This tread is rapidly becoming the antidote to TGBBO.
TGBBO is my feel good show of the week, I find it a genuine pleasure to watch. Then I come on here and read all the vitriol directed at Ruby and I'm reminded of what a nasty place the world really is.
Still, at least people have stopped posting how much they'd enjoy punching her face in. :mad:
I've actually worked with and been friends with peope like Ruby and in my experience they hold themselves to such a high/impossible standard that they always apologise in advance that they haven't been perfect in what they've done. Personally, I don't think its a attention seeking gimmick, just a genuine belief that she'd "failed" and let everyone down.
Didn't Ruby's Kanellbullar dough have chocolate in it? Its understandable that the baking process would turn them dark enough to look burnt, and maybe panic Ruby into thinking she'd burnt them - they clearly weren't though as the judges told her as much.
I was rooting for Kimberley to win, but I think just to be contrary I'll change to Ruby.
I agree with you and confess to being quite harsh on myself..I certainly don't put myself down to seek compliments..quite the reverse..I in fact find accepting compliments whether it be on my work,talent,clothes,hair..very embarrassing and awkard...so I can understand.
I'm going to throw it out there and say I thought Frances should have won star baker this week, and that's coming from a non-Frances fan (those bloody concepts *shakes fist angrily*).
Ruby, as always, annoyed me with her apologising before they'd tasted the dish. She just comes across as someone who flukes her way through. She is either extremely lucky with her bakes or she is using her 'tactics' to try and garner sympathy from Paul and Mary. In that respect she reminds me of this teenage girls who post selfies on Facebook and say 'I'm so ugly in this' and then sit back waiting for everyone to say 'ur not babez, ur stunning'. grrrr!
Not a surprise, really, as GBBO is essentially a ten-weekend marathon in knowledge, skill, palate, creativity, endurance and stamina. This type of competition weeds out good bakers who don't fare well under pressure, like Lucy and Deborah for instance - and generates the dreaded mid-series curse for the rest.
It usually hits the most promising contenders the hardest. They usually invest themselves in early challenges so much that they end up running on fumes half-way through a series. When it happens, it can affect their judgement and instincts, which will have them making basic mistakes or erratic decisions. They tend to recover during the last four or five episodes if they could survive the voting process that long. The mid-series curse is something I dread for my favourites in competitions like this one.
I mean it's happening to Christine and Kimberly. Christine is a solid baker, but she doesn't do well under pressure. She would be already gone if it wasn't for her decades' worth of knowledge and skills. Pressure is certainly eroding her instincts, judgement and energy. Fingers crossed that her bags of knowledge and skills will keep protecting her to the finals.
Kimberly's exhausted, so she's running on fumes. It's affecting her instincts and judgement, which unfortunately means she's now trapped in a circle (a.k.a. the mid-series curse), which had doomed other bakers from previous series. Mistakes she makes will attract criticisms, which will affect her confidence, and this will affect her performance that will in turn have her making more mistakes, which will attract criticisms, etc, She'll need to find a way to break out of that circle soon. She's gone if she still struggles in eighth or ninth episode as her amazing palate may not be enough to protect and carry her to the finals.
I think it affects Becca and Glenn as well, but both seem to be coping rather well. As in, they don't allow mistakes in previous challenges to affect their confidence and performance. Glenn's stamina is quite impressive as he's clearly overworked and exhausted. Anyway, self-doubt and limited knowledge/skills are their biggest enemy, which is probably why they rely on each other to see them through. Both are decent bakers, but Glenn's recipes, processes and techniques are far more interesting than Becca's own.
Francesca does well under pressure and her organisational skill is out of the world. Frankly, I would kill for her organisational skill. So, the chance of her burning out is almost at zero. She'll go far if she could sort out the flavour issue. In spite of Ruby's ridiculous fragile-rose persona, she is absolutely fine. She does get stressed, but absolutely no chance of her burning out. She's fine as long as she doesn't have to deal with extensive multi-tasking, anything savoury or cooking.
I think Frances is on the way up now and could well be a runner . I love watching Becca and her lack of adoration for Paul makes me smile and egg her on
Francesca has been a potential finalist since third or fourth episode. Out of all in the current group, she surprisingly has the most consistent track record in technical challenges.
