It’s the last fortnight of the English/Herts schools summer holiday and we have a lot more options for our remaining holiday than we did. A poorly dog was not gonna be fun but we were thinking of outdoor activities and beach excursions.

Scotland’s East Coast has a lot of options and there is abundant local food resources. I look forward to eating at some family favourites as well as discovering new places that have opened.

I can consider planning new projects for the garden chez moi by visiting new gardens in the areas I know and looking for ways to incorporate new plants and landscape features.

In St Albans I got rid of the grass and built a pond: I still want to do that here too but a year of inertia has seen weeds grow everywhere in abundance. I am going to struggle with the hard work I have to repeat and unless I get a job, I can’t afford the plants I always end up killing…

My gardening aspirations have to build in more ways to make me a better gardener and want to keep things alive as well as nurture some plants I can grow myself. MS apathy and gardening don’t mix!