EVENTS often conspire against me when I am pressed for time. On this occasion everything went smoothly. The Bakers Oven was quiet although many more customers appeared before I left.

The front part of the premises is a take-away selling sandwiches, cakes and cold drinks. But venture beyond and there is a self service area with ample tables catering for both smokers and those who don't.

I could only see one priced menu, wall mounted and above a table already occupied. It would have seemed rude to engage in a detailed scrutiny!

Heinz soup was clearly advertised. Cream of tomato or mushroom. The latter was my choice and this was produced steaming. Crutons were available together with a basket of rolls. I selected what turned out to be one of the lightest rolls I had eaten for a long time. Butter came in an individual wrapper.

In addition to the items that could be purchased in the take-away section, jacket potatoes were on offer with a variety of fillings. Prawns was one that caught my eye. Hot Italian snacks, otherwise known as paninis, came with chargrilled vegetables and mozzarella cheese or tuna melt.

A ham, cheese and tomato toastie would do me. This was offered on thick brown bread and proved to be both delicious and satisfying. That would suffice for this snack, with the bill coming to £4.15.

I also spotted an invitation to 'treat yourself to a scone, jam, butter with cappuccino' but with no price visible.

Service was quick. Specially cooked items were delivered to the tables which were cleared promptly when customers departed. From entering to leaving, my snack took no more than 15 minutes.

Updated: 08:40 Saturday, March 09, 2002