We spent the day on the very busy French coast. It was incredibly hot and dry, the crowds enormous. Then we headed inland to the Church of St Sulpice near Royan. I caught the Curé as he was locking up and he gave me the history of the dark eyes that had inspired the saint’s life. I had heard he had planted a medieval garden and he showed it to me. In medieval times, every plant, every herb – and there were scores of them – had a purpose rich in folklore and knowledge, every ailment of the mind or body could be cared for. In this quiet place beside the twelfth-century church I knew a peace of mind I had not known even on the edge of the Atlantic Sea, its waves lapping gently against the rocks on the beach.

Later as I lay awake in my tent I realised that there can be no peace of mind in thinking about oneself, one’s problems. No Gabriel, it is not just the unselfish thing to meditate on others, it is the only way to get any peace of mind. The change came quite suddenly to me. One moment I was tossing and turning thinking of some setback or problem, the next I thought of are of my children and their problems and then came an extraordinary peace of mind.