One of the novelties of the house is that it has a back yard, with some garden beds, some lawn and an outdoor space - not just a concrete balcony space.

I am already spending more time in the back yard than I ever did on the balcony and we haven’t even started thinking about improvements. There are some tomato plants to tend, a couple of trees to water, cobwebs to sweep, a lawn to weed and mow - plus a family of European wasps I keep trying to evict.

One thing that is becoming clear is that there’s a lot more work to be done to make the back yard into a pleasant space with a garden.

We have been looking for more condiments to add flavour to our meals. A special offer at the local market presented an opportunity to try fermenting a hot sauce.