I HOPE that you didn't think that I'd abandoned you in the last few weeks. I have been on my travels and, quite honestly, needed to re-charge the old batteries and come back to you all revitalised and raring to go. Unfortunately this isn't the case, as my feet haven't touched the ground since I arrived in London town nearly a month ago and from the looks of things doubt that they will until my return home at the very end of October.

I don't even know where to begin as I have had so many wonderful times and have been chasing up and down the countryside at such breakneck speed that I've hardly had time to catch my breath! I am back staying with my old friend Caroline (some of you may remember my stop-off with her last year)

Nothing has changed apart from the fact that pace has stepped up quite considerably in the twelve months that I have been away. To put it in a nutshell (and in the nicest possible way) it is rather like cohabiting with Lady Chatterley.

There are endless streams of possible suitors virtually queuing around the block in an attempt of getting an audience with her Ladyship. It has all been pretty exhausting work just being a spectator in what can only be described as a present day Peyton Place.

I am here, as some of you may remember, with my old school friend and flat mate Tula who is visiting from Cape Town. Although we had only seen each once very briefly in 25 years, it is as though it we had parted company yesterday. I don't think that we have drawn breath since her arrival. And from what she has told me about her own life she would make a very good "lady-in-waiting" for Lady Chatterley. God, I feel like a total novice in this department. Out of the three of us I am the odd one out, not having a huge amount to contribute in this particular arena!

On the rare evening occasions when there have been no queues of love-stricken men to contend with (and I can assure you that they are rare) we have sat around the kitchen table having what we call a "gaz waz" on current and past affairs of the heart.

For us girlies there is nothing to beat this sort of evening. We stockpile furiously the afternoon before in case we should have the munchies or, more importantly, a voracious thirst for vinuous beverages. We have covered so much ground on these particular evenings that there would certainly be sufficient fodder for several more volumes of Peyton Place.

As I mentioned earlier, Tula and I have also spent a fair amount of time travelling the countryside visiting mutual friends. I think that our favourite stop off was going down to Exeter in Devon to visit Jackie and Peter. Peter has a wonderful pottery where he makes extraordinary, outrageous teapots. You may have seen them in Cooper's or in the US somewhere. They are huge teapots depicting scenes of, well, just about anything, for example a sewing machine or a children's nursery or a snooker table - very clever designs if not terribly practical.

The weather in Devon was the epitome of English Autumn at its finest. In fact it is true to say that in the last few weeks, (believe it or not) there hasn't been a drop of rain. That is until a couple of days ago and now it is really making up for lost time!

The trip down to Devon on the train was a hilarious event, made especially amusing by the fact that we were seated next to a couple of train spotters. I don't know if you have ever come across any examples of these unique specimens of English manhood (or if you even know what they are), so let me fill you in. Train spotters are an extraordinary breed of person whose lives are spent going up and down the country, by train of course, with little notebooks in hand. In said notebooks they mark down the numbers of each train that goes by and then sit in cold, draughty, miserable stations doing the same thing. They then gather together and discuss each train in graphic detail - which is about as exciting and mentally stimulating as describing the Hamilton to Barnes Corner bus.

You wouldn't imagine that such fellas would have a huge amount to say, would you?

Well, they do.

For three hours these people talked about nothing but these filthy, electric monstrosities with such ardour and passion it was quite unbelievable. I think that the height of excitement for a train spotter is to see the same train twice in one day (or week or whatever). And wildy excited these two blokes became when such an occurence happened on the final leg of our shared journey. Out of the window they spotted T765 and all hell broke loose.

Alf spotted it first, checked in his notebook to make sure and then they ran down the length of the carriage, desperate to get a closer look (Alf clutching at the 56-inch waist of his trousers to stop then falling down any further). These men were so ecstatic that you would have thought their team had just won the World Cup.

When they returned to their seats it was for a celebration of the sighting of T765, which to me looked like a normal, miserable, grey commuter train. They rustled in their bags and took out several bottles of Brown Ale (a sip of which we were offered and politely declined) and the festivities commenced. This event was a first for Tula and I and the side-splitting laughter that ensued we found impossible to conceal.

