When bringing him to bed last night, my toddler told me that he enjoys more living in a house, than in a van, after six months on the road. But most of all he’d like to sleep on a boat… For now, it’s a house for us, while we are topping up the kitty to keep going on our boat. In the process of moving, two highlights stuck out. The first one was my two new best friends. We had just parked our fully packed van in front of what, in a few hours, was going to become our home for a while when it started pouring down rain. The flat wasn’t ready for another few hours and so I had to kill the morning somewhere outside in this idyllic suburb of Southampton. The rain latterly drained my park and playground plans. So I asked the first women with a stroller on the road if there was a Café nearby where we could hide from the remarkable rain for the morning. They felt so much pity with our dripping little crew that they spontaneously invited us to their’s for a cuppa. I shall never say again that the English aren’t warm and welcoming! Ever since, we’ve been friends.

The second highlight was this unexpectedly delicious lunch I threw together between unpacking the boxes. It was so yummy that it really made us stop and forget about the chaos around us for a moment to completely indulge in this easy to make up treat. What you need.

• A bed of water cress salad
• A few slices of your favourite bread (Mine would be this, although I didn’t have it on hand.)

Then through on top the following, more or less in order – or not, and anything else that might take your fancy:

• Mayonnaise (home-made in an ideal world), Dijon mustard (must!), bits of cheddar cheese, a few slices of cucumber and tomato, fresh parsley, ghee fried egg and a big spoon of organic baked beans a left over from breakfast.

Sit down. Slow down. Enjoy intentionally.