talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

Once again I've missed a food/holiday tie-in; specifically, eating pancakes on shrove tuesday (which was a few days ago, for those of you whose calendars don't reflect these historical/religious bits of data). Leeds University's page for international students helpfully notes that "..Shrove Tuesday...is the day before Lent starts. Shrove is an old English word meaning "forgiven for the things you have done wrong." Traditionally all the perishable foods must be eaten and cleared out of the house this day. It is also known as Pancake Day when Pancakes are eaten to clear out supplies of rich foods. The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday. This is not because of the burnt pancakes the day before..."

It might be bending the rules to enjoy Pancake Day without engaging in a Lenten fast, but I would be willing to risk the consequences.

Despite criticism of British cooking, they certainly invest some time and energy in preparing for their Pancake Day, even devoting academic resources to perfecting the pancake flip:

Pancake Physics to Cut Batter Splatter and Velocity Vital in Pancake Tossing.

Of special interest to me: the articles are discussing crêpes, my preferred form of pancake.

I think it could only improve the current state of affairs if we all enjoyed pancakes instead of providing fodder for yet another volume of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series. (If you haven't seen the television advertisements, count yourself lucky. And no, I have not provided any fodder for the aforementioned video series, and wouldn't, even if pancakes were involved.)