I am in good company;  with Novak Djokovic, and many of my friends.  We are talking about reducing or eliminating gluten.  According to my nutrition therapist I am sensitive to gluten, and who am I to argue?

The problem is how to follow a Gluten-free diet.  Practically every processed food contains one or another form of gluten: e.g. soups and pasta.  So most purchases have to be made from health food shops, or the gluten-free areas in certain supermarkets, or online.  I call it a low-BROW life, where BROW stands for barley, rye, oats and wheat.

The biggest impact on me is not being able to knead bread.   Home-made gluten-free bread has to be made by a process that involves making a wet mixture of dough made with rice, maize and the like, tipping it into a loaf tin and hoping for the best: whereas real bread making involves a tussle with the dough using your bare hands.  A struggle for existence, no less.

The good news is that quite a lot of firms are now making gluten-free loaves.  See Genius, Warburtons and Artisan Bread.