It's a fine balance between doing only what is functional and doing things that lift my spirits.

The sun is what's left of the base of a Ghanaian dried fish basket which I bought in Brixton market still with its British Caledonian airline label on. It's held all manner of things - toys, bedding, firewood - in the 40 years since then and it's now been elevated to the purely decorative.

The bird was a present from a sorely missed friend.

The jug was a present from a still-present friend and the flowers are some of the overgrowth in my new garden. Chamomile, perhaps?

The little clay figure is a totem from Cameroon to protect my home. He is more potent if you stick a lit cigarette in his mouth, but I'll make do with level 2 potency.

Extra - the first harvest from my portable garden in the wheelbarrow. I'm thrilled to bits. Can anyone tell me whether the plant in the pot just in front really is a tomato or whether I am putting lots of nurturing into a weed? All the rest will, I'm reasonably confident, continue to be slug food.