Take one newly qualified graduate, feed on a rich diet of duck breast, foie gras, home-grown veg, cheese, tiramisu and home-made ice cream. Marinate in beer, red wine and armagnac and bake under a hot sun for at least eight hours a day while allowing him to learn such useful skills as plasterboarding ceilings, digger-driving, use of a cement mixer, bricklaying and pouring a concrete floor. Result? A lovely base to the abri; tomorrow he starts building the walls.

While that’s been going on, Joel and his lads have also been busy. They arrived last week with the wood for the balcony, all in kit form; the main structure of the balcony is now in place and the roof above it is complete. The rest of it, ie the joists and floor of the actual balcony and the balustrade, are up to us to do. I started painting the underside of the roof today; it’s going to be quite a big job.