I don’t usually bake; neither does my husband. But we have been trying out a number of recipes during the last three months. He has made lemon drizzle cakes and Victoria sponges, while I have been going for cookies, flapjacks, crumbles and a banana loaf.

Today I made brownies using the simplest possible recipe. Combine 400 g Nutella with 3 beaten eggs until smooth, then stir in 115g flour (it said plain but I only had self-raising in the cupboard). Line a 20cm square cake tin, dollop it all in and smooth the top, then bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

Talking of flour, it has, of course, been a challenge to find some. It seems every time I order it from a supermarket it is magically unavailable on the day the order is delivered. My neighbour kindly found a packet one day for us. The brownies have now used the very last of our supply.

I do want to make some scones this week. We have some clotted cream in the fridge, and strawberry jam, so scones are a must.

It’s rather strange that the flour shortage is still with us. I expected it to settle down after the first chaotic weeks of food shopping. After all, I imagine we are all consuming just as much flour in baked products as we always did – the difference being that we are baking at home rather than buying out. So the flour is out there somewhere.

One good source is a wholesaler to the bakery industry. I have found one that delivers round here, and we could get a 16kg bag for £12.99 if we wanted. But they charge delivery for orders under £35, which is an awful lot of flour. It might make sense to join forces with friends and neighbours to order from them.

Wherever you buy it, the suppliers do seem to have hiked their prices during the period of high demand, although prices now appear to be falling again.

We finally found flour on Amazon so have ordered from them. We subscribe to Amazon Prime so there is no delivery charge but the cost is around double that quoted by the supermarkets, when they have it.

Please note

We have been in full self-isolation since 16th March to protect my husband whose immune system is compromised.

If you are in self-isolation then join the Lib Dems in self-isolation Facebook group.

You can find my previous Isolation diaries here.

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.