To be honest, if Francesca does end up in the finale, she has a very good chance of beating Ruby, Christine and/or Kimberly because she seems to excel in extensive multi-tasking and being under pressure. She definitely will pull it off if she could resolve the flavour issue.
Whoa. A wall of text. Can you tell how much I love the GBBO?
This is going to be a long post, so I apologise in advance. Don't roll your eyes, you lot in the back.
1) The right person won SB. Last night Ruby was overall the best. Probably the best signature bake, the best technical challenge and I'd say top 3 show stoppers. Christine may have clearly won the showstopper, but she was 6/7 (there were only 7 left, right?) in signature and 4/7 in the technical. Not enough to give her another SB. I'm going to sound very pro Ruby as this goes on (which I indeed am), Christine is actually my personal favourite and the one I'm rooting for. Specially after seeing her and the doll.
2) The 3 best bakers are Christine, Ruby and Kimberley. However - I don't think Frances and Becca have shown us what they're actually capable of. Becca has a great bake in her, it's just not been shown as yet. Frances too - she's usually high up in the technical rounds.
3) Now, are we all experts of world cakes and bakes? Do we know if something is meant to be crunchy, or soft, or how it's meant to look? I'd take a fair bet to say that 90-95% of us have about as much clue as they all did when they got told they were making a courconne. I bake a lot, I read a lot of books, I had no clue about most of what they were baking last night (but then yeast puts the willies up me and I'm so scared of killing it that I just don't bake breads or enriched doughs). So if Paul and Mary say something is how it's meant to be, I'm inclined to go with them.
4) Conspiracy theories? Really? I mean, seriously, genuinely, REALLY? IT'S A BAKING SHOW. A BAKING SHOW. ABOUT CAKES. AND BISCUITS. AND BREADS. The person who wins will be the one who in the final challenge performs the best. Holly and Mary-Ann were better than Jo throughout the series, but Jo nailed the final bakes. Same with John last year. There is no conspiracy. Also - really? Suggestions of Paul showing photos so Ruby knew what it looked like when only Kimberley had ever seen what the bake should look like? Are we honestly there? COME ON.
5) I see a lot of people saying why are people feeling they have to defend Ruby. Based on what i've read on here, I think it's sometimes necessary that people are doing so, it makes me sad seeing some of the things I've read. And i'm going to do it again here, or more jus give my reason for why I have chosen to defend her in the past. I think based on what i've seen and read from Ruby, we've a very similar personality. I've very low self confidence. I question and doubt myself constantly. As an example, I made brownies this weekend using a new recipe. I thought they looked vile and tasted just as so. I apologised to the people I gave them to before they even opened the tin because I felt they were hideous. However, all I'm hearing is how good they are and how I didn't need to be apologising. Ruby isn't simpering, she's not manipulating, she's not playing a game. The only thing she's focused on is exactly what the others are focused on. Winning. They are after all in a baking competion. To enter it without the aim of winning is a pretty pointless and stressful exercise to put yourself through. Yes, her doubting herself is frustrating, but I get it because I would be exactly the same and I'd be at home hating how I was coming across and hating how people would be (wrongly) judging me based on something they're seeing on TV. Also to the person who said her defenders were obviously a little sensitive (I apologise that I can't remember your handle) - I'm defending a girl who I relate to and who I think personality wise is a lot like me. Maybe i'm ultimately defending myself, I'd be behaving exactly as she is, if I was in the show. Not that I would EVER subject myself to that. Lord almighty. You'd all have a field day with me haha
6) The right person (sadly) went. I adore Howard. But it was his time. The women seem to be of a much higher standard than last year, where the men were mad skillzed. But then I did want to bake with James and then wear matching fair isle knits, snuggling as we ate our bakes. Don't. I already know.
7) Paul. I think this was being filmed as he was being torn apart in the press for being a dirty old man. I think it's very obvious he was having a rough time of it outside of the tent. Deservedly so - it's not hard to work with a beautiful person and not jump into bed with them. But he is coming across not wonderfully well - as with Dani last year, he very clearly doesn't like Becca, I'm also pretty sure he was similar in attitude to Miranda in series 1 too. He's been with Hayden from MasterChef Australia (the blond surfer, who prolly should have gotten further) filming in South Africa. Will be interesting to see what.
