That WSJ article made me laugh - I too cried when I accidentally left my starter out of the fridge, hidden behind a canister on the counter, and found it dead a couple of weeks later. I've started a new one now, which is even better than the first one (changed it from a white starter to a rye).

A community bakery would be a-ma-zing. There really isn't anywhere decent around here to buy bread, unless you make a trip to Dulwich. And too many people don't realise how many nasties are in the bread (if you can call it bread) products from the supermarkets.