The last biscuit

Original non-fiction-style practice text.

At our committee meetings, the last biscuit remains on the plate until the chair divides it. Nobody has voted for this rule. We perform it with the seriousness of people negotiating a border, though the pieces are usually too small to be worth the ceremony.

I used to find the ritual ridiculous. Then a new member took the whole biscuit without noticing, and the room carried on perfectly happily. Our habit was not a hidden examination which a newcomer could fail. It was a little joke we shared because we had spent many evenings sitting round the same table.

I am fond of it now, partly because it can be interrupted without disaster. A tradition which survives being ignored seems more welcoming than one which needs a warning notice. Next week, I may bring an extra biscuit and discover whether our constitution can bear the strain.

Assess the writer’s attitude towards the shared ritual around the last biscuit. Use three details from the text to support your answer.