I've been on the market again! (Does that sound wrong, like I'm newly single and looking for love -  I mean my market stall of course). This time it was baking hot so we went with slightly heavy hearts thinking that it was not exactly cake weather. It was a slow start and I sat (with boyfriend Matt) trying to look cheery as people walked straight past the stall without even looking boo hoo. But things gradually picked up as town got busier and we still managed to sell 60 cupcakes and 1 big cake hooray.. The worst problem was the wasps which meant that we had to cover the cakes with a huge net type arrangement meaning noone could see the cakes aargh. So we took it off and spent the day swatting them with a tea towel and coaxing them into a jar of honey. 

I just love the atmosphere of being on the market. Brigitte - my neighbour stall holder and I - kept the divider between us down so that we could see each other and consequently chat all day. And her resistance to my cakes proved futile as she bought one for herself, husband and daughter..

I've also been on a cupcake decorating course with Michelle from the Lavender Bakery. It was fabulous! We went for a day out first and I dragged partner and youngest daughter to Jane Asher's cake shop (we got sprinkles and beautiful gold ballet dancers for putting on top of the cakes) and then walked around South Ken. It is without doubt the poshest and richest place I have ever walked around. We looked in the estate windows - houses at £6 and a half mill eek - and went into a shop selling little things for children's rooms. A cushion with a punk design on, roughly the size of an A4 piece of paper, was £135!! We slunk out trying to look as if we had enough money but were not in the market for sex pistol memorabilia. Anyway, then I set off to Islington the Make Lounge and partner and daughter met a friend in a cafe. 

The course was great. There was wine, tea and coffee - as you can imagine with a room full of women of a certain age no-one chose tea or coffee, we all knocked back the Pinot G - and just a lovely friendly atmosphere. We started by making piping bags - I was hopeless and used the ones Michelle had rolled on her way in the cab! Then we practised piping and finally were let loose on 7 cupcakes each and used her delicious meringue buttercream icing to cover them and then piped on our own designs in thinned down royal icing. I wrote the children's names and then did some hearts. I'd cut the hole at the top of the piping too big so my writing came out wavy and wrong so I kept it quiet that I actually had my own (little) business selling cakes. 

With part of teeny profit I've bought a swimming costume to try and remove a little of the cupcake blubber that I'm now carrying. It's orange and brown which I thought would detract the eye from the body inside :)