always knew how to tackle the real issues."You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it" and who said everything couldn´t be solved without a song.Because this is a no judgement zone (in my dreams), I’m going to admit something to you guys: we are currently watching the entirety of “Glee” in three weeks.Tap your troubles away I say. Next up "Smash" and then "Madmen".What´s wrong with "nodding off on your Dick Francis",anyway?
 The film producer Ridley Scott has recently gone back to painting,and that means he has had to turn his thoughts to things that don´t involve large sets and a huge film crew.Like all of us he´s been a bit upset with how world leaders are handling this viral outbreak.

As for how the world might handle the pandemic a bit better, Scott has an idea. One that recalls some of the worst times in history, as he feels the COVID-19 pandemic feels a bit like a war.I am fourteen years younger than Scott but nevertheless,growing up in the fifties I experienced the tail end and legacy of rationing.People could not binge on food, there were ration books with coupons where you were limited on the amount that you could buy.A great way to counter stockpiling and leave food on the shelves for those who most need it.Are you listening you selfish twats?- and while on the subject of twats, stay put right where you are, dont even think about travelling to your second home or holiday villa.Anyway I digress slightly.Seriously Mr Scott has the great idea of distributing ration coupons to our iPhones.
This ingenious plan would limit what you can actually buy each time you go to the shops. And that way, "you maintain order and calm.” I mean, Jesus, Dominic Cummings,between you and bluffing blue Bojo, get your thinking caps on,you´re missing a trick here.Too late...I know.How about getting the guv´nor of Amazon to get this PPE delivered,They promise next day delivery.As do M and S.Get these guys to run the country? 
The UK government needs to think outside the box, make sure they resource all the best thinkers in the country,not politicians and certainly  not this bunch of clowns that Joe public decided to vote in and in that way some better ideas like Mr Scott´s will emerge.
 As these strange days go by, across Europe we are becoming  more resourceful with our shopping and our cooking.Take for example the humble pie,(somebody needs to give us a figurative serving of that I´d say? A dish of true austerity, a dish that with a little helping can go a long way.A quiche for instance can be eaten hot when fresh from the oven but is equally delicious cold for lunch the next day. Its great for picnics too,not that we´ll be doing any of that for the forseeable future.
Homity pie is a traditional British pie, and like many British recipes it originated due to the fact that in times of austerity those poor Brits couldn't afford anything else. The advantage of this now is that in these difficult times it's resourceful, easy and cheap to make.

Meanwhile the UK urgently needs to fill 90,000 positions to pick crops that will otherwise die in the fields.We need this produce to make our pies.The British workforce needs to get off its lazy arse and fill that gap and make sure this produce is on people’s plates over the summer months. Bring back the land army.The Government is preparing to launch a Land Army-style “Pick for Britain” campaign to prevent crops rotting in fields.Ministers are looking at plans to help farmers replace tens of thousands of seasonal workers who normally come from Europe

Fruit and veg ‘will run out’ unless Britain charters planes to fly in farm workers from eastern Europe

Phewwww,I got there in the end, lets eat humble pie,are you ready peeps?
I would describe a homity pie as an open shell pastry with a potato filling.(see above ) or as a new age vegan might describe it a peep toe espadrille with a cotton and straw finish.
Homity pie
makes 6 individual or one large pie

FOR THE PASTRY
225g (8oz) plain flour
pinch of Flor de Sal
150g(5oz) unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons cold water
Whizz the flour and salt together in a processor,chop the butter roughly and add to the bowl,processing for just a few seconds until you have a mixture resembling breadcrumbs.Beat the egg yolk and mix in the water,then add to the mix in the processor.Whizz for a further 20 seconds until the pastry dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball like shape.Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge before using.
Roll out the pastry and line a 20cm tart tin.Put it back in the fridge to rest then blind bake for about 10-15 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING
350g  (3/4 pound ) potatoes
450g(1lb) onions
50ml/ 3 tbsp oil 
25g(1oz) butter or margarine
15g (1/2 oz) fresh chopped parsley
100g(4oz) cheese grated 
2 garlic cloves crushed
15ml/1 tbsp milk (I used cream)
freshly ground pepper and Flor de sal to taste 
Roll out the pastry  and use to line six 10cm (4inch)* individual tins or foil dishes
Boil or steam the potatoes until tender,then mash and set aside
Chop the onions,then sauté in the oil until really soft but not browned
Combine the potatoes with the onions,add the butter, parsley,50g (2oz) cheese,garlic,milk or cream, and season to taste.
Cool the mixture then use to fill the pastry cases.
Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake in the oven at 220C/425F/gas mark 7 for 20 minutes until golden.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
*Alternatively,use to make one20cm(8inch) flan dish.