Gruel and bread, not fish and chips, was the staple diet of the unfortunate recalcitrants and ne'er do wells who were detained at Her Majesty's pleasure in Scarborough Jail.  Having a pint meant 2 ounces of oatmeal in a pint of water for breakfast and supper; lunch was a pound of bread.  Every other day the gruel was sweetened with a small amount of molasses.  For those who were "booked in" for more than 21 days, a little bread accompanied the gruel.