THERE must be something wrong with the bathroom scales. I appear to have put on 5lb in two weeks.

Since it took me three months to shed 11lb on the 5:2 diet, this is a depressing state of affairs, suggesting that five weeks of intermittent fasting will be needed to get back to my pre-holiday weight.

Some might say I should have anticipated that a fortnight of gargantuan meals, with a cheese course as well as puddings (plural) every day, not to mention red wine by the bucketful, would put my newly-recovered waistline under strain.

I have to admit they’d be right.

Nonetheless this rapid rate of growth has come as a bit of a shock.

We’ve been at our friends’ home in the Dordogne for their son’s wedding, a gathering resembling a mini festival, with tents mushrooming all over the garden, and upwards of 40 for dinner some nights.

Our friends are great caterers, and quickly roped in the Salisbury Sous Chef, who was in his element concocting feasts every day.

What really impressed us was that so much of what we ate came from their fruit and veg plot, not much larger than an allotment.

They’d been picking and freezing produce for months in preparation for the big event.

We returned inspired, determined to get digging and planting.

And not a moment too soon, judging by the rate at which interesting places to eat are closing around Salisbury.

While I’ve been away we’ve lost the Bridge at Woodford, one of my favourites, as well as the Ship at Burcombe and La Mollina in the city centre.

The chain restaurants taking over many of our vacant shops are fine in their way, for a relatively cheap and cheerful night out.

(I’ll ignore for now the question of whether their rapid proliferation is another indicator of Salisbury’s descent into clone town status.) But I do like a proper pudding, and not some factory-made slice of squidge packed with flavour enhancers.

The desserts in these places are mostly the kind you can buy in a cash-and-carry. When was the last time you saw fresh fruit on a menu?

If I’m going to put on weight (and it seems sadly inevitable), I’d rather it was from eating real food.

anneriddle36@gmail.com