It has to be said, I’ve never really become accustomed to the luxury of fresh bread made only from wheat. It’s not that Shena and I don’t eat bread, but I suspect most comes from my patrons. Or rather from their cooks who will slip me the last third of a loaf with the comment, “It’ll toast well.”

You can buy rolled oats far more economically that flour so we will regularly start the day with porridge. Mind you, thanks to my less formal sources of bread, we rarely rely on the ‘porridge drawer.’
I first came across this institution when I was doing some temporary clerking work for Newdamp Chuffley. Old Newdamp had a foundry at the time, and whilst he ran a good foundry, his paperwork was a nightmare.

An order would come in and old Newdamp’s wife, Clovelly, would open the envelope, and put the order at…