It’s not essential to have a machine/kettle (electric or otherwise) 
I’ve seen water being boiled in a small saucepan, on a gas hob. At least a couple of our village pals do that.
Easy enough to tell when it’s boiling 
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Brings to my mind the time in a Paris cafe when my friend and I asked for egg and bacon and it arrived perfectly cooked but in the original metal dish it had been fried in complete with all the oil in which it was swimming.
It was obviously not a mistake because the hot dish was served in a purpose made wooden one. 
Indeed it is not. Getting water to 100C does not require specialist kit. One could do it in a m/wave.
I have retired my kettle [as well as the Gaggia and burr grinder]. On the counter opposite the main hob I have a single induction hob and a very small 1l saucepan. I use that to boil water for tea, cous-cous and whatever else needs boiling water - a much bigger pan for pasta. The induction hob boils water far faster than the kettle.
Well, yes - if the teabag was in the water, still in the s/pan. That would be bizarre.
That sounds a good option. Trouble is, I never have stale bread about the place. I only have 2 or 4 slices wh/meal toast/day. I keep the loaf in the frz.
Anything else you can suggest?
Talking of horrors, I just cannot abide it when offered the natural fat from a roast chicken as “sauce”. To me its far better saved to do roast tatties in rather than pour over your dinner.
On our local Sunday market roast chicken seller (with potatoes and jue) they ran a bit low, the man then topped up the jue with a large bucket of Maggie powered mix. The queue vanished and folk were tutting as they walked away.
Can’t think of anything else that would be tasteless and dry/hard enough but also have enough residual softness to clean out the twirly grinder. Might be worth keeping a crust or two or you might get a bit of old pain de campagne from the bakers they will prob give you it if you explain.
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Good idea …
Re the wholemeal bread. It’s sold as ‘sandwich bread’ in the s/mkts - so called ‘complete’. I tried a different brand this week and it has so much sugar in it that it comes out of the toaster well nigh burned.
The FR don’t major on wh/meal, do they?
The lidl one is less sugary than elsewhere.
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Our boulangerie now do a fantastic sourdough. Not in the form of a baguette as some do, but an actual loaf . I get it sliced and keep it in the freezer and use a few slices per day.
Yes. I often get angry at being served tea with water which hasn’t nearly been boiled.