‘Do you want anything from the store?’ Richard asked. He was preparing for an evening raid on the supermarket. I was about to start cooking dinner and had just been contemplating the unsatisfactory prospect of a meal without any vegetables.

‘Yes!’ I said. I thought for a moment. ‘A cucumber, please.’

‘A cucumber?’ Richard repeated. He looked sceptical.

‘I like cucumbers,’ I confirmed. ‘I usually have one in the fridge… Wait a second, maybe I do have one…’

I went over to the fridge, opened the door, pulled out the vegetable compartment and saw it — a vacuum-sealed medium-sized English cucumber.

‘Yes, there it is!’ I was delighted. I don’t often forget what food I have in the house. This discovery was like finding out that a wiser Joan from the past had put something away for a rainy day.

‘So, no cucumber then?’ said Richard.

‘No. Thanks, though.’