Finally, I'm kinda drained by the constant negativity on this thread. It's no longer a fun place to comment on. Yes I know that's a precious thing of me to say. I just think we've lost sight of 2 key things. We see an hours worth of footage collected from about 5 cameras over a weekend. What we see is carefully manipulated by the editors - so the poster who said our argument is with them not the anti-Ruby-ers is probably making a very fair comment. Secondly (and prolly the most important thing) is - dudes - it's a light hearted baking show. Enjoy the show for what it is, not look for hidden conspiracies. It's just about finding the best baker and lovely people baking lovely things! Maybe I should have just lead with that and not bothered with the essay? This is why I do not blog. I wholeheartedly apologise for droning on and on and on and on and not really making any point whatsoever, and basically just being a longwinded old goat. I repeat. this is why I do not blog.
Oh and one last thing! I loved seeing the fun side of Kimberly last night when they showed the whole psych evaluation of the remaining contestants. We've not seen enough of her.
I'm going now, before you all throw me off. Sorry totes dreading posting this now. Here goes nothing. Please be nice to me. haha
Anyone who this Ruby has been harshly treated on DS should read the comments here. There are some quite nasty and untrue comments but it's Ruby who really shows herself up.
Edit: Bugger. When I say Francesca, I meant Frances. When you see Francesca, pretend you're reading it as Frances.
Not a surprise, really, as GBBO is essentially a ten-weekend marathon in knowledge, skill, palate, creativity, endurance and stamina. This type of competition weeds out good bakers who don't fare well under pressure, like Lucy and Deborah for instance - and generates the dreaded mid-series curse for the rest.
It usually hits the most promising contenders the hardest. They usually invest themselves in early challenges so much that they end up running on fumes half-way through a series. When it happens, it can affect their judgement and instincts, which will have them making basic mistakes or erratic decisions. They tend to recover during the last four or five episodes if they could survive the voting process that long. The mid-series curse is something I dread for my favourites in competitions like this one.
I mean it's happening to Christine and Kimberly. Christine is a solid baker, but she doesn't do well under pressure. She would be already gone if it wasn't for her decades' worth of knowledge and skills. Pressure is certainly eroding her instincts, judgement and energy. Fingers crossed that her bags of knowledge and skills will keep protecting her to the finals.
Kimberly's exhausted, so she's running on fumes. It's affecting her instincts and judgement, which unfortunately means she's now trapped in a circle (a.k.a. the mid-series curse), which had doomed other bakers from previous series. Mistakes she makes will attract criticisms, which will affect her confidence, and this will affect her performance that will in turn have her making more mistakes, which will attract criticisms, etc, She'll need to find a way to break out of that circle soon. She's gone if she still struggles in eighth or ninth episode as her amazing palate may not be enough to protect and carry her to the finals.
I think it affects Becca and Glenn as well, but both seem to be coping rather well. As in, they don't allow mistakes in previous challenges to affect their confidence and performance. Glenn's stamina is quite impressive as he's clearly overworked and exhausted. Anyway, self-doubt and limited knowledge/skills are their biggest enemy, which is probably why they rely on each other to see them through. Both are decent bakers, but Glenn's recipes, processes and techniques are far more interesting than Becca's own.
Francesca does well under pressure and her organisational skill is out of the world. Frankly, I would kill for her organisational skill. So, the chance of her burning out is almost at zero. She'll go far if she could sort out the flavour issue. In spite of Ruby's ridiculous fragile-rose persona, she is absolutely fine. She does get stressed, but absolutely no chance of her burning out. She's fine as long as she doesn't have to deal with extensive multi-tasking, anything savoury or cooking.
Francesca has been a potential finalist since third or fourth episode. Out of all in the current group, she surprisingly has the most consistent track record in technical challenges.
To be honest, if Francesca does end up in the finale, she has a very good chance of beating Ruby, Christine and/or Kimberly because she seems to excel in extensive multi-tasking and being under pressure. She definitely will pull it off if she could resolve the flavour issue.
Whoa. A wall of text. Can you tell how much I love the GBBO?