We couldn't seem to get away from trains that day, although the next encounter was somewhat more pleasurable. Jacky and Peter took us for dinner in a lovely village outside Exeter called Exton. They introduced us to a restaurant called The Puffing Billy. This was a name given to a particular steam train from days gone by and the Puffing Billy was actually a converted train station. If any of you happen to be touring around Devon at any stage in the near future this should be an enforced pit-stop. I would imagine that it was converted from a station to a pub and now to its present glory as a very, very good restaurant. In fact it's rather a trendy spot for this part of the world which is in fact quite Olde Worlde. I won't go into the menu in great depth as I don't suppose it's likely that many of you will actually get there.

However I must mention that I ate the most spectacular scallops that I think that I have ever tasted. These were served on their shell with the roe. I know that in Bermuda and North America they never serve the roe with the scallops and I think that this is such a shame as it is so succulent and delicious. These scallops were served with a tomato and chilli jam and Szechuan pickled cucumber.They also did a terrific Carpaccio of beef on Mediterranean flavoured rocket (arugula) with a Sri Lankan curry drizzle which was sheer heaven. I then went onto the Herb crusted Cod with a Piquant crayfish Sauce on Spring Onion mash & glazed fine beans which was perfection.

OK, so there's your brief sampling from The Puffing Billy (and I will also include a fabulous dessert from the restaurant - now in my repertoire - called Lemon and Blueberry Sponge Puddings which are a cinch to make and really, really good). I shall leave you now as I am rapidly running out of space but not before giving you some recipes for some wonderful dishes that I have enjoyed during my sojourn in England.

Lemon and Blueberry Sponge Puddings

Serves 4

1 lemon, 4 teaspoons clear honey or maple syrup, a very scant 4-ounces or 1/2 cup Sunflower spread or equivalent, 1/2 cup golden granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup self raising flour, 1/2 cup fresh blueberries Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grate the zest from the lemon and set aside, then cut four thin slices off the lemon.

Place a lemon slice in the bottom of 4 greased dariole molds or ramekin dishes. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup over each one. Beat the sunflower spread and sugar together for 1-2 minutes until pale and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs, then sift the flour over and gently stir it with the lemon zest and blueberries. Carefully spoon the sponge mixture into the molds and smooth over the tops. Place on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Leave for 1-2 minutes before turning out and serve with lemon sorbet.

Patatas Bravas

Serves 4

This is a typical tapas dish which is served across Spain. You can serve it as such or have as a simple supper dish with a green salad.

2 pounds new potatoes, washed and halved if large, 1/2-pound Chorizo sausage, thickly sliced, 2 red peppers, deseeded and thickly sliced, 2 small red onions cut into wedges, 2 X 14-ounce cans chopped tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced, 2 heaping tablespoons flat leaf parsley chopped, salt and fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the potatoes, chorizo, peppers, red onions and seasonings in a roasting tin. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the paprika flavoured oils from the sausage coat the vegetables. Add the tomatoes, chillies and garlic and cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the parsley and stir through. Serve straight from the roasting pan.

Lemon Pasta

Serves 6

This is absolutely unbelievably good, served on its own, at room temperature as a pasta salad or as an accompaniment for just about anything.

1-pound dried linguine pasta, juice and zest of 3 lemons, 6 tablespoons olive oil, 2-ounces Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 large garlic clove, minced, 2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves, shredded, 1/2 cup arugula leaves

Cook the linguine in a generous amount of boiling, salted water for about 10 minutes, drain and return to the saucepan. Meanwhile beat the juice, zest and garlic with the olive oil then stir in the parmesan until thick and creamy, season and add more lemon juice if necessary.

Add the lemon sauce to the pasta shaking the pan to coat each strand with the sauce. The parmesan melts when mixed with the pasta. Finish by stirring in the basil and arugula.