I’m feeling in an ebullient mood today – despite being up since the crack of sparrows. For the first time since Christmas, I’ve been out to see one of our UK clients and it’s been great.

My ‘world tour’ has been so all-embracing, I’d forgotten what it’s like to be in the hurly-burly of a real-world client. It’s made me realise how much I’ve missed this stuff and how ostracised I’ve felt because of it. All that’s been exacerbated by my UK colleagues being extremely dis-chuffed that I’ve not been around and doing my thing for the team so all-in-all I’ve been feeling very ‘unloved’ of late – it’s a good job I’ve got my loyal and true Louises to make me realise someone in my company loves me. Strangely of course ‘bosses’ aren’t supposed to feel unloved – they’re supposed to be gung-ho all of the time and never get down or deflated. When I was given my Board Director role, my then-boss said to me ‘think carefully about whether you really want this, it’s a lonely world at the top’ and she was right.

So, having dug my toes in last week and refused point-blank to go to the USA again this week, I have asked the UK team to set up as many meetings for me with UK clients as they can (this helps me justify my refusal to go to the USA) and I’m off on a countrywide tour now. Today, I have been to one of our most beautiful cities (Cambridge) though all I’ve seen of it is an industrial centre on the outskirts. The weather was crap (raining hard for the entire journey) and the roads were dead slippy because of the rain. I had to leave home at 6.30am and yet I’ve had one of the best days I’ve had for ages.

A receptive client who loved our ideas, a fantastic colleague who is always a pleasure to work with and nearly six hours in my car with no company other than my pals at Radio 4. I’ve heard the whole of the Today programme, the afternoon play, the Archers (an everyday tale of country folk) and gardeners question time. What more could I ask for? Well for every day to be like today actually. I don’t mind being on the road if the road is tarmac and it leads me back home at nights – in fact, I like it that way.

So, my ‘hot stuff’ image is to symbolise my mood – I feel as though I’m sizzling today from doing a really good job. It’s like being on fire…..and that’s where these babies (Scotch Bonnets, the hottest chillis I’ve ever bought in the UK for anyone interested) are going to send me.

Knickers (well labels in knickers anyway) were my subject last year and two years ago it was metalflake toenails!