Retail therapy with a purpose

I've got to go shopping today. I know. Life is tough. But when you're on telly, you just can't go on wearing the same old kit.

So I HAVE to spend today trying on stuff, getting all hot and sticky in changing rooms, and spending money I'd rather keep! But the whole concept of "retail therapy" does work. I guarantee I'll feel happier on my way home with carrier bags overflowing!

So while I'm busy in the shops, Sarah Walker is hosting the programme. She writes:

It's always fascinating to learn what people's little pleasures are. Whilst Anne hits the shops, Lynda Brown (one of my guests today) gets her kicks from tinkering around in the garden of her beautiful cottage. She bought Jessamine back in 2007, when the garden there was an overgrown wilderness that hadn't been tended for ten years. Followed by the BBC programme Gardeners World, it took Lynda two years to lick the area into shape. One of her key requirements was that she wanted to see something that she could eat everywhere she looked. Now her garden is a mass of fruit, vegetables and my favourite flower, poppies. It's proof that investing time in the earth really can pay dividends. Lynda is now completely self-sufficient when it comes to fresh produce.

Talking of lifestyles which have clear benefits, I also met a "regatta landlady". Anne-Marie has been hosting members of international teams taking part in the Henley Regatta for the last six years. This year she has five female Japanese rowers staying in three of her rooms. Of course, she gets paid for her troubles, but admits to getting quite a lot out of this unusual form of international relations. She has hosted crews from all over the world and one thing that links them, she tells me, is their love of Henley. Apparently they view the town and its annual regatta as 'quintessentially English'. Let's face it - there are far worse places to live than this beautiful region of ours.