I spent the afternoon in Llansteffan,a small village a few milesfrom Carmarthen. Llansteffan inspired much of Dylan Thomas's work andhis grandparents livedhere.

Preparing blackcurrants for a sorbet earlier in the day, the 'Pears and redcurrants' in 'Poem in October' came into my mind.

As a child, weholidayed ina B@B overlooking the beach.People cockled hereand I haddonkey rides every day. There was a mockmayor-making ceremony, too, dating since 1875.

Llansteffan's Norman castlelooks out to seaand my mother remarked that, at night, the castle is floodlit, 5 donations paying for the electricity.

In 1200, King John granted Llansteffan a Charter, which allowed fairs and markets to be held, essentialfor trade. There were two fairs a year, Ffair Fawr and Ffair Fach, a Big Fair and a Little Fair.

It was sultry and warm today, so we decided to sitoutside the beach cafe, under a parasol. There was a good selection of homemade cakes, including coffee and walnut sponge,and we had ice-cream and chocolate.

I told my mother about thesummerwe took the bus from Sant Agata, Sorrento, to Marina del Cantone, the dancer Rudolf Nureyev's favourite beach, though I didn't know it at the time.

Marina del Cantone has apebbledbeach and a cafe thatjuts outto sea.Sitting at a table there, I saw the sea below the boards as weate chocolate and ground almond cake, rich and very sweet.

In a lemon grove in Sorrento, a few days' earlier, we'dsampled Limoncello and Maudie had been given a large lemon, which she kept a tight hold on.This lemon was beginning to resemble a prune, but Maudie, three at the time, included it on every jaunt we had.

When we left the cafe, we stood on the beach, marvelling as thewater crashed on the shore. My daughter seized her opportunity, suggesting that Maudie throw the lemon in the sea and let it bounce all around the world. Surprisingly, she agreed.