I have a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, the kind with the tilting head, with a boxful of accessories — wire whisk, dough hook, the lot. The only thing I have used it for since Edmund died is Christmas fruitcake, which is more efficiently made with a sturdy wooden spoon in a jeezly great stainless-steel bread bowl. I think I should sell it, or maybe donate it to a charity silent auction or raffle, as it’s in perfect condition and new ones cost a bomb.

An old-fashioned hand mixer, the kind that fits in a kitchen drawer, would be more suitable to my very occasional ventures into meringue and whipped cream country. I ‘m sure I can find one at Goodwill.