I may have beat you on the wall of text there
And like your points about Frances. When she's not all about the concept, she's bloody good! And consistent, based purely on technical rounds.
Going to add my voice to the "NOOO! HOWARD!!" chorus, I know he had an awful week but I adore him so I didn't want him to go. My poor adorable little snail... Mind you, I love Glenn as well so either way I would have been gutted. I doubt Glenn will last much longer either but he's so lovely!
I haven't been that fond of Beca up to now but she grew on me last night, she didn't mention her husband and his mates loving her bakes once and her attitude to Paul is great. I love her friendship with Glenn too.
I'm on the fence with Paul. He can be a bit arrogant and patronising to the bakers, and it annoys me immensely when he goes up to someone and says "I've got a better way of doing that but I'm not going to tell you what it is" and leaves them all worried and confused, but I love him when he's interacting with Mary, Mel and Sue (all of whom I absolutely LOVE, so maybe they rub off on him or something!).
I really like Ruby, and I was pleased when she won Star Baker again. I can see why people find the "oh I'm sorry, it's so bad" thing annoying, but I'm on the other side because I can relate. I have no confidence in anything and I'm always apologising for things I do and putting them/myself down. I'm just always convinced I've done badly and surprised if I've done well, and I do feel like if I've done something badly I should get in first and say "look, I know I've screwed it up, I'm sorry" rather than let people think it's going to be good and then be disappointed. Even if by some miracle something turns out OK to my eyes I still think "there must be something wrong with it somewhere". It's not an act to get compliments, it's just me and my total lack of confidence, and I can't imagine being any different with a camera on me. I get the same feeling from Ruby, but obviously I could be biased!
I really like Christine too. I didn't really notice her before pie week, but she was hilarious in that episode and since then she's been one of my favourites. I didn't much like Frances before but I felt really bad for her when her tower fell last week, and she didn't annoy me at all last night. I don't really feel much either way for Kimberley, she seems nice and talented but that's about it. She needs to feature more in the episodes!
Edit: rumtruffle posted while I was posting and said the Ruby thing (and everything else, but especially Ruby) far better than I did, great post!
I wanted to punch Paul Hollywood on the nose when they were talking about when to put the fruit in the dough. I was once a Paul lover but he's really grating on me this series. You can almost see his head and ego inflating with every passing moment.
(
But these are supposed to be the finest amateur bakers in Britain, shouldn't she know when to do something as basic as that?
Anyone who this Ruby has been harshly treated on DS should read the comments here. There are some quite nasty and untrue comments but it's Ruby who really shows herself up.
Ruby's 'vulnerable little girl' persona seems to upset women more than men........Innocent smiley.
haha i can relate to not being liked for that reason. But no, there have been plenty of men not liking her. I am indifferent to her, think shes a nice girl though her voice grates. I don't get the hate either though.
But these are supposed to be the finest amateur bakers in Britain, shouldn't she know when to do something as basic as that?
Knowing how to bake a tea loaf when you can leave it to prove for as long as it needs, and knowing how to bake one in three hours when every slight action is more critical, are two different things.
I've never even thought about trying to bake a bara brith, but I'm sure that Beca's recipe is capable of working fine with the fruit in first, given enough time - after all, Paul's comment was only "that was the best you could do with the prove that you had", not "you did it completely wrong, you put the fruit in too early, I'm not eating it"!
Going to add my voice to the "NOOO! HOWARD!!" chorus, I know he had an awful week but I adore him so I didn't want him to go. My poor adorable little snail... Mind you, I love Glenn as well so either way I would have been gutted. I doubt Glenn will last much longer either but he's so lovely!
I haven't been that fond of Beca up to now but she grew on me last night, she didn't mention her husband and his mates loving her bakes once and her attitude to Paul is great. I love her friendship with Glenn too.
I'm on the fence with Paul. He can be a bit arrogant and patronising to the bakers, and it annoys me immensely when he goes up to someone and says "I've got a better way of doing that but I'm not going to tell you what it is" and leaves them all worried and confused, but I love him when he's interacting with Mary, Mel and Sue (all of whom I absolutely LOVE, so maybe they rub off on him or something!).
