As I said, I make bread every week and, again, there’s no waste any more, because we slice and freeze it and then take out what we need. If I have a white loaf for some reason, I will whizz it up in the food processor and freeze it in a bag, but the everyday bread I make has seeds in it and isn’t ideal for that. And it’s too good (albeit much cheaper than comparable shop bread) to waste on the chickens. Tim has an electric slicer, which is very useful.

One of the things I use the breadcrumbs for is a topping for fish. A handful of breadcrumbs, a crushed clove of garlic, some parsley or other herb, some lemon and olive oil all mixed together and spread on a piece of fish, which is then baked, is about the easiest meal I can do. It can also be grilled, with care. The fish is protected by the topping, so doesn’t dry out and you don’t need potatoes, only a salad or green vegetables. The fishmonger calls on a Monday and we always seem to have leftovers because neither of us has a big appetite. Skins and bones go to the chickens (it’s surprising what they can peck to pieces, there’s never much left) but the remains of the fish that we can’t eat go into the fridge for another day. It will make fishcakes, a risotto or a pie, with the judicious addition of other suitable ingredients. “Free food,” we say joyously, whenever I make a second meal out of the main ingredient of one. Always remove the skin while the fish is still warm or it sticks like glue

We actually went shopping today. I’ve been letting the local food shops have my order and then gone in to fetch it, but we decided to have an outing to one of the farm shops. This particular one has only been going for about three years. The owners have a small herd of Jersey cows and they leave the calves with their mothers and only take the surplus milk, which they sell unpasteurised. Gradually, they branched out into cheese and various meats and opened a shop and a cafe, both of which were very good. Of course, the cafe is closed, though they do a few takeaway dishes. Anyway, we bought flour, yeast, meat and a few other things, so we probably won’t need anything more this week. i always use the instant yeast and this is traditional dried yeast, so I’ll have to look up quantities.