Somebody is off her food… Not me, after a busy day on the farm and walking miles with the dogs, I had a very healthy appetite. The little “somebody” of whom I refer is Sasha, a brave, sweet and tiny Yorkshire Terrier (Rosie’s favourite, I suspect). I think she’s missing her mum. I’m not worried because I’m sure her appetite will return tomorrow when they will be reunited. Nevertheless, I coaxed Sasha with some mince, one little piece at a time, so she won’t starve.

On the subject of starvation, or diet, rather, since I’ve been farm-sitting I have been adopting the “Slim People’s Diet”; well, Rosie and family are all nice and slim so I thought I would eat whatever they eat. They have quite a lot of chocolate here… but I’ve only had four squares from the opened chocolate bar (milk chocolate isn’t my favourite and I wouldn’t dream of opening the pristine bar of dark chocolate). I did open the Kit-Kats in the fridge though (I knew I could replace them), but I’ve only had one and a half (and they’re just the two-finger variety!). They have plenty of bread here and I can understand why… because they also have an Aga, and the Aga cooker makes the best toast I have ever tasted. For the first two nights running I had mushrooms on toast, then last night Chris came over and we shared some left over spaghetti that I’d brought from home; this evening I went back to the “Slim People’s Diet” – and it was delicious!

My dinner was made even more enjoyable by the memories it brought back of the time when I was nineteen years old and pregnant. I well remember my charming little flat, three hundred years old with a bowed ceiling (nobody over six foot one could stand up straight in it); perhaps its best feature was the location – right in the heart of Teignmouth (behind Lipton’s supermarket) – which meant that I always had a lot of visitors and sometimes I used to wish that my visitors would eat before coming to see me – it seemed they never did!

One day I had a craving (as you do when you’re pregnant), and I had a laugh to myself when I was buying the objects of my desire. I thought to myself, “Nobody will want to eat these!”. I went home and had the usual round of visitors popping in for cups of tea or coffee (and any food going). It was nearly dinnertime and one caller, a chap I used to work with, was still in the lounge.

“I’m dreadfully sorry,” I began, “I’d offer to have you join me for dinner but I’m convinced that you wouldn’t want to eat what I intend having.”

“What are you having?” he asked.

“Well, I’m a bit embarrassed to tell you,” I answered.

“Is it liver? I’m quite partial to a piece of liver,” he asked, practically licking his lips.

“Oh no, nothing as normal as liver,” I responded, “actually, I’m intending to have a plate of Brussels sprouts on their own with some butter on them… Surely you wouldn’t fancy Brussels sprouts on their own?”

“Do you know, I could just fancy a plate of Brussels sprouts with some butter!” my caller licked his lips.

So I shared my half-pound of sprouts (it wasn’t a huge dinner!) with my hungry visitor and, on occasions since then, something happens that reminds me of that time. You can’t imagine what reminded me tonight. It wasn’t Brussels sprouts (they aren’t in season – are they?). Well, you’ve heard of baked beans on toast? No, it wasn’t baked beans… It was runner beans on a half piece of toast! But they were the freshest, loveliest green beans (Rosie only buys the best) and the toast was the finest toast (toasted on the Aga), and I put a nob of delicious butter on top. Even the dogs were licking their lips.

“No,” I said, “you wouldn’t like them!”

And I ate them all myself. The other half of the toast, spread with a spoon of organic honey, made an excellent dessert. That’s what slim people eat – I think…