I really like Ruby, and I was pleased when she won Star Baker again. I can see why people find the "oh I'm sorry, it's so bad" thing annoying, but I'm on the other side because I can relate. I have no confidence in anything and I'm always apologising for things I do and putting them/myself down. I'm just always convinced I've done badly and surprised if I've done well, and I do feel like if I've done something badly I should get in first and say "look, I know I've screwed it up, I'm sorry" rather than let people think it's going to be good and then be disappointed. Even if by some miracle something turns out OK to my eyes I still think "there must be something wrong with it somewhere". It's not an act to get compliments, it's just me and my total lack of confidence, and I can't imagine being any different with a camera on me. I get the same feeling from Ruby, but obviously I could be biased!
I really like Christine too. I didn't really notice her before pie week, but she was hilarious in that episode and since then she's been one of my favourites. I didn't much like Frances before but I felt really bad for her when her tower fell last week, and she didn't annoy me at all last night. I don't really feel much either way for Kimberley, she seems nice and talented but that's about it. She needs to feature more in the episodes!
Edit: rumtruffle posted while I was posting and said the Ruby thing (and everything else, but especially Ruby) far better than I did, great post!
Thanks
Can I ask everyone a potentially stupid question about hemp? I know it's the legal side of weed, but does it have the same effect as it's illegal side? Part of me did want to see Mary get the major munchies...
Can I ask everyone a potentially stupid question about hemp? I know it's the legal side of weed, but does it have the same effect as it's illegal side? Part of me did want to see Mary get the major munchies...
no it doesn't....although there was a field of hemp being grown a while back by a motorway (a government project i believe) and people were stopping and filling bin liners with it in the vague hope .....:D
What puzzles me a little is the fact that they often have one set of cakes a little underdone or overdone in the same oven .Is it not a state of the art new oven with a fan ? Would that not eliminate the difference in temp top or bottom .?
no it doesn't....although there was a field of hemp being grown a while back by a motorway (a government project i believe) and people were stopping and filling bin liners with it in the vague hope .....:D
Does it taste like cannibis? I've seen hemp products in shops, but I've never seen hemp flour or the likes for sale?
I can understand the lack of confidence, I'm like it myself but you surely have to have a certain degree of confidence in your abilities to put yourself forward for GBBO in the first place?
I think Ruby is trying to pre-empt Paul & Mary's feedback so that she doesn't look stupid but to me she just makes herself look like she is winging her way through it! How many times now has she said that she either hasn't prepared or it went completely wrong when she had practiced or she apologises for the food she produces?
Oh, and I find the 'jealousy' comments lazy; you can have negative opinions on someone regardless of how they look. I would feel the same way about Ruby if she looked like a gargoyle.
But these are supposed to be the finest amateur bakers in Britain, shouldn't she know when to do something as basic as that?
She was only asking his opinion but he rolled out his 'I know better' attitude. Her Bara Brith turned out ok anyway so it goes to show his ideas and techniques aren't always better than the bakers'.
What puzzles me a little is the fact that they often have one set of cakes a little underdone or overdone in the same oven .Is it not a state of the art new oven with a fan ? Would that not eliminate the difference in temp top or bottom .?
It's rare to find a perfect oven, first rule of baking is know your oven.
Which is why it is difficult for them, what cooked perfectly at home, might burn or be under cooked in the tent.
Also the drafts and temperature changes in that tent cannot help when it comes to making bread.
I can understand the lack of confidence, I'm like it myself but you surely have to have a certain degree of confidence in your abilities to put yourself forward for GBBO in the first place?
I think Ruby is trying to pre-empt Paul & Mary's feedback so that she doesn't look stupid but to me she just makes herself look like she is winging her way through it! How many times now has she said that she either hasn't prepared or it went completely wrong when she had practiced or she apologises for the food she produces?
Oh, and I find the 'jealousy' comments lazy; you can have negative opinions on someone regardless of how they look. I would feel the same way about Ruby if she looked like a gargoyle.
She has good looks and she's a good baker. However, after last night she's started to get on my nerves. Now I find myself agreeing with your comments. Seeing her comments on Twitter makes me think she's also ultra-defensive and rude and the little girl act the prog act is just that, an act. But now Mary has told her to stop that, l am willing to see if she can 'man up'!
