17th December 2022

Who remembers vol-au-vents? I don't think I've seen one in the wild for about 10 years. It used to be you couldn't move for vol-au-vents and quiche at self-catered Christian weddings.

This thought was prompted by a display screen at Joe La Frite, a Belgian chip shop on the outskirts of Brussels.

£12 for a vol-au-vent.

Even Iceland do 2 for a fiver:

Sarah claims that I'm using the incorrect plural form of vol-au-vent. She says it's "vols-au-vent" like courts martial and attorneys general. Peversely I'm going to claim it's "vol-aux-vents" with a pluralised conjunction. Some websites say the plural form is the same as the singular, like sheep. What do you think?

PS a review of this website by a 94-year-old claimed that it was "thought-provoking". I hope today's entry continues to live up to this reputation.

Comments

Pearson Textbook Corrections

This page has moved to a Google Doc (so much easier to edit): https://b.link/mathstextbook

Advent Calendar 2025

1st December 2025

Hello! We've sort of lost count, but think the first Advent Calendar was back in 2003, the Internet Archive Wayback Machine says it looked like this: Of course all the links are dead, but the thing it has in common with this year's is that it is still coded in HTML, probably the last thing I will ever rely on coding for. Now it looks like this: Happy Advent! We have gone for the Bonne Maman JAM Calendar again this year, after leaving it too late last year and it selling out at both Fenwick and Selfridges! We get a fresh pot of jam every day to enjoy with our tartines and Ovomaltines. We also have the Domino's "Merry Crustmas" leaflet, and a MUJI calendar we'll show you later in the month. Do let us know what you are opening every day! You can leave a message below, or email us your ideas and suggestions for future days at robotmaths@outlook.com Have a great day!

The Laboratory

Search This Blog