Three control knobs on a cooker probably doesn’t sound like very many to most people because, nowadays, in addition to hardly anyone ever saying nowadays, very few people own what’s known as a mini-kitchen, and those people who do are probably the same people who continue to unfurl the phrase nowadays. This domestic throwback comprises two electric rings, which are managed by the top and second control knobs, and an oven-grill, which is activated by the bottom control knob. Easy-peasy. I was informed when I first looked around the cottage that my culinary ambitions need not be in any way hampered by the diminutive dimensions of this appliance and naturally I believed my future landlady when she assured me she’d roasted whole legs of lamb in that oven for up to eleven people—however, I’d like to know where they all sat. I get the impression though that she prepared huge hearty spreads which were subsequently passed out through the window and taken off down the garden—I think outdoor feasting was the sort of thing that frequently went on here for a while.
