US markets drop in reaction to Tech Giant Problems and China's Trump-Tarif Retaliation. Hot Cross Buns.

Giant mutated Hot Cross Buns

President Trumps comments on Amazon, the Cambridge Analytica impact on Facebook and todays retaliation by China for the US tariffs on steel and aluminium, they all contributed to a 3% drop in the US stock market. Again, it is the insecurity about how the president will react next that seems to give markets and politics the jitters. From my perspective, the two global economic giants will no doubt continue to jostle each other for power and influence economically. It makes the EU appear a sane third major giant on the economic world stage. I have doubts about the real power that the UK might have in negotiating on its own with, with the one partner we are supposed to deal with being unpredictable in his actions, other than putting America first. 

Domestically, the issue of the new Blue UK passports being produced by French-Dutch firm Gemalto is rippling through the news, with the existing UK contractor, De La Rue, planning to formally launch an appeal in court.

Over Easter, I had two projects of interest, the first being the microscopy of mouth cells and the second being  making Hot Cross Buns. Though these are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, they appear to be available commercially from just after Christmas onwards. Depending on the source on the internet, bread buns with a cross may have already been baked by the ancient Greeks and by pagan Saxons to celebrate the beginning of Spring. They became associated with Christianity by the Tudor period, when their sale was prohibited at times other than burials, Good Friday and Christmas  by the London Clerk of Markets. Wikipedia states that there are superstitions associated with the hot cross bun; take one on a sea journey and you will be protected against shipwreck, for example.

I had a go using a simple Tesco recipe, but substituting some of Jane's excellent three fruit marmalade for orange rind and reducing all ingredient proportions to match those for 200 g flour instead of the full 500 g. This should have been enough for four buns. Room temperature being around 19 degrees Centrigrade, I left the rolls to rise for quite a number of hours to double in size. The cross of flour, sugar and water paste was decoratively added just before the buns entered the oven. During baking the buns fused to form one gigantic mutant bun with only hints of quarters, the crosses almost disappeared into indistinguishable blobs. The crusts were a bit chewy, but otherwise they were OK, with two to be eaten tomorrow.

Watched the first episode of Westworld Series 1 this evening. A slow burn but disturbing enough to want a bit of distraction after watching it and before going to bed.