Mrs Down's Diary

The sound emanated from the dining room off the kitchen and seemed to be coming from behind the curtains, still drawn, as I had not got round to opening them.

A strange smell also assailed my nostrils as I walked towards the sound and, most mysteriously, the curtains were trembling. Could there be an intruder lurking?

None of these things. What there was was a sinisterly, yet lively, pan of soup. One that I had prepared the previous day and left to cool overnight on the stone floor of the dining room, next to an outside glass door.

John is having a shoot on our land on Saturday. He is putting a day on with a few close friends; more of a social and walk round the farm with dogs than a proper organised shoot. They all plan to come in for lunch.

As I will also be looking after my granddaughter Jessica for the weekend, I thought that my best plan was to get everything organised early.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette January 9