An antidote to the instant (online) answer. The twice daily walk past an early 18th century pub. Speculating beyond the listed historic features of ‘original oak beams, fireplaces and a wall mural’. The underworld. A cellar housing metal kegs (occasionally exposed to the glare of the 21st century) that might still retain elements of former lives within the damp clay beneath. Temperature, light and sound. A trilogy that contains abstract clues about the numerous, anonymous, men and women toiling ‘below stairs’.