Ashen

– So I had a go at making pancakes last night.
– Pancakes?
– Shrove Tuesday. It's a traditional thing. Other nations celebrate with exotic carnivals and extravagant feasting, while all we can manage is a plate of tepid pancakes.
– Of course. Maybe the idea is to feast extravagantly on pancakes.
– I did my best. But I always find there is a limit to how many you can cope with at one sitting. Especially when the first few don't turn out quite right.
– How do you mean?
– Well, there is a knack to getting the batter just right. And the temperature of the frying pan. And the amount of batter you add. And – well, you get my point. It is only by trial and error that you get to the perfect pancake.
– And last night there were a lot of trials and a lot of errors?
– Unfortunately. But at least nobody was permanently harmed.
– Well, that's good, isn't it?
– It's an improvement on last year, at any rate. Although we did omit the pancake race this time. On the advice of the police.