Thanks, he is much lower maintenance than I expected. Yeah, I'm not sure that I would have it for sandwiches either, mainly because I haven't managed to make a loaf that was really soft on the inside yet.

I saw something on the Martha Stewart show the other day (I don't normally watch it), and there was a Patisserie who had a George that was 42 years old apparently. Not a bad effort! It was older than he was! I think his kitchen staff maintain it for him though, and talks about having to feed it every four hours! He gave a recipe for traditional Panettone, and made the starter with pureed apple and sparking mineral water, then added flour later. (Every four hours forever!)