Treat every time for me please! For some reason this year, I’ve suddenly bought into Halloween. I get it. For a long time, I’ve spent 31 October being quite Scrooge-like in my manner. Not answering the door to trick or treaters, arranging the decorations to suit my decor rather than reflecting the gory tackiness that is normally associated with Halloween fun.

Since when did dressing our children’s feet become so expensive? I don’t want shoes with toys in the heel for an extra £10 premium. I don’t want extra in-steps at a cost. I don’t want flashing soles. I suggest that the £58 gorgeous brown,

So my excited children left school last week armed with folders crammed full of various glued and painted artwork, bizarre cardboard shapes and various half-finished stories. I walked them home in a hurry just so I could tap into

I must be immune to the current Father’s Day merchandising. Without a World Cup, Rugby Six Nations or Cricket Grand Slam going on it all seems a bit low key. Not that I’m complaining – it’s nice to have a Dad’s day without the surrounding hype.

With all this gorgeous weather hanging around, I seem to have changed my ‘reluctant’ gardener mindset into a persona, strangely resembling a bra-wearing Alan Titchmarsh.