I can understand why the southern countries have a siesta. It is not easy to work in the heat we’re having now. I started my day by going shopping straight after breakfast and when I came home I went to the allotment, just to see if I could harvest any courgettes. Of course I did, they are always there.

The plan was to make more of my courgette pickle. It is ever so easy to make and very tasty.

I also wanted to get a few roots of my new crop – mangold. I grew it some years ago but only used the leaves as spinach, they are much larger and very tasty. This time I sowed the seeds well apart so the roots could get bigger. It worked, they are lovely. I will cook them tomorrow and mash them like potatoes. We’ll have our first sweetcorn with it. Looking forward to it. I will serve the courgette pickle with it, I have a jar that is only half full.