I suspect at some time in our lives, we’ve all sat on our sofas eating pizza and gulping down sugary sodas to watch sporting events on the TV, dreaming of a day when we too could be as fit and lean as our favourite sportsmen. We make a decision at that time that in future we’re going to change our habits – maybe start with a little light exercise and revamp our diets, but come the full time whistle and upon switching off the TV, the dream bubble bursts.

I think most of us have tried some odd diets in our time; the Atkins diet, the cabbage soup diet, the grapefruit diet and even Slimfast – basically a milk shake; professed to “fill you up”, to be drunk twice a day, but ultimately leaving you feeling empty, tired and miserable - to name but a few and yes, I’ve been drawn into the trap from time to time too!

Here in the UK the raspberry season is about to begin and you'll find us gardeners, for the next two or three months, entangled in bird netting and wrestling with the thorny task of harvesting … that is, if we can get to the crop before the mice