If you’re trying to sell a house there’s some advice that says you should brew coffee or make bread just before a viewing to create a favourable atmosphere (and nice smell).

What no one tells you about making bread is that the smell can also be a massive distraction.

You’ll know if you’re a regular reader that we have a breadmaker and bake our own bread in it. In fact we’ve just recently bought a new one to replace our old, much used and worn out machine.

This morning I put the breadmaker on, in order to bake a loaf, so that we could have some later on with the soup that I’m planning for dinner this evening, and also possibly a sneaky bread and jam treat for lunchtime.

It is however a massive distraction. Not because it’s a noisy machine, far from it. It’s the smell, the gorgeous aroma of bread baking in the kitchen, which happens to be right next to my office, where I am trying not to drown in my own saliva, and instead concentrate on work. The timer says that there is about 50 minutes left to go for this loaf before it’s ready, just in time for lunch. Before then however I have a phone call to make and things that I need to focus on.

Nothing like freshly baked bread to help focus the mind!