A bowl of sunshine

A juicy, chin-dribbling, sugary-sweet nectarine is a very rare thing indeed.

Many have been resigned to the compost for purporting to be such a fruit yet hiding a soapy, toughened flesh that is utterly unpalatable and demonstrative of the global fruit trade.

For me, a truly fragrant nectarine evokes hot, sticky summers in the South of France, where shade is a blessing and movement is slow. Melon is paired with Parma ham, white linen with nautical stripes and espadrilles, Piz Buin with champagne.

I always thought I was a cooler season kind of girl, but this incredible weather has really felt like the summer epitomised in My Family and Other Animals. What I wouldn't give to be wafting about in loose linen, listening to the gentle lapping of the sea and sipping afternoon cocktails - note how I've opted for a lesser character - I think I'll leave the insect chasing to Miss P.