He made her sound like a Hobbit, eager for her second breakfast, but as we watched her willowy figure climb out of her 4x4, I realised she was definitely more of a Rivendell elf. Her long, slim legs easily reached the ground whereas I would have had to jump out of the cab.

‘I don’t know where she puts it all,’ Ned wistfully said, still watching her.

‘Me neither,’ I said, reaching for the honey.

I suddenly found I needed sweetening back up.

By late-morning I was beginning to feel muscles in places I didn’t even know existed. Joe had done his share of lugging the trees about, but so had I. The little carts I’d converted into sleighs were holding their own in the yard, but they were no help when it came to lifting the trees into car boots and trailers and up on to roof racks.

‘If they keep turning up in these numbers,’ puffed Joe, looking thrilled, ‘you’ll be sold out in no time!’

David, who kept popping in and out of the office to see how many cut trees were left, was in complete agreement.

‘I’ve never known it to be this busy,’ he told us. ‘It’s quite extraordinary. I don’t know what’s going on!’

As I looked about, I could understand exactly why it was so hectic. Ned had cleverly created a one-stop Christmas shop and everyone was loving it. There were bespoke and unusual gifts championing the buy local ethos, there was food and drink to match every taste and appetite and the opportunity to walk it off with a stroll through the trees. Santa was installed in his grotto, music was playing, lights were twinkling and to top it all off, there were stunning trees to take home too.

But it turned out, that wasn’t the only thing which had caused the sudden spike in visitor numbers.

‘Have you seen this?’ called Sue, who rushed over, waving a newspaper above her head. ‘Look at the centre spread.’

She handed David the paper and jogged back to her hut while he opened it in the middle.

‘Well, I never!’ he gasped. ‘Would you look at that?’

‘I don’t believe it,’ I said, stepping up to take a better look. ‘I sent those in ages ago, but never heard anything so assumed they weren’t going to be used.’

‘Head to Wynter’s Trees for the full-on festive experience,’ David read out. ‘Enjoy Christmas shopping at the seaside and get to know the people behind the presents.’