"I have developed a deep-seated hatred of certain members of the animal kingdom, namely slugs.

"There is nothing worse than skipping down to the allotment to check on your carefully nurtured seedlings to discover they have been devoured overnight, with only a slimy trail left as a clue to the culprit.

"I launched large-scale warfare on them this month with slug pellets and trays of beer, which they crawl into and drown.

One of the great things about getting an allotment is the people you meet.

"Tony, a Greek Cypriot who must be in his Seventies, owns the plot next to me.

"No sooner had I started clearing the plot back in December and he had offered me the use of his rotorvator to break up the soil that had been neglected for two years.

"The subject of rotorvators divides gardeners like the Arab Israeli conflict does in some parts of the world.

"Some argue it is a quick and easy way of turning over the soil without breaking your back spending hours digging.

"Others say it makes perennial weeds worse because it breaks up the roots causing five weeds to grow where previously there was only one.

"After digging over three beds I have to say that practicality won the day.

"After twenty minutes Tony had turned over a beautiful new vegetable bed ready for the seedlings that have now outgrown their trays in the cold frame.

"But another 10 minutes later and I realised that when my back was turned Tony was merrily rotorvating a patch I had set aside for a barbecue and sunbathing area - well a girl can't garden all the time."