It’s warm and the only sounds I can hear are the rumbling of passing grain trailers and the buzzing of a wasp nosing around my empty cordial glass.

I presume wasps “nose”. They look like they have noses. In fact, when I watched them eating jam last week they looked like black and yellow terriers. If only they were furry with floppy ears they might get a better press.

In fact, as I finish that line the only thing I can hear is the wasp. Now there’s a pigeon too. The wasp is loudest though because it’s in the glass and that’s amplifying the sound.

We made fruit vinegar today, using gooseberries and blackcurrants from the freezer. It’s looking quite smart in its new bottles. Once we make the labels we’ll be ready to sell.

But first we have to decide on a “best before” date. One version  of the recipe says 6 months and another says 12 months. The Food Standards Agency says that “best before” dates are about quality – it isn’t illegal to sell food after that date and it won’t harm you.

(“Use by” dates are a different matter and eating food after that date may well kill you. Try it by all means but don’t blame me for the consequences.)

Of course, if I was a cynic, I may suggest that “best before” dates are used by manufacturers to scare consumers into throwing away perfectly good food.

The good news is that my finger is improving and when the doctor saw it this morning they prescribed anti-inflammatories to complete the work that ice packs have begun.

The slightly less good news is that they also prescribed an antacid to stop the anti-inflammatory giving me an ulcer.

Next week they are going to give me a steroid injection.

I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forwards to that.

One of the things you can do with fruit vinegar is drizzle it on ice cream.

Seems good. After all, I am an invalid.