Kimberly thinks that vegetables are the way forward. Kim has asked Fleur to join her on the board of Urban Veggie. Fleur, who thinks of herself as not quite grown-up, is flattered to be invited to do something so adult. She also knows that half the fun, or more than half, will be the events organised to raise money. Kim takes her to visit a vegetable garden in a bit of unused land beside a canal in Hackney. Here unemployed youths, most of them drug addicts, are supposed to be clearing the ground for planting according to a very detailed plan based on the principles of the Soil Association. Drug addicts, says Kim, need something constructive in their lives. The soil has to be improved first and bags of organic matter have been brought in by one of the bank’s delivery drivers, dressed down, in the van that Kim has donated to the project. She and Fleur are wearing green wellingtons and T-shirts – green, of course – which read URBAN VEGGIE in large lettering and then Grow greens and grow greener, a clever play on words. The volunteers haven’t turned up yet for the photo-call – junkies, as is well known, can be unreliable. Three photographers are there, and they dutifully take pictures of Kim and Fleur and the driver digging away, before disappearing. Photographers have a way of being only partially present as though they find it hard to see what’s in front of them: they have exhausted their eyes. A reporter from the Hackney Gazette asks them how this will affect the lives of disadvantaged youngsters.

‘Oh, in many ways. Firstly we need to reconnect with the soil, the land. These kids are alienated’ – the reporter looks around to see which kids she is referring to – ‘they hardly know that vegetables come from the soil and our project is very involving. But also, none of us should forget that every person on this earth depends ultimately on the food chain and the food chain depends on the health of the planet itself. So the effect is threefold. An inclusive experience for the young, a supply of organically grown vegetables to improve health and immune systems in deprived areas and a sustainable use of our land. But it all begins with the soil, and we must never forget that. The soil must be enriched and improved as a first step towards creating greater biodiversity.’

A lot is riding on this manky piece of wasteland, Fleur sees.

The reporter clicks off his little electronic recorder, mumbles a thank you, and vanishes. Fleur stops digging; it’s hard work. She’s impressed by Kim’s fluency and glowing idealism. She’s like Sister Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, earnestly preaching. Next time she’ll bring a tambourine.

‘You were great. Very moving, very passionate.’