It is often lamented by the families, doctors and household staff of inventors and scientists that the only thing that seems impossible for them to achieve is to sit down at a respectable time for dinner whilst the meal is still hot. Whilst Holmes might have remarked that abstinence hones the mind, and often scientist and inventors seem to only need the sustenance of their latest project, working non-stop whilst the inspiration is with them, this does nothing to assist the running of a well-organised household as many a housekeeper and family member has discovered.

It was this problem that Sara Hastings, daughter of the eminent president of the Royal Society Sir Francis Hastings and talented machinatrix in her own right, set out to solve to ease the distress that mealtimes caused to her mother. Miss Hastings reasoned correctly, that convenience was the key factor and that, whilst her father would never provide scintillating dinner conversation whilst his mind was on the scientific issues at hand, his presence at the table would in itself allow for prompt starts to meals and they would be reassured that he was receiving regular nourishment. It was clear that some practical aid to resolving the scientific problem would be necessary to induce Sir Francis' presence at the table, but that laboratory equipment and chemicals in the presence of food could at the least be off-putting to the appetites of the other diners and at worst be hazardous to the health of Sir Francis' if some contamination went unnoticed or a beaker of acid was mistaken for the decanter of port. Similarly equipping the table setting with a mechanical work bench would occupy both his hands and obscure his mouth, permitting him to work on his latest project in the presence of his family but probably leaving his food untouched. The amount of times that plates and dishes were removed from Sir Francis' laboratory no less empty than they arrived was testament to this fact.

A closer investigation by Sara of Sir Francis' work area paid dividends. Whilst inspecting his drawing-board Sara noticed that there was an accumulation of crumbs on the pencil rack at the bottom of the inclined board and that a series of tell-tale tea-stained cup rings had built up on the designs and scrawled papers filled with formula on the worktop to the left of the drawing board. It occurred to Sara that her father must absent-mindedly eat with his unoccupied left hand whilst his right sets about detailing formula or drawing plans and designs. Sara set about crafting a rudimentary drawing board that could be mounted onto the dining table at mealtimes. Alas despite a promising start which saw Sir Francis' presence at the table for the longest time ever observed by his family, he happily scribbled away long enough to consume the soup and half of his main-course before slapping his forehead at some lack of foresight on his behalf, leaving the table and tossing a half finished bread roll over his shoulder onto his plate before disappearing upstairs to his laboratory not re-emerging for another 3 days.

Something had gone terribly wrong; realising that she had omitted some vital part to her design that would have ensured the success of the plan, Sara re-investigated her fathers working area. It was not until she noticed precisely how many schematics were in a state of disarray around the design table and racked in row upon row of rolled sheaves of designs in the pigeon holes above the desk. Amazed at how she had overlooked such a significant aspect of her father's design process, she now realised that it was rare that her father worked upon one design at a time, instead constantly referencing and cross-referencing designs as one improvement cascaded mechanical alterations throughout the associated parts of whatever machine he was creating. The same was true of the scientific formula he worked upon, whether in the field of physics or chemistry, one shift in the balance of an equation would require radical and immediate revision of the entire formula. Sara had to re-conceptualize her design, taking into account her father's need for immediate access to plans and theories that he was working upon.

It is ironic that Sara, in her quest to return her father to the dinner table, now worked as obsessively as Sir Francis himself. For 3 months her absence from the dinner table was a marked as her fathers and her mother feared she had lost another member of the family to the call of the workshop. Miss Hastings spent her spare moments studying disciplines as far removed from each other as draughtsmanship, photography, magic lantern projection and Babbage engine driven filing. It was September when the household staff found a handwritten note requesting the preparation of a fabulous 6 course meal for 1 week hence, requesting that the table be set for the full compliment of the family, but that until such time the dining room would be off limits to all of the household. By this time poor Sara's mother was at the end of her patience, but amidst re-assurances from her daughter promised not to disturb her work in the dining room.

1 week later, the family assembled outside of the dining room. Fortuitously Sir Francis was present, although admittedly he had to be chivvied into his best clothes and escorted downstairs by the children to ensure he didn't return to his workshop to "just check on a thing or two before dinner". The real test of Sara's new invention would be whether Sir Francis remained seated for the full 6 courses. The dinner gong rang and the family assembled in the dining room. There, at the head of the table normally reserved for but rarely occupied by Sir Francis was a curious console installed in a carved out section of the antique dinner table. Its bulky metal design did not sit comfortably with the Georgian design of the table but the 4ftx4ft screen rested flush with the surface upon which a place setting was laid out. Sir Francis sat himself at his place and examined the device with some approval.

Fitted beneath the console screen was a large pedestal at the bottom of which were positioned foot pedals. From the right of the pedestal emerged an angle jointed metal arm which ended in a stylus arched over the screen. As he waited for the soup to arrive, Sir Francis flipped a switch and a burst of illumination lit up the screen of the console. Projected onto the glass from a minutely reduced photographic plate was an image of the blueprints that he was currently working upon! Moving the stylus across the screen resulted in a corresponding stylus within the pedestal marking an overlay that could be placed over his original designs to show the work that he had done whilst at the table. Depressing the pedals at his feet scrolled across another photographic plate, until after reviewing the entire collection he realised that Sara had compiled a concise and complete file of all the designs he could require. Through a complex series of lenses it was possible to magnify the image and zoom into focus minute parts of his plans, so that he could work on them in such detail never achievable before.

Lord Francis whooped in delight and pride at his daughters ingenuity, whilst his wife smiled at the return of her husband to civilised hours within the house. Sir Francis not only finished all the servings of his meal, but also within 2 months had returned to a healthy weight that pleased his doctors no end. Sir Francis became Sara's sponsor into membership of the Royal Society and even went so far as to assist her in the patenting of her device and marketing the idea to the club house of the Steam Engineers Society.

The Steam Engineers Society paid a small fortune for the invention and one of the schematic tables sits beside every chair in the smoking room, whilst club members and their guest can dine at larger versions whilst discussing business or the latest modifications. A few minor alterations have been made to the design which are generally regarded as improvements by its users. The first is a punch-card equivalent of a library card which is assigned to each of the club members, upon which access and security levels are set upon membership. The entire library of the clubs engineering and architectural building designs has been catalogued and copied onto the photographic plates and a card is required before you can select the designs accessible to your personal level of membership. The second is a slot that allows you to enter and work on your own personal designs and take them away from the club when you leave (although you need access to the relevant photographic miniaturisation machines before you can use this feature). Other minor modifications such as dual or triple stylus arms and the ability to overlay standard engineering designs such as cogs and pistons in a feature known as Schematic Table Assisted Design (STAD) are frequently being developed by club members, although Sara Hastings retains the original copyright to the design and has already amassed a small fortune on its success.