I’m currently taking a lot of medication for my pain and I’m always keen to find non-drug-based options that I can use as well.

Heat really helps, but I’ve had to stop using a hot water bottle because I’d been using it so much it made my skin go mottled.

For a while, I’ve also been struggling to find the energy to get to the hydrotherapy pool, and although a hot bath is good for my pain it’s not great in terms of safety because if I have a ‘ticcing fit’ I’ll be at serious risk.

So after months of heavy campaigning by a number of people, but with Fran firmly leading the crusade, I bought an inflatable hot tub. I was finally convinced by the very thorough review of a couple next to me on the sun loungers while I was on holiday – they’d had one for two years, loved it, and reassured me that despite being inflatable it had lasted well.

My parents were visiting today and along with Lily they set it up. It’s brilliant and feels like a very natural addition to the castle’s garden.

I haven’t tried it out properly yet as it takes a while to heat up. It looks as though it’ll be sunny at the weekend and it will also be my birthday, so I’m imagining the new tub might play a central role in the celebrations.