Breakfast was leisurely; Sunday papers, toast with home grown raspberry jam and a Nigel Slater concoction – melon, bacon and parsley salad which was utter perfection. Cold, sweet melon, deeply savoury, spitting hot bits of bacon, green and gold.

Ade drove off full and happy for an afternoon of surfing. I settled in the shade of the cherry tree to watch the blackbirds plunder the ripening fruit and to read Stuart Maconie’s excellent, amusing “Adventures on the High Teas”, whilst a free range chicken from Aldi turned golden in the oven. It was the first time I had bought a chicken from a discount supermarket, and I had been a bit worried that it might not be as good as a free range bird from the farmers market or Sainsburys, however it was delicious, simply stuffed with three types of thyme, marjoram and sage plus a big fat lemon, no fat, basted twice. Ate with jersey royals roasted with rosemary and a bowl of sliced tomatoes dressed with crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar and a good grinding of sea salt. The sun is out, and early summer has finally come to my kitchen. It’s been a long time coming.