Already the nettles are starting to die back and the last leg of my long run is a little easier; nettle-dodging is an exercise extra as you swivel your hips, slaloming side-to-side to avoid getting stung. Now there’s just to the brambles to contend with!

These seem have grown three- or four-foot tentacles with the mixture of rain and sunshine we’ve had over the last week. At least with nettles, everything is below knee height; with brambles you need to keep your wits about you as you cunningly step over one a foot or so off the ground but fail to notice another that tries to ensnare your hair as you pass by. Disentangling your locks, without inflicting serious damage from the barbs on the thorny stems, is no easy feat and plays havoc with the endorphins which were nicely chilled out from the run. 

I’m always put in mind of the Prince in Sleeping Beauty as he hacks his way gallantly through thickets and brambles to rescue the slumbering Princess Aurora. Well, I told you I had a vivid imagination!