So we've been in Puglia for five days now and the works are drawing to an end. 

I'm sitting in dappled sunlight wearing a thin sun dress and a new tan, my hair hanging in loose wet waves after a post-sea shower. The air is velvet and full of the smoky scent of wood fires and an array of exotic plants.

Magro is carting wheel barrows of straw and dead plants to a corner of the huge garden which we've been raking for days. The mattresses are airing outside and the doors are open to blow away the last cobwebs.

And I've been thinking for the last few days; wouldn't it be nice to share this with others? These long warm days of working together on the land and property which are peppered with long breaks to snooze in the sun, eat straciatella di burrata and fresh salads, amble 200m down the road to the cooling sea and fascinating rocky yet sandy beach?

Wouldn't others love the chance to join in on our project and come with us, working for half the day in return for a comfy bed, clean sheets, fresh local food cooked by Italians and day trips to the incredible towns such as Gallipoli and beaches such as Porto Selvaggio in Nardo? 

If all you had to pay for were your flights to Brindisi, could you say no to a week among the fig and almond trees?

We're genuinely thinking about throwing this open next year. So would anybody like a free holiday?