I love making bread. Like someone else commented, it is very therapeutic. I have a bread machine which I use constantly. I also do some breads by hand. I make white bread for my other half, spelt loaves or wholemeal for me using a variety of seeds or honey, molasses, bran, oats etc. I also make bread rolls, croissant, baguette, tortilla (which takes seconds by hand and is then used to make wraps, enchiladas or quesadillas). I also make Pide (Turkish bread), roti chani(paratha), flatbread, roti, puri, bhatura, chapatti, Irish soda bread, dried fruit soda, boxy (an Irish potato bread usually eaten at Halloween), St Vincent bakes, Scotch pancakes, crepes, scones, pizza base, ciabatta and focaccia. I like Matthews Cotswold flour which I get in Aldi when they have it or on Amazon. I bought from Shipton Mill during lockdown as I had very little white and wholemeal flour left. They were excellent, reasonably priced as well. I had been struggling to find flour and Amazon had doubled the price of the Matthews ones and I couldn't get through to Matthews directly. I buy 12-16 kg at a time usually of the flours I use the most. I currently have about 10 different types of flours I am using. We never buy bread any more and my other half finds homemade bread more filling so he eats less and is full quicker. Even the dog comes running when I slice a new loaf. He only gets a few crumbs but he loves it. I would love to go on a bread making or even a pastry course as I want to learn more. One bread I haven't mastered yet is naan bread. I am wondering about buying a pizza oven as I think a standard oven can't do it is well. Or maybe I just haven't found the right recipe yet.

wow stellahome, what a grand house and entrance! I'm intrigued! Do you have many original features left in the house? servant bells maybe? :) Post some pictures for us! I am very familiar with lassco, in fact I currently live 5 mins away from there, and pop in often, they have many wonderful items which really enhance an old house. Took a couple of more pictures today of the dresser, as even though it looks very worn, look at the dovetail joint details! They certainly don't make them like this anymore (unless you pay a hefty price for it!)

We have the same type of panelling in our hall and it was oak the same as yours with an oak floor. It just started to feel quite dark and drab but we hesitated to to do anything for fear of messing it up. In the end we painted all the panelling in Farrows French grey, left the doors and floors wood and painted the sides of our staircase and the spindles in Farrows clunch but left the newel posts and the bannister rail as wood - looks like a different hallway - I have never regretted painting it

Hi all guess what the bathroom still isn't finished but I put some accessories in it and it is already looking quite different. The photo doesn't do it justice it looks better in real life. It looks quite pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately I have bigger problems than how it looks. Do any plumbers know if this shower is access compliant? It has no cut-out or thermostat. You have to control the shower with the bath taps so there is a high risk of scalding. Considering this is a specialist company for mobility I find this pretty shocking. You can't shut off the water other than the taps. Also the temperature fluctuates as there is no thermostat. This is the pipework and electrics below does anyone know if this is legal? See how near the pipes are to the cables??? It seems a bit precarious to me. I am worried about the cables getting hot or wet. Thanks everyone for your support and wish you all a Happy Christmas.