Comments
I agree with you and confess to being quite harsh on myself..I certainly don't put myself down to seek compliments..quite the reverse..I in fact find accepting compliments whether it be on my work,talent,clothes,hair..very embarrassing and awkard...so I can understand.
*applauds* This in a nutshell.
Not a surprise, really, as GBBO is essentially a ten-weekend marathon in knowledge, skill, palate, creativity, endurance and stamina. This type of competition weeds out good bakers who don't fare well under pressure, like Lucy and Deborah for instance - and generates the dreaded mid-series curse for the rest.
It usually hits the most promising contenders the hardest. They usually invest themselves in early challenges so much that they end up running on fumes half-way through a series. When it happens, it can affect their judgement and instincts, which will have them making basic mistakes or erratic decisions. They tend to recover during the last four or five episodes if they could survive the voting process that long. The mid-series curse is something I dread for my favourites in competitions like this one.
I mean it's happening to Christine and Kimberly. Christine is a solid baker, but she doesn't do well under pressure. She would be already gone if it wasn't for her decades' worth of knowledge and skills. Pressure is certainly eroding her instincts, judgement and energy. Fingers crossed that her bags of knowledge and skills will keep protecting her to the finals.
Kimberly's exhausted, so she's running on fumes. It's affecting her instincts and judgement, which unfortunately means she's now trapped in a circle (a.k.a. the mid-series curse), which had doomed other bakers from previous series. Mistakes she makes will attract criticisms, which will affect her confidence, and this will affect her performance that will in turn have her making more mistakes, which will attract criticisms, etc, She'll need to find a way to break out of that circle soon. She's gone if she still struggles in eighth or ninth episode as her amazing palate may not be enough to protect and carry her to the finals.
I think it affects Becca and Glenn as well, but both seem to be coping rather well. As in, they don't allow mistakes in previous challenges to affect their confidence and performance. Glenn's stamina is quite impressive as he's clearly overworked and exhausted. Anyway, self-doubt and limited knowledge/skills are their biggest enemy, which is probably why they rely on each other to see them through. Both are decent bakers, but Glenn's recipes, processes and techniques are far more interesting than Becca's own.
Francesca does well under pressure and her organisational skill is out of the world. Frankly, I would kill for her organisational skill. So, the chance of her burning out is almost at zero. She'll go far if she could sort out the flavour issue. In spite of Ruby's ridiculous fragile-rose persona, she is absolutely fine. She does get stressed, but absolutely no chance of her burning out. She's fine as long as she doesn't have to deal with extensive multi-tasking, anything savoury or cooking.
Francesca has been a potential finalist since third or fourth episode. Out of all in the current group, she surprisingly has the most consistent track record in technical challenges.
To be honest, if Francesca does end up in the finale, she has a very good chance of beating Ruby, Christine and/or Kimberly because she seems to excel in extensive multi-tasking and being under pressure. She definitely will pull it off if she could resolve the flavour issue.
Whoa. A wall of text. Can you tell how much I love the GBBO?
1) The right person won SB. Last night Ruby was overall the best. Probably the best signature bake, the best technical challenge and I'd say top 3 show stoppers. Christine may have clearly won the showstopper, but she was 6/7 (there were only 7 left, right?) in signature and 4/7 in the technical. Not enough to give her another SB. I'm going to sound very pro Ruby as this goes on (which I indeed am), Christine is actually my personal favourite and the one I'm rooting for. Specially after seeing her and the doll.
2) The 3 best bakers are Christine, Ruby and Kimberley. However - I don't think Frances and Becca have shown us what they're actually capable of. Becca has a great bake in her, it's just not been shown as yet. Frances too - she's usually high up in the technical rounds.
3) Now, are we all experts of world cakes and bakes? Do we know if something is meant to be crunchy, or soft, or how it's meant to look? I'd take a fair bet to say that 90-95% of us have about as much clue as they all did when they got told they were making a courconne. I bake a lot, I read a lot of books, I had no clue about most of what they were baking last night (but then yeast puts the willies up me and I'm so scared of killing it that I just don't bake breads or enriched doughs). So if Paul and Mary say something is how it's meant to be, I'm inclined to go with them.
