Friends Of The Earth

WHEN Marcel Proust dipped a madeleine in his tea, a world of memories was unlocked for him.

- Steven Desmond

Something similar happens to me when I sniff Sunday lunch in the air: I hear the voice of that singular character Arthur Fallowfield emanating from a distant wireless set. In answer to every question put to him by Kenneth Horne, Mr Fallowfield, the mildest of West Country men, asserts that the answer lies in the soil.

Mind you, if it were as simple as all that, there would be no need for this article. Let us be clear: there are two schools of thought regarding the successful cultivation of soil. The first says that it should be done regularly, deeply and thoroughly and the second that it should not be done at all. If you invite my opinion, my answer is, irritatingly, that there is truth on both sides.