The back hallway looked so much smarter after TPR painted the walls pale green. A further improvement was the list of garden tasks that I wrote up in blue felt pen on a patch of wall to the right of the back door.

The effect was ruined, however, by my sister S, who covered all the walls in botanical graffiti. She was especially proud that she had followed the botanical nomenclature of Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum of 1753. Despite the scientific credentials of the output, however, I was dismayed at the vandalism of TPR’s paintwork.

To take my mind off it all I went for along walk across the heath. I found a dead jay and a peacock’s feather in the grass. Although tempted to pick up both, I left former well alone in case it was diseased. The peacock’s feather, however, came home with me.