4) Conspiracy theories? Really? I mean, seriously, genuinely, REALLY? IT'S A BAKING SHOW. A BAKING SHOW. ABOUT CAKES. AND BISCUITS. AND BREADS. The person who wins will be the one who in the final challenge performs the best. Holly and Mary-Ann were better than Jo throughout the series, but Jo nailed the final bakes. Same with John last year. There is no conspiracy. Also - really? Suggestions of Paul showing photos so Ruby knew what it looked like when only Kimberley had ever seen what the bake should look like? Are we honestly there? COME ON.
5) I see a lot of people saying why are people feeling they have to defend Ruby. Based on what i've read on here, I think it's sometimes necessary that people are doing so, it makes me sad seeing some of the things I've read. And i'm going to do it again here, or more jus give my reason for why I have chosen to defend her in the past. I think based on what i've seen and read from Ruby, we've a very similar personality. I've very low self confidence. I question and doubt myself constantly. As an example, I made brownies this weekend using a new recipe. I thought they looked vile and tasted just as so. I apologised to the people I gave them to before they even opened the tin because I felt they were hideous. However, all I'm hearing is how good they are and how I didn't need to be apologising. Ruby isn't simpering, she's not manipulating, she's not playing a game. The only thing she's focused on is exactly what the others are focused on. Winning. They are after all in a baking competion. To enter it without the aim of winning is a pretty pointless and stressful exercise to put yourself through. Yes, her doubting herself is frustrating, but I get it because I would be exactly the same and I'd be at home hating how I was coming across and hating how people would be (wrongly) judging me based on something they're seeing on TV. Also to the person who said her defenders were obviously a little sensitive (I apologise that I can't remember your handle) - I'm defending a girl who I relate to and who I think personality wise is a lot like me. Maybe i'm ultimately defending myself, I'd be behaving exactly as she is, if I was in the show. Not that I would EVER subject myself to that. Lord almighty. You'd all have a field day with me haha
6) The right person (sadly) went. I adore Howard. But it was his time. The women seem to be of a much higher standard than last year, where the men were mad skillzed. But then I did want to bake with James and then wear matching fair isle knits, snuggling as we ate our bakes. Don't. I already know.
7) Paul. I think this was being filmed as he was being torn apart in the press for being a dirty old man. I think it's very obvious he was having a rough time of it outside of the tent. Deservedly so - it's not hard to work with a beautiful person and not jump into bed with them. But he is coming across not wonderfully well - as with Dani last year, he very clearly doesn't like Becca, I'm also pretty sure he was similar in attitude to Miranda in series 1 too. He's been with Hayden from MasterChef Australia (the blond surfer, who prolly should have gotten further) filming in South Africa. Will be interesting to see what.
Finally, I'm kinda drained by the constant negativity on this thread. It's no longer a fun place to comment on. Yes I know that's a precious thing of me to say. I just think we've lost sight of 2 key things. We see an hours worth of footage collected from about 5 cameras over a weekend. What we see is carefully manipulated by the editors - so the poster who said our argument is with them not the anti-Ruby-ers is probably making a very fair comment. Secondly (and prolly the most important thing) is - dudes - it's a light hearted baking show. Enjoy the show for what it is, not look for hidden conspiracies. It's just about finding the best baker and lovely people baking lovely things! Maybe I should have just lead with that and not bothered with the essay? This is why I do not blog. I wholeheartedly apologise for droning on and on and on and on and not really making any point whatsoever, and basically just being a longwinded old goat. I repeat. this is why I do not blog.
Oh and one last thing! I loved seeing the fun side of Kimberly last night when they showed the whole psych evaluation of the remaining contestants. We've not seen enough of her.
I'm going now, before you all throw me off. Sorry
http://uk.omg.yahoo.com/gossip/the-juice/great-british-bake-off-ruby-tandoh-true-colours-critic-bitter-old-witch-twitter-feud-deletes-recipes-blog-095806308.html
PS Just read her tweets. Ruby has quite a hard, harsh 'gob' on her that you just don't see on the programme.
I may have beat you on the wall of text there
And like your points about Frances. When she's not all about the concept, she's bloody good! And consistent, based purely on technical rounds.
I like her goofy smile!
I haven't been that fond of Beca up to now but she grew on me last night, she didn't mention her husband and his mates loving her bakes once and her attitude to Paul is great. I love her friendship with Glenn too.
I'm on the fence with Paul. He can be a bit arrogant and patronising to the bakers, and it annoys me immensely when he goes up to someone and says "I've got a better way of doing that but I'm not going to tell you what it is" and leaves them all worried and confused, but I love him when he's interacting with Mary, Mel and Sue (all of whom I absolutely LOVE, so maybe they rub off on him or something!).
I really like Ruby, and I was pleased when she won Star Baker again. I can see why people find the "oh I'm sorry, it's so bad" thing annoying, but I'm on the other side because I can relate. I have no confidence in anything and I'm always apologising for things I do and putting them/myself down. I'm just always convinced I've done badly and surprised if I've done well, and I do feel like if I've done something badly I should get in first and say "look, I know I've screwed it up, I'm sorry" rather than let people think it's going to be good and then be disappointed. Even if by some miracle something turns out OK to my eyes I still think "there must be something wrong with it somewhere". It's not an act to get compliments, it's just me and my total lack of confidence, and I can't imagine being any different with a camera on me. I get the same feeling from Ruby, but obviously I could be biased!
I really like Christine too. I didn't really notice her before pie week, but she was hilarious in that episode and since then she's been one of my favourites. I didn't much like Frances before but I felt really bad for her when her tower fell last week, and she didn't annoy me at all last night. I don't really feel much either way for Kimberley, she seems nice and talented but that's about it. She needs to feature more in the episodes!
Edit: rumtruffle posted while I was posting and said the Ruby thing (and everything else, but especially Ruby) far better than I did, great post!
But these are supposed to be the finest amateur bakers in Britain, shouldn't she know when to do something as basic as that?
nothing wrong with a feisty girl who can stick up for herself. Lol
haha i can relate to not being liked for that reason. But no, there have been plenty of men not liking her. I am indifferent to her, think shes a nice girl though her voice grates. I don't get the hate either though.
Knowing how to bake a tea loaf when you can leave it to prove for as long as it needs, and knowing how to bake one in three hours when every slight action is more critical, are two different things.
I've never even thought about trying to bake a bara brith, but I'm sure that Beca's recipe is capable of working fine with the fruit in first, given enough time - after all, Paul's comment was only "that was the best you could do with the prove that you had", not "you did it completely wrong, you put the fruit in too early, I'm not eating it"!
Thanks
Can I ask everyone a potentially stupid question about hemp? I know it's the legal side of weed, but does it have the same effect as it's illegal side? Part of me did want to see Mary get the major munchies...
no it doesn't....although there was a field of hemp being grown a while back by a motorway (a government project i believe) and people were stopping and filling bin liners with it in the vague hope .....:D
Does it taste like cannibis? I've seen hemp products in shops, but I've never seen hemp flour or the likes for sale?
I think Ruby is trying to pre-empt Paul & Mary's feedback so that she doesn't look stupid but to me she just makes herself look like she is winging her way through it! How many times now has she said that she either hasn't prepared or it went completely wrong when she had practiced or she apologises for the food she produces?
Oh, and I find the 'jealousy' comments lazy; you can have negative opinions on someone regardless of how they look. I would feel the same way about Ruby if she looked like a gargoyle.
What a lazy argument for not being enamoured by someone .
Extremely weak point of view imo, more suited to the BB or the X Factor boards where teens frequent.
So why isn't sh fiesty and stick up for herself on GBBO then? :rolleyes: LOL.
It's rare to find a perfect oven, first rule of baking is know your oven.
Which is why it is difficult for them, what cooked perfectly at home, might burn or be under cooked in the tent.
Also the drafts and temperature changes in that tent cannot help when it comes to making bread.
She has good looks and she's a good baker. However, after last night she's started to get on my nerves. Now I find myself agreeing with your comments. Seeing her comments on Twitter makes me think she's also ultra-defensive and rude and the little girl act the prog act is just that, an act. But now Mary has told her to stop that, l am willing to see if she can 'man up'!