Heat the slow cooker so that it's not cold., Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Sizzle the bacon until crisp, tip into the slow-cooker pot,
Brown the chunks of lamb in the pan. Don't overload the pan
Transfer to the slow-cooker pot along with the thyme, onions, carrots, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and enough stock (or water) to cover the lamb. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hrs.
Stir in the pearl barley, cook on HIGH for 1 hr until the pearl barley is tender
Season and serve scooped straight from the dish.
