‘What do you think?’ I bite my lip as I wait for his verdict. I’m assessing it like I know the first thing about caravans when the nearest I’ve ever got to one before is being stuck behind them on the motorway.

‘It could be worse.’ He deliberately repeats my words. ‘Pull an extension lead out from the house and you’ll have a power supply, a folding shutter on this window, and a really good clean inside and out. I think it’s a cracking idea. I looked into getting a hot chocolate machine a couple of years ago, so I know that’s going to set you back about three hundred quid. It’s kind of an investment, but it’s going to be better quality and easier than trying to do it with a kettle, and if you can imagine a cold, snowy day after walking around a Christmas tree farm in December … there’s nothing people will want more than a hot chocolate.’

It does seem like a good idea. All right, it’s another expenditure I hadn’t planned on – and something tells me there are a lot more of those to come – but I can’t think of anything nicer than walking around the farm and then coming back to the entrance for a cup of hot chocolate to stave off Jack Frost nipping at your nose. There will be waiting time while trees are netted and paid for and fitted into cars, and there’s nowhere else nearby for people to get refreshments. It’s the festive equivalent of the ice cream van in the beach car park.

I duck around a hanging cabinet as I go back towards the kitchen area, trying to assess how much work the caravan will need and how much time I’ll have to do it in. I bump into Noel as we move around each other in the small space and he leans over to test the under-unit storage cupboard doors. It’s so nice of him to get as involved as he has, and I wish I could do something in return.

‘If I sort out the caravan and get a hot chocolate machine, you could borrow it next year, if you want. Just as a thank you for letting me use your land this time around. I mean, why shouldn’t we help each other out, if we can?’ I say, fully aware that there’s pretty much nothing I could help him with because he’s an expert who seems to have everything under control and running like the well-oiled machine it should be. Clearly, I need his help a lot more than he needs mine.