So I won’t bore you with the full diagnosis story – suffice to say it involved multiple trips to the Royal Hallamshire and a couple of rather nasty gastroscopies.

I have to say my experience with regard to the NHS has been really rather good, although I’m still waiting for an appointment with the dietitian. Luckily there is the internet: first stop Coeliac.uk who were a mine of information over the first few weeks.

I took the decision to try going naturally gluten free in the main. I felt like I’ve sort of had it with grains in general, so for most meals I’ve tended to avoid gluten-containing products rather than substitute them. I do enjoy the odd bit of GF bread for convenience, so I’m not strict, but I can’t help thinking that simply replacing all the wheat I was eating with a load more processed grains probably won’t be that healthy either. The happy consequence of this is that I’ve lost a bit of flab, which is a nice trade-off.

I’m probably eating a lot more meat and fish than I used to, and definitely eating more vegetables, nuts and seeds. Things with rice are popular. Thankfully summer has arrived so there are plenty of salad options. And we have been cooking loads of things on the barbie now that the torrential rain has stopped.

I’m having to be much more organised with packed lunches. Working in the countryside means it’s tricky to pick something up on the hoof. Last night I made a crunchy fennel slaw to have with my ham salad (so that explains the picture). I’m the only one in my house who likes fennel, so there’s plenty left for tomorrow.

Fennel slaw:
Shredded fennel, a bit of shredded white cabbage and some julienned carrot. Big dollop of mayonnaise and some salt & pepper.