The oatcake lives on

When oatcake shops disappear, then we shall really know that an era has finished. For now though, there are a few left in Staffordshire.

The traditional Staffordshire-oatcake is a savoury pancake style wrap for grilled bacon & cheese. The oatcakes (without fillings) are made at specific shops, which are usually open only Thursday to Sunday morning, working through the night to supply demand.

The humble oatcake has sustained many a local working-class diet for hundreds of years. One can imagine workers - many of them women - pouring out of this adjacent old textile factory in Leek, and picking up the fresh oatcakes on their way home.
And, they must be eaten fresh. They are fairly horrible even a day later.