Spaghetti Construction and Cups of Tea

Saturday was another day of snow flurries, signifying nothing, so off we went to Lye in Stourbridge for the next instalment of the MSM course we have been following since September.  Sure enough, it was another very interesting and thought-provoking day.

During one exercise we were challenged to work in teams to see who could build the tallest structure with just marshmallows and spaghetti. Let me tell you this is not as easy as it sounds! Here are some of the things that we discovered.
1.   Spaghetti breaks very easily, even when used in groups of strands.
2.  Marshmallows are light until you try and build with them. Then they become heavy.
3. Think beyond the plate. Just because you are given a plate, does not mean that you should be constrained by it.
4. You cannot have too much crossbracing.
5. You will probably need to shorten some struts, but working out how short they need to be, can only be discovered by trial and error.
6. Using spaghetti strands in threes maybe doctrinally sound, but will not guarantee success.
7. If you build with your marshmallows straight on the table, you will need to clean your table before you can use it for anything else.
8. The nearer marshmallows are to the radiator, the softer they become and the less stable your construction will be.
9. Experience is invaluable.
10. All structures will fall over. This will begin with a graceful lean and it is all downhill from there. If you want to win, plan for your structure to still be standing at the time of judgement.
11. The exercise is more interesting than the outcome.
12. If the tower leans, add even more crossbracing.
Meanwhile, the marshmallows and spaghetti carnage was donated to some unlucky hens.
Outside the snow was almost continuous, but nothing was settling.

Later on, one of the leaders was trying to encourage us.
Leader "I should think all of you can drive a car." 
Everyone else nods.
I shake my head.
Leader "At least you can bake a cake!"
Everyone laughs.
I shake my head.
Leader, confidently, "At least you can make a cup of tea!"
DH "She doesn't drink tea!"
Leader "Well coffee then!"
DH "I make that!"
Leader, despairingly "Can you do anything?"
Meanwhile, the snow continued to fall.






It was all good-humoured banter, but highlighted how easily we put people in boxes. I was a female, therefore I MUST be able to bake cakes and make cups of tea. Afterwards, he thanked me for playing along. Little did he know that I can seamlessly weave a request for coffee into any conversation. I also must admit that DH does make most of the drinks at home, as his coffee is usually better than mine. We attribute this to the fact that he has a more scientific approach, measuring the ingredients, whereas I use the 'bung some in' approach, with variable results. My favourite way of making coffee, which DH detests, is the cheat latte, made by shaking a near-empty milk container, vigorously, adding some and topping up with hot water. This can produce a drink that is in part fridge temperature, and part close to boiling, so prudence has to be exercised during the drinking process. It is also important to check the top if firmly on the milk carton before commencing shaking unless you wish to create a rather dramatic fountain effect.

The leaders wisely shortened the time allowed for lunch, in case the weather deteriorated further. We were home by 4pm, and then we went food shopping. It looks as if poor DH is gluten intolerant in addition to irritating wife intolerant, so we stocked up with goodies in the 'free-from' section - a part of the store we had not really taken any notice of before. Biscuits, cereal, may0 and bread flour were all purchased. Oddly, we didn't buy any spaghetti...