I don’t know why it is but I have this weird trait. Even though I may have always loved some item of food or drink, I suddenly find myself going off it and not wanting to eat/drink it again.

This happened with chocolate (and indeed all sweet food) – I’d been eating three bars of chocolate a day then all of a sudden I found I just wasn’t interested in it at all. That was ten years or more ago. These days I may pick a single chocolate out of a box ‘just fancying it’ but as soon as it gets into my mouth, I remember that I actually don’t like it and the reasons why come flooding back to me. The same is true of cakes, biscuits, puddings, fizzy drinks and basically all things sweet.

I’ve also ‘gone off’ tea – other than my first drink of the day, I no longer drink tea at all – I prefer coffee. I used to drink tea by the gallon but not any more.

Weirdly, the same is now happening with wine – I’m, well to be honest, just not really enjoying it any more. This is strange news indeed to the woman who has always enjoyed wine with dinner each evening, for as long as I can remember.

These days, I find that I’m not actually that interested in opening a bottle of wine and I’m even less keen on the groggy feeling of the morning after the night before. I never thought I’d say this but I’m considering giving it up all together! We’ve moved from the norm in our home being to drink a bottle of wine at night, to the norm of not doing and only opening one when we specifically want to.

Today I am in the company of wine lovers and these grapes are hanging from a vine that stretches across the front of their garage. It’s literally dripping with fruit and the long, hot summer that we’re experiencing here in the South East of England is ripening them nicely.

At home in the South West, we have a grape vine waiting to be planted when I’ve worked out a space that’s sunny but sheltered enough for it.

Kate and Dickie are wonderful hosts and we have spent a happy evening imbibing in a whole range of the good things in life, conversation, food and wine all consumed in the cool, fresh air of the garden, which is a treat after a scorching day.

Tomorrow, I go back on the wagon!

There was champagne